My oldest ds took the Essay Workshop about 6 years ago. At the time, he wrote 4 persuasive essays, while reading The Lively Art of Writing. The teacher comments were helpful and I thought it was a fine course. My younger ds is taking the same course now and they have changed the whole format. Instead of writing 4 essays, he is writing 2, but the instruction is much more specific. For example, his first writing assignment was to write a thesis statement and provide three pro points to support his position and two con points to contradict it. Once that was done, the instructor provided step by step instructions on how to take that outline and turn it into paragraphs. The last step is the final drafts, which he is working on now. If he takes Essay Workshop Part 2, he will get 2 more essays. I really like the class, but I know some would feel it is not rigorous enough. My son is a very reluctant writer and needed this kind of hand holding, so I have been very pleased. In fact, I am considering their full year course next year. HTH! Michelle

Wow!!! Thank you all so much for these great ideas! Lori D--I am printing your list up right now. Thanks so much!

We have already read: To Kill A Mockingbird Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn The Old Man and the Sea Of Mice and Men Fahrenheit 451 What else do you suggest? What is NOT to be missed in your opinion? Short stories and plays can be included as well. This is for a 16y/o ds who is a somewhat reluctant reader. Thanks!

I am curious. Do think one could transition from BJU Spanish (we did the DVD program) to SOS Spanish I easily, and could I count it as Spanish II? Also, are the Life Pacs the same thing in workbook form? Thanks!

We are using the DVD program with Mr. Cancino. My dc do not like Spanish, but, they are doing well with the program. It was the only way I could fathom doing Spanish at home.

I have considered getting the DVD's to go along with the co-op class in order to have all of my bases covered. The co-op is only once a week for 2 hours.

Our Co-op offers this class and it is taught by a former math teacher. I have heard that the BJU text is too hard to do at home, but I am considering it because of the co-op situation. My other option is to use Chalkdust here at home by ourselves. Any words of wisdom to help me make this decision? Thanks!!

I have only seen a few episodes from this series, and I would absolutley say that they are not for stand alone use. They are, however, a nice supplement.

How did you implement the DVD's? How many times did you watch them? How long did it take to get through all the DVD's? Thanks!

nt.

Mr. Harmon, who is a wonderful teacher(he teaches both physcial science and chemistry), has just recently taken over physics as well. Apparently, the old teacher wasn't very good. Now that Mr. Harmon is on board, I would absolutley use the program, and probably will for my son in a few years.

It would be easier on me if my two dc were in the same science next year. That would mean my dd taking Chemistry, and then moving on to Biology. It would look like this: 9th: BJU (Physical Science) 10th: Chemistry(unsure of curriculum) 11th: Biology (unsure of curriculum) 12th: Human Anatomy& Physiology (Apologia, with Potter's School) She will have completed Algebra I before chemistry. Thanks!

Does the BJU Teachers Edition text have answers to the comprehension questions? I know what you mean about missing the "deep" stuff. We just read the Death of Ivan Illyich. My ds took the story at face value, nothing more. When we read the Spark Notes anaylsis' of each chapter however, there were lots of, "Oh, that's smymbolic for that?...oh, that's what that means?...etc". Had my ds been expected to "see" those things for himself, he'd still be looking:). I see nothing wrong with using Spark Notes, or other such guides to help with the analysis part.

This is my biggest concern to. I don't want to do 2 years of U.S. history.

We did BJU Physical Science with Mr. Harmon-my dd was 8th and my ds was 9th. It is true that physical science is considered by some states/school districts to be 8th grade, however, here in Georgia, physical science can be done in 9th grade. In fact, my oldest ds was accepted at GA Tech with physical science on his transcript, no questions asked. As far as the course goes, it is very well done. I love Mr. Harmon. This is not physical science "lite". It does not have chapters on weather, and so forth. It is strictly pre-chemistry/pre-physics.

Here are a few I am kicking around: 1. A Patriot's History of the United States 2. BJU United States History (possibly with the DVD's) 3. America:Last Best Hope, by William Bennett, with on-line teaching resources(2 volumes, I only want 1 year) 4. The Teaching Company: History of the United States (to supplement Notgrass) 5. A History of the US, by Paul Johnson(maybe a bit too meaty?) I am still undecided....

How about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? It is a semi-autobiographical book of Betty Smith. So is the Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath...but, that is the most depressing book I have ever read..maybe not good for a book club.

I have come to this opinion too...but, it wasn't easy. I have lost nights of sleep trying to figure out if my ds should graduate at 18 or 19. In the end, I figured that holding him back a year really wouldn't make that much of a difference academically. He is on track for calculus in the 12th grade. However,his reading and writing skills have always been very average and I thought the extra year would help him blossom. I am seeing that simply adding another year onto high school will NOT magically transform him into an avid reader and writer. So, he will graduate at 18 and if we feel he needs another year at home, it will at community college where he will at least be moving to another stage of life rather than being held here at home. Besides, this particular ds is very social, active, and just busting to get out as it is. Trying to hold him for another year could prove detrimental to the whole family.

Well, there haven't been a ton of reviews, and it seems hardly anyone here uses it for upper level math. The few comments I have read mention the text having unclear explanations and being very hard to implement without a teacher. What I am wondering is: What if you do have a teacher either in person or in the form of the DVD's? Then, is the program good..i.e..rigorous, covering all the same topics as any public school math text would cover. Also, if someone has used the DVD option, I am wondering how it went.

I have read several bad reviews of BJU Pre-Calculus. The complaints seem to be the unclear explantions. My question is, how does the content of the text stack up to other programs? Is it rigorous enough? Does it follow nationwide math standards? Would the text be useable with a teacher--or even the DVD's plus a teacher? Here are my choices so far: Chalkdust Pre Calc(great, but no "live" teacher) Saxon (because the other texts worked well) Potter's School (But it is a 2 year course) BJU ( at our local co-op) I am so struggling with this! Any insight is much welcomed! Thanks!

Yes, the BJU DVD program with Mr. Cancino is painfully slow at times and the annoying back and forth with students is frustrating! But, Mr. Cancino is very sweet, and there is NO WAY I could teach Spanish at home any other way. There was a bit of chit- chat in Mr. Harmon's class (Physical Science) too, but nothing like Spanish. As for Biology, I am thrilled that it has dropped significantly. We do forward past the prayer and the(brief) announcements. After that, it is pretty much pure instruction. She does give lots of multiple choice questions on screen for everyone to answer, but I do not consider that an interuption;in fact we like them! Good Luck with your decision!

I think Miss Lacy is an exellent teacher and provides very clear explanations. Comapred to the Spanish 1 DVD class we are using, the amount of teacher chit-chat with the students is very minimal. We love the DVD option! We have also used the Physical Science DVD's with Mr. Harmon and have loved those as well. BJU science is very rigorous and the "live" teachers have been a huge blessing. We never used Ms. Vick for Earth Science, but I have heard that she is one of the best teachers at BJU. As to the labs, my ds is in a co-op that uses the same text so all labs are done there;we skip the DVD labs. HTH!

Could you please tell me exactly what you typed into the search engine? I have tried, "The Teaching Company", as well as titles of lecture series' , and the names of professors who have taught them....and nothing works. Am I doing something wrong--or, are they just not available?? Thanks!

I am an INFJ. I have taken the test many times....am consistently INFJ, being very strong in the "N".

Well, unfortunatley for me, I have never been able to just let my kids loose with any curriculum and watch happily as they complete all their work perfectly and in a timely fashion. However, there are wonderful options that have allowed me to not teach, but, to watch, to learn alongsiide, and to facillitate the material. They have been a HUGE blessing. They are: BJU DVD's for Physical Science, Biology, and Chemistry(next year) Chalkdust Math & Saxon DIVE CD's Write@HOme and HOme2teach PAhomeschoolers Potter's School (World Geography this year) I have also used Keystone, but that does not teach the material. It only presents the material, gives a schedule, and provides grades. The actual "teaching" is left up to the parent. Next year, I will use some Teaching Company for history and look forward to that as well! HTH!