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Mosdos vs. BJU Literature


MamaHill
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I'm trying to decide between Mosdos and BJU Literature/reading for my 7th grader, 5th grader, and 3rd grader.

 

Do you think one is superior over the other?  

 

Does one do a better job of encouraging deeper critical thinking?

 

For either curriculum, do you use the reading book, Teacher's Guide, and workbook?  Are the workbooks necessary?

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts, comparisons, and experiences with either of these curricula.

 

FWIW, while we've always read and discussed ample amounts of great literature in our homeschool, we've never used a formal program.  I'm not able to teach the elements of literature without a lot of hand-holding help and need a laid-out-for-me curriculum.

 

I'm currently listening to the Teaching the Classics DVDs, but am also looking for something structured for these grades.

 

One more question - Is this too much for me to take on with these separate grade levels?  Am I biting off more than I can chew time-wise?  What are your estimates for time commitment from mom for this type of lit analysis and discussion with each kiddo?  

 

Thank you for any and all insight! :)

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I find BJU to be very time consuming and teacher intensive.  It is also a LOT of books and the TG is pretty necessary.  We used the BJU Reading Gr. 3 (for part of a year) and we enjoyed the selections, but the book-work got to be too much.

 

We LOVE Mosdos.  We only use the student text and have never found the TG or workbook to be necessary, but there are some that like them.  I combined all the kids this year and we read the selections as read-a-louds and orally discussed the included comprehension questions.  I feel like Mosdos really gets them thinking about what they read and it does a great job at introducing a literary element and then providing a piece that demonstrates that element.

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I find BJU to be very time consuming and teacher intensive.  It is also a LOT of books and the TG is pretty necessary.  We used the BJU Reading Gr. 3 (for part of a year) and we enjoyed the selections, but the book-work got to be too much.

 

We LOVE Mosdos.  We only use the student text and have never found the TG or workbook to be necessary, but there are some that like them.  I combined all the kids this year and we read the selections as read-a-louds and orally discussed the included comprehension questions.  I feel like Mosdos really gets them thinking about what they read and it does a great job at introducing a literary element and then providing a piece that demonstrates that element.

 

Jess, thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts and experiences on the two programs.  Super helpful!!

 

I got BJU 5th grade for $15 (yes, $15!!) at our local homeschool store.  But when I browse through it, it's not what I had hoped.  There's not a whole lot of instruction with literary elements, which is what I so desperately need.

 

I've looked at Mosdos over and over, and I feel like it's the right choice, coupled with the amount of instruction that *I* need as their teacher.

 

But the price is so stinkin' high!  I'm trying to find some wiggle room in the budget. :)

 

Thanks again for your help!

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Jess, thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts and experiences on the two programs.  Super helpful!!

 

I got BJU 5th grade for $15 (yes, $15!!) at our local homeschool store.  But when I browse through it, it's not what I had hoped.  There's not a whole lot of instruction with literary elements, which is what I so desperately need.

 

I've looked at Mosdos over and over, and I feel like it's the right choice, coupled with the amount of instruction that *I* need as their teacher.

 

But the price is so stinkin' high!  I'm trying to find some wiggle room in the budget. :)

 

Thanks again for your help!

 

Mosdos can be tough to find used.  There was a thread not too terribly long ago and several links were posted for used editions.  I posted in it, but can't seem to find it.  Will try to locate it and come back and link to it. :)

 

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I have some great condition Mosdos I have been meaning to list for sale. We have enjoyed both Mosdos and BJ. I think I like the 8th grade and up BJ lit better than the younger grades (dd is in 8th this year and we are both using BJ and Teaching the classics).

would you mind sharing what grades of BJU you have used and why you did not like it? I am trying to decide if it is worth purchasing for mine. I am bothered that they seem to discourage reading classics and do not use whole books. Are the stories similar to CLE Reading?

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Jess, thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts and experiences on the two programs.  Super helpful!!

 

I got BJU 5th grade for $15 (yes, $15!!) at our local homeschool store.  But when I browse through it, it's not what I had hoped.  There's not a whole lot of instruction with literary elements, which is what I so desperately need.

 

I've looked at Mosdos over and over, and I feel like it's the right choice, coupled with the amount of instruction that *I* need as their teacher.

 

But the price is so stinkin' high!  I'm trying to find some wiggle room in the budget. :)

 

Thanks again for your help!

 

Did you get the BJU student text or the Teacher's Manual? I have only used BJU Lit at highschool level and all the instruction is in the TM. 

 

I agree with the pp who said teaching BJU is time consuming. 

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Jess, thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts and experiences on the two programs.  Super helpful!!

 

I got BJU 5th grade for $15 (yes, $15!!) at our local homeschool store.  But when I browse through it, it's not what I had hoped.  There's not a whole lot of instruction with literary elements, which is what I so desperately need.

 

I've looked at Mosdos over and over, and I feel like it's the right choice, coupled with the amount of instruction that *I* need as their teacher.

 

But the price is so stinkin' high!  I'm trying to find some wiggle room in the budget. :)

 

Thanks again for your help!

Here's that thread with the links to places to find Mosdos:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/632366-mosdos-discussion-for-fans-and-current-users/?hl=%2Bmosdos&do=findComment&comment=7347216

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