Homeschoolmom3 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 My sister who would love to homeschool however cannot is looking into private christian schools for her kids. The school she is looking at uses BJU from K-12 I am only familiar with their upper level science. I have not used anything else, can you please let me know a few things about it. 1. How does it compare in rigor? 2. Is their phonics similar to Abeka? 3. Is it a good college prep program? 4. How is their math? What comparison is there to it? Any other comments would love to hear! Thank you all so MUCH!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 My sister who would love to homeschool however cannot is looking into private christian schools for her kids. The school she is looking at uses BJU from K-12 I am only familiar with their upper level science. I have not used anything else, can you please let me know a few things about it. 1. How does it compare in rigor? 2. Is their phonics similar to Abeka? 3. Is it a good college prep program? 4. How is their math? What comparison is there to it? Any other comments would love to hear! Thank you all so MUCH!!!! BJUP materials are academically strong. In general, I prefer BJUP over ABeka. ABeka's beginning phonics is better, IMHO, but BJUP is still good. I would have no qualms about enrolling my own dc in a school that used all BJUP. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Thanks for your comments... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 If I had to go with all one publisher, BJU would be my choice. Their materials are excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Math and Language Arts are academically strong and good college prep. BJU Science, like A Beka, will not prepare a child for a science track at any college other than a conservative Christian private college. I haven't used their history, but I have looked through it, and my impression is that it is strongly providential (e.g. American Exceptionalism). But if she's okay with A Beka science and history, BJU will probably be fine as they are very similar in worldview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Math and Language Arts are academically strong and good college prep. BJU Science, like A Beka, will not prepare a child for a science track at any college other than a conservative Christian private college. I haven't used their history, but I have looked through it, and my impression is that it is strongly providential (e.g. American Exceptionalism). But if she's okay with A Beka science and history, BJU will probably be fine as they are very similar in worldview. I don't think saying BJU science won't prepare a student for science at any other college is even close to a fair assessment. Considering this is used in many Christian schools and homeschools, I'm sure there are a lot of students who go on to secular colleges and even medical schools and do fine. Just because the material presented is from a Christian perspective doesn't mean a student will go on to a secular university and be lost. A good student should be able to study, learn, and apply themselves, no matter what the material is covering. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I LOVE their English and Spelling. Their history is very solid too. Their phonic program has 5,000,000 little pieces and cards, so I dumped that, but my impression was that it was a good program. I'm just not organized enough to use it, Never used their math, but my friend gave me some of their old books and it looks like a solid, easy to use program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I don't think saying BJU science won't prepare a student for science at any other college is even close to a fair assessment. Considering this is used in many Christian schools and homeschools, I'm sure there are a lot of students who go on to secular colleges and even medical schools and do fine. Just because the material presented is from a Christian perspective doesn't mean a student will go on to a secular university and be lost. A good student should be able to study, learn, and apply themselves, no matter what the material is covering. :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 Thank you for all your comments. I am confused as to why they said BJU Science wasn't rigorous. I heard it was rather good for a Christian text and is more rigorous than Apologia which a LOT of people use. Is this what you all have seen? Thanks again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 The only thing I can fathom Beth was referring to was that CA (and maybe some other states?) will ask specifically what text you used and won't want to see a christian text. The issue there is that it presents Creation as fact (while of course exploring evolution). There is no issue with rigor. BJU has fully updated curriculum that complies with Common Core and can result in any highly capable student getting top test scores. A few years BJU had an independent, 3rd party study done and found that students using BJU score exceptionally well, better than students using other popular curricula. http://www.hightestscores.com With BJU's philosophy, the TEACHER brings something to the presentation. The tms are written with that in mind, giving the teacher options and extra background info and activities so they can customize. I would spend more time investigating who the actual teachers are, rather than worrying about the curriculum in this case. BJU is fine. It's the teachers who will be implementing it that I'd want to know about. Sit in on classes and watch their prospective teachers. Do they recognize disabilities? Do your relatives have kids with disabilities? The reason a school would go to BJU straight, rather than selecting bits of this and that, is that, aside from the fact that the materials are so well done, they synchronize and mesh in subtle ways. Vocabulary from the reading will appear in the history. Skills needed for one subject will be taught in another. Some things that are segregated in homeschooling (say logic or outlining notetaking) will be woven in and across subjects (in math, in science, in reading). So when they use ALL the BJU materials, they actually get something that is even more than the sum of its parts, with subtle reinforcements. This is intentional. That's great that your SIL has a cs near her to give her this option. I hope it works out for her! And remember, if it *doesn't*, she can bring them home and do BJU straight on video. Many, many people do this and it can work out really well for some kids. It's not going to be ideal for learning disabilities and certain situations, but for many kids it's an excellent fit. With the videos, you get engaged, enthused teachers who are never down or having a headache, hehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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