Lovedtodeath Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I think DD would like it and I would like the break. Can you get just one subject or does it have to be the whole year's worth of things? How much work is left for me? Is it really easier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 With Abeka's video school you must get an entire grade of subjects. It may be possible to go up or down a grade for a couple of the subjects, I know that that is the case with BJU, but I honestly don't know for sure. I used A Beka video school years ago, so things may have changed. On another note... Have you looked into BJU's Video school? I find it much better than A Beka in not only content, but interest. A Beka will do the job though. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan A. Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Our experience is with the BJU DVD's, but I have friends who have had similar experiences with Abeka. It is a much longer day than we were used to, and I am responsible for making sure she (dd 13 - 7th grade) gets the correct handouts on the correct days, grading tests/homework/projects, making sure she has what she needs for experiments, etc. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is a different kind of busy. We have had mixed results and are currently only using 2 of the DVD classes (we bought the whole package). I had not planned on using the math to begin with (we wanted to stick with Math-u-see), the Bible and English classes were somewhat tedious, and the science just wasn't a good fit for dd. We do enjoy the World Studies and Spanish. Also, it just goes better if I watch at least some of the class each day in order to know what the teacher says in addition to what is in the book. Sometimes the DVD and syllabus do not match. I've heard the best results with families with one child and the parent and child watch the DVD's together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 31, 2008 Author Share Posted December 31, 2008 Thanks! Honestly, I don't think anything will make her independent, but I thought DVD's might help her argue with me less. Is the BJU Math DVD longer/more involved than the MUS DVDs? Is it the same math program everyone raves about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I think DD would like it and I would like the break. Can you get just one subject or does it have to be the whole year's worth of things? How much work is left for me? Is it really easier? I have friends whose dd used the video school (back in the day when it was really "video," lol) and thought it was easy peasy; she'd paint her toenails while watching a video and still ace the work. And then I have freinds, long-time hsers, who almost gave up hsing the year they tried the videos. Frankly, I've heard more stories like this one than like the first one. I'd try something else. Maybe BJUP, since you don't have to use all subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Our experience is with the BJU DVDs, but I have friends who have had similar experiences with Abeka. It is a much longer day than we were used to, and I am responsible for making sure she (dd 13 - 7th grade) gets the correct handouts on the correct days, grading tests/homework/projects, making sure she has what she needs for experiments, etc. I agree. If you use ALL Abeka or BJU video classes for each and every subject, your school day will be much longer. It will be a full day. But, we used A Beka video academy when my youngest was in K and 1st grade and he had no problem with his classes and his day was not overly long. If the teacher has not changed for Abeka K, I can heartily recommend Mrs. Bear, their K teacher. My son absolutely loved her and he learned gobs!! The 1st grade teacher was at the opposite spectrum....he disliked her very much. Boring, dull, tedious class. It was during that year that I began searching other curricula. As for BJU, I have used most of the BJU teachers and they are top-notch. Miss Liston is one of BJU's 1st grade teachers and she was my son's absolute favorite. Mrs. Vick teaches many of the 2nd grade classes and she is probably BJU's most loved and very best teacher. My youngest will have her for the first time next year and he cannot wait. I honestly recommend BJU over Abeka...in my opinion it is MUCH better. the Bible and English classes were somewhat tedious, and the science just wasn't a good fit for dd. I have to disagree! The Bible and English in the younger grades are not in the least bit tedious! Bible and English are only 15 min long. Science is 30...but it is 30 minutes of very interesting video presentation. BJU's science is wonderful! The above poster is using a much higher level class than you would be. Yes, the middle school and high school level English classes can be somewhat daunting if you have not used BJU through the years, and BJU really ramps things up starting in 7th grade. Starting in 7th the English class is no longer only 15 min a day, it is instead 30 min., but only 1 semester long, with Reading/Lit taking up the 2nd semester. Sometimes the DVD and syllabus do not match. I have been using BJU's video classes for three years and have yet to have this happen in the regular BJU classes. The only time this has been a problem is in the highschool LINC classes that are live classes each day. As in a normal school, the teacher will change the schedule as needed to fit her particular class of students. High school students should be responsible enough to jot down the changed assignments on their schedule, and complete said assignments. If a child is not doing this...then there are other issues such as character and responsibility issues that need to be dealt with. I would not fault BJU for this. ;) I've heard the best results with families with one child and the parent and child watch the DVDs together Yes, this would be ideal for sure, but you CAN be successful using BJU without watching each and every class with your student/s. I only have one left at home right now and I do not have to watch any of his classes with him. He is currently only using BJU's Math and English and he is doing just fine without a lot of intervention on my part. When my older boys were home and using BJU, they too did fine without me watching the classes. Shoot, I could watch pre-calculus all day long and STILL not know what my son was doing! :w00t: My job was to grade material and know when material was assigned. A little organization before school each day, and at the beginning of the school year, helped greatly. If you are desirous of using a video school, I would seriously look at BJU before going the A Beka route. BJU is fun, colorful, interesting, and a top-notch Christian education. A Beka, too, is a top-notch Christian education....but I would not call it fun, colorful, or even very interesting. :001_huh: If you want your child basically sitting in the back of the classroom and not being included with the other children n the class, then go A Beka. If you want the teacher talking directly to YOUR child, teaching YOUR child, and fascinating YOUR child...then go with BJU. 'nuff said! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Is the BJU Math DVD longer/more involved than the MUS DVDs? Is it the same math program everyone raves about? Yes, BJU's Math is longer and more involved than MUS. BJU has a math lesson video DAILY. MUS is by chapter...usually about one video lesson a week. I don't know about grades below 4th, but from 4th on up through jr. high the BJU math lessons are 30 minutes a day, not including homework. So, I would say that your math day will be much longer using BJU than MUS. In high school BJU's math is a 45 min. video LINC class each day. I used MUS one year, 3rd grade, and jumped right into BJU in 4th. I prefer BJU over MUS. My older boys used MUS for Geometry. My opinion is that MUS is not rigorous enough. My son actually seemed to lose ground in 3rd grade coming from A Beka's math which was much more rigorous than MUS and my older boys didn't seem to retain any of the Geometry. In fact, my middle son struggled a bit in BJU's Alg. 2 because he did not have a good foundation in Geometry. My MUS opinion and personal experience...others, who love MUS, will not agree. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balancing Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 But, we used A Beka video academy when my youngest was in K and 1st grade and he had no problem with his classes and his day was not overly long. If the teacher has not changed for Abeka K, I can heartily recommend Mrs. Bear, their K teacher. My son absolutely loved her and he learned gobs!! We loved Mrs. Bere too! We also liked Miss Wieler for first grade. We used the DVD's the first year that they switched to Miss Wieler for the first grade teacher. I wonder if you had the previous teacher. We used the A Beka Academy DVD's for K and 1st also. When I look back, the best part was how they went over the phonics.... and over.... and over.... lol. I don't think I would have be as thorough! As far as using the DVD's, the most important thing to me, as with any curriculum, is to use it the way that works best for your family. For instance, if I thought there was too much seat work, then I would cut it back. Some days we would skip activity time. (I think that is what it was called). Feel free to tailor it, just like anything else. Have you viewed the Demonstration Videos? They can give you a feel for what the class is like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 :seeya:Thanks! I like to have a backup plan for getting burned out. I am looking at online options and purely work-texts too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Carmen, My dd used the Abeka videos for 7th grade. For the upper grades, at least, you can mix and match grades (she had 7th-9th). I will tell you that the religion issue was definitely something to think about. We stopped the video many times to discuss mainstream Christian beliefs vs our beliefs (and that was when we weren't practicing so were looser). I would not feel comfy allowing a young child to watch the videos alone if there is ANY religious information mentioned. And I DO know that the worktexts for the younger grades have many things that we believe differently than (though usually it's pictures and such not totally associated with the lesson itself). I think Abeka is a strong curriculum and I do understand the idea of "this is what 'it' says to do today." Some of our tougher kiddos really do better with that. I think I'd more likely pare down to the basics and deal with discipline so that later, when it REALLY matters, she can excell. I know that is anti-classical education, but I believe character and discipline issues to be much more important than a young child getting formal lessons past the basics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 Thanks Pamela. I did not realize it came up so much. I knew this was a problem with Rod and Staff. DDhad Abeka in Preschool, and I have the second grade math book and the K cursive book. I will be looking at Curriculumservices.com and time4learning.com as well. I think these are secular. I am not thinking we need to switch now, and I am mainly concerned with math. I used to be a math tutor, and I was pretty good. I don't know why can't get through to my child. (That's usually how it is.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 For math, you may want to consider working on facts (concepts and memorization) then jump into a good curriculum. Robinson curriculum has them memorize their facts first then jump into Math 54. I think those lower levels now have DIVE cds also. And there is another video curriculum associated with Saxon also (available from Saxon itself). Another option might be facts then Teaching Textbooks. But you may find that she's just not quite ready yet. Math is partially developmental. I'd keep exposing her of course, but you might not expect full comprehension yet. However, sometime between Kindy and 3rd grade, she'll click on and basic math. Same thing will happen for the intermediate level math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 Thanks for the pointers. I am very interested in TT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 We used the DVD's the first year that they switched to Miss Wieler for the first grade teacher. I wonder if you had the previous teacher. Yes, probably so. The name Miss Wieler does not sound at all familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 You can't compare MUS to a traditional program. It is a totally different thing and not something you can pop in and out of. :iagree: MUS is not a traditional program at all. The scope and sequence is much different than a traditional schools. This is probably what I disliked about it most though. I don't want something that is soo very different from what our local schools are using. I try to keep in mind that there is always a possibility that our son may have to go to school someday. So, just in case, I prefer traditional when it comes to math and english. YOu either do MUS or you don't but you can't do Abeka one year, MUS the next and then BJU. The s&s for MUS is too different. I beg to differ. ;) You CAN do Abeka for K-2nd, MUS Gamma for multipilcation in 3rd, and jump right into BJU in 4th grade. I wouldn't recommend it...but it CAN be done. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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