Has anyone done BJU's Earth/Space grade 8 Science?

[titianmom]

Hi,

 

I found this while wondering through the Teacher's Store and I'm very interested in learning more.

 

Did you like it? Hate it? And why?

 

Also, looks like you have to have the Teacher's manual. What are the differences between Book A and Book B for the Students?

 

Thanks!

Kim

[flyingmommy]

bump

 

:lurk5:interested in the responses as well.

 

jeannie

[MorningGlory]

I haven't used Earth & Space...yet. I plan to use it in 2 years. So I cannot tell you much about it. But I can answer one of your questions.

 

The student text is divided into two texts...Book A and Book B. The purpose in doing this is to keep the text from being so gigantic. So you would need both A and B. In other words, Book B is part 2. And the teacher's edition is a MUST. It gives all the instructions for activities and teaching helps and schedules. It is also divided into two parts to correlate with the student edition.

 

I just received BJU's Life Science from RR a couple of weeks ago. This text is designed the same way. It is divided into two parts. I started reading through the TE a couple of days ago to help myself plan. This textbook is FANTASTIC! I am very, very impressed with its layout, depth, breadth of activities, spiritual foundations, etc. etc. I would think that Earth & Space would be of the same high quality.

 

HTH!

Jetta

[titianmom]

We have an observatory up the road from us that I plan to use, too. The books look so thick and I'm wondering if it's an every-day science. Also, I hear there are DVDs. ??? I bet all of it is pricey. Sigh.

 

Thanks, again--anyone actually go through it in a year? What was the sched like?

 

Kim

[momtotkbb]

We will be starting it late this summer. We've used the 7th grade life sci and have been very pleased and impressed with the quality. I'm assuming that the Earth Sci is set up like Life sci and there are 27 or 28 chpts to complete with anywhere from 2-4 sections per chapter for readings with a rev for each section, Ideas for each section, 1-3 experiments for each chpt., and a chpt rev., quiz and test. The Life Sci we have done 4-5 days a week in order to complete it and get the most out of the activities. I have heard that the Earth Sci program is a heavy program - but haven't used it yet to get the true feel.

 

You actually have two choices for DVD's ---there is a DVD for the activities only and I think it's about $100 from BJU. There is also the DVD (or on-line version) for a subject from BJU which is about $400 if I remember and it includes the teacher lectures, activities, etc.. Once you get to high school science with BJU Dive has DVD's to go with the BJU sci programs that are a lot cheaper than BJU's.

[titianmom]

That helps. I plan to check out the BJU website, of course. They have pages to flip through, etc. I would have stayed in the store and read through some of the chapters but they threw me out. (9 p.m.--ah, the time we can spend in a curriculum store, no?)

 

Kim

[Mom22ns]

You might try this question on the high school board. Many of us may plan to use BJU Earth Science, but on the K-8 board, not many already have :001_smile:

 

I can tell you that BJU science is typically a 5 day/week schedule if you do the labs and all the material that comes with it. They are great courses, very full and rich. We are doing Life Science next year. While BJU courses are expensive, I have done well finding them used.

[Melissa in CA]

We have not actually used this course yet, but I do have all the classes on DVD that I recorded from the soon-to-be-discontinued BJU Satellite. It looks very good! After using BJU DVD classes for science, I personally would not want to teach it myself. The science classes and teachers are absolutely wonderful and add so much to the curriculum that you would not get by doing it yourself.

 

I recommend that if you have the $399 to go for the BJU DVDs! That $399 gives you all your books, tests, etc., and Mrs. Vick, one of BJU's best science teachers! The only thing you would need to purchase after that are any lab supplies. BJU does a lot of labs or "investigations" (64!) and you may not want your dc to do each and every one themselves. All labs will be done on the DVD during the class, so many of them are great for just watching the teacher perform. In the supplies you receive from BJU you will receive a special packet of information from the class teacher. In that packet is a class schedule, as well as a listing of each and every lab done in the class and the supplies that will be needed, if any. You can then pick and choose the labs you feel are most important for your child to complete himself, and see very quickly the supplies you'll need to procure. :D

 

If you have any further questions feel free to ask. I have everything on-hand except the student text...I still need to purchase it.

Edited April 16, 2009 by Melissa in CA

[yinne]

I used the DVD course two years ago with my oldest and will use it again with my soon to be 7th and 8th grader next year. Great course. I highly recommend any of Mrs. Vick's courses. We used the 7th grade Life Science course this year and it was great.

 

Unless you are science oriented I would recommend the full DVD option ($399 or I believe $379 for the new online option). It is scheduled 5 days a week and the DVD lessons run about 30 minutes.

 

Yvonne

[mims]

My kids have used BJU science in a coop class setting. My impression from researching it and talking to their teacher is that it works well in a classroom setting which is what it is designed for. It is more teacher intensive and has more complicated experiments than some sciences designed for homeschooling. I was personally going to go with Apologia until the coop class opened up. My kids are enjoying the course but we will go back to Apolgia if the classroom setting doesn't work out in the future.

 

This is general information on BJU upper level sciences but it seems to be true from what I've researched.