R & S English vs. BJU English 4

[Omma]

I have heard that BJU English has a slower, more gentle approach to grammar instruction. We have been using R & S English and my 9 ds is starting the fourth unit of level 3. He seems totally mixed up with what is a direct object, subject, or predicate. Should I just continue with Rod & Staff anyway, even though he says he likes the looks of the BJU English sample I showed him and really wants to switch? I know, I know... I probably shouldn't have showed him the other curriculum, and now I am stuck trying to figure out which to use. I have just purchased the new WTM edition, and it doesn't mention a thing about BJU English. Anyone have any ideas as to why?

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you'd like to share on this subject (or is that predicate??? :lol:) BTW, I have a degree in linguistics and even taught Grammatical Analysis as a T.A. a few times. (However, I never had a single class in school using the traditional model of diagramming sentences). Sigh....

 

Brenda

[Rebecca VA]

I've used both. BJU grammar is presented over a 12-grade span versus Rod & Staff's eight-year span (R&S's 9th and 10th grade books are very esoteric, so I'm not counting them), so BJU moves more slowly. There is not as much diagramming in BJU. I really like diagramming, and my child thrives on it, so we use Rod & Staff.

 

BJU writing (composition) is wonderful, in my opinion. Students are shown a well-written, grade-appropriate sample of the type of writing they are learning. They learn the steps of the writing process and carefully craft and edit their piece day after day.

 

My child greatly enjoyed using the BJU workbook. It's colorful and easy for the student to use, and it contains all the material the student needs to know. There are even appendices in the back of the workbook that contain all kinds of reference material. You can purchase the workbook for about $15 and not even have to worry about buying the teacher's manual (unless you need it for an answer key).

 

Really, the only reason we're in R&S instead of BJU English is because I want my child to learn grammar painstakingly well. BJU is not quite as advanced grammatically, but it does have other strong advantages.

[Omma]

I've used both. BJU grammar is presented over a 12-grade span versus Rod & Staff's eight-year span (R&S's 9th and 10th grade books are very esoteric, so I'm not counting them), so BJU moves more slowly. There is not as much diagramming in BJU. I really like diagramming, and my child thrives on it, so we use Rod & Staff.

 

BJU writing (composition) is wonderful, in my opinion. Students are shown a well-written, grade-appropriate sample of the type of writing they are learning. They learn the steps of the writing process and carefully craft and edit their piece day after day.

 

My child greatly enjoyed using the BJU workbook. It's colorful and easy for the student to use, and it contains all the material the student needs to know. There are even appendices in the back of the workbook that contain all kinds of reference material. You can purchase the workbook for about $15 and not even have to worry about buying the teacher's manual (unless you need it for an answer key).

 

Really, the only reason we're in R&S instead of BJU English is because I want my child to learn grammar painstakingly well. BJU is not quite as advanced grammatically, but it does have other strong advantages.

 

Thank you, Rebecca, for this info. I am leaning towards getting the BJU English because I feel like I need a lot of extra hand-holding in teaching writing (I hated creative writing, writing book reports, etc. in school). I can easily add to the grammar part of the lesson if needed, but I feel very weak in the knees to add anything to a writing lesson.

 

Now I just have to decide about getting the teacher's manual for my 3rd grader or just for my 4th grader. It is more expensive with BJU English, because of the consummable workbook in BJU. But it looks a lot more inviting to kids who need more positive motivation to do their lessons.

 

Brenda

[jengjohnson]

We've switched to BJU English this year, only used it a week so I can't say too much about it. Our grammar path has been FLL 1&2, Rod & Staff 3, FLL 4, and now we're in BJU 5. She didn't really dislike R&S but I wanted to try something else so we went with FLL 4. That was before I ever looked at BJU. Once I saw it I knew I wanted to use it, I really like it and I like that it includes more writing. Now dd#2 is using BJU 3 instead of R&S 3, I don't think she'd get along with R&S at all so I sold it. I plan to continue using FLL 1&2 and then start in with BJU for my youngest as well.

 

It's colorful, the sentences used in the lessons are interesting to the girls, the lesson explanations are straight-forward.

[Omma]

We've switched to BJU English this year, only used it a week so I can't say too much about it. Our grammar path has been FLL 1&2, Rod & Staff 3, FLL 4, and now we're in BJU 5. She didn't really dislike R&S but I wanted to try something else so we went with FLL 4. That was before I ever looked at BJU. Once I saw it I knew I wanted to use it, I really like it and I like that it includes more writing. Now dd#2 is using BJU 3 instead of R&S 3, I don't think she'd get along with R&S at all so I sold it. I plan to continue using FLL 1&2 and then start in with BJU for my youngest as well.

 

It's colorful, the sentences used in the lessons are interesting to the girls, the lesson explanations are straight-forward.

 

Thanks, Jen! It looks like your two oldest dc are the same ages as my dc, and I notice that you are using the higher grade BJU science for both of them. How is that working out for your family? I bet you like being able to combine them, timewise. Do you think it takes very much time to do BJU English 4 for your oldest and then BJU English 3 for your 7 dd? It looks the same as to what I'd be trying, so it's nice to hear how it is working for you! :D

 

Brenda