I just did our first lesson with Heritage Studies by BJU. It took us a hour to do it. I am finding it a little hard to follow. Does anyone out there use BJU?? I get lost with the DVD sometimes. Is it just me? I have a ton of questions for anyone who uses BJU!
Maybe the company has a forum/form or something you could use to get more explicit feedback. I dont know anything about BJU. Sitting here, typing this, I think I just figured out that BJU stands for Bob Jones University, but I dont know anything more than the name...
We never did the DVD thing. I would have him read a lesson and answer the questions. And, once upon a time, I thought it was necessary for me to give him a lecture. Remember you don't have to do everything that is listed, at least not if you are doing this independant from their academy.
We used BJU for several subjects. The lessons did take us at LEAST an hour with additional homework time. In all honesty, with some subjects, like Algebra I, I found their Alg 1 covered most everything in both Alg I and II from the public school texts. Same with most of the High School courses. Soooo, we took 1 1/2 yrs to complete the courses or skipped some of the sections, labs, or homework. For ex. the Algebra, I counted it for both. The Alg. II book actually was college level work. Just borrow or check out some of your local school's texts for the grade your child is in, and compare them. Then count the coursework equivalent to the public school curriculum. It's a little hard to explain, but I got the idea out of Senior High :Home Designed Form+U+La. By the time my eldest had graduated she had gone for an extra semester, but she also had completed most of her coursework at college entrance level.
Is the DVD something you ordered separately?, because I have never had a DVD with my Heritage Studies and this is my 3rd yr with that. The only problem I have had with this curriculum is that it seems to kind of "skim" the top of info and the kids are left thinking, Is that it? we have had to dig a little deeper on our own to really get some interesting stuff. It seems a little dry. But it fills some holes in our unstructured approach so that's why I keep going back to it.
Leissa, The DVD is in the back of the teacher's edition. As far as it being dry. Wow, there are so many games, crafts and other things in the DVD. There is absolutley no way I am able to cover it all. I am a very literal person. So, I feel that I have to do every little thing. But, from talking to people about it I am learning to skip over some things. Thank God for my 10 year old for walking me thru the class. LOL
I would suggest that you don't worry about the tests or grading everything either. Sometimes a family conversation can be a very good way to cement the facts and ideas in a book. For instance, if you are studying the Pilgrims, you could talk about what it would have been like to land in a foreign country so many years ago and how scary it might have been to encounter people who spoke a different language and lived so differently. If you do want to record grades, include participation in family conversations. There is homeschooling that is school-at-home style, which at first seems like the best way to go. The only thing is it often leads to burnout and strained relationships. I had to learn the hard way to let go of my traditional thinking about learning. There are better ways.
I only have the 9th grade geography this year, but I never even knew there was a DVD in the back of the teacher's edition! Thanks for mentioning it - I'll have to go check it out! My take on BJU is that it is a little bit of overkill. I mean they have so many things to go with each subject. Test, and workbook, and reading, and now the DVD - it is a lot of stuff. I don't think we could handle it if all our subjects were from BJU because it does look time consuming!
Aaha! now I realize why I don't have a DVD. I don't have a teachers manual. just the student text and the workbook. Sorry, now I know why I couldn't help you. Geez, no wonder I wasn't having fun with BJU history.
I think at this point I am just going to take a step back. One reason I picked BJU is because it was a step by step by step. As it is our first year. But, I think next year I will try something lighter. Whew
We use BJU online math for 1st & 2nd grades. I thought the DVD that is in the back of the TE was just for extra activities???
