Does anyone use Abeka or Bob Jones for highschool? I would like to know ALL opinions..... Thank you!!!!
We have one more year to go before highschool but I have already been thinking about it. I will use Apologia for science and BJU for history for sure. Probably BJ for Spanish. We are trying BJ pre-algebra this year. If we like it will continue with that. I have always prefered Bob Jones over Abeka! Still up in the air about everything else!
I love the Bob Jones, but all three of mine are showing a lack of interest in any history textbooks, so we will probably be switching to something else. However, imho, Bob Jones Heritage Studies is much more balanced than Abeka history. For science, my oldest daughter loves Bob Jones. My middle daughter is more interested in science, and may want to go with Apologia. My youngest is anti-textbook right now, so I can't really say which textbook would be more interesting to her. I personally liked the Abeka readers, although we tend to use more "real" books for reading/literature. For English grammar and writing, we don't use either. We use Saxon and Rod & Staff.
We used Abeka for 10th grade history and Lit....hated it! The history was very dry and the tests did not test for understanding just remember facts. We used BJU for history in 11th grade and it was so much better. The reading was interesting, the activity book helped sd study for the tests and the test were more than just remembering obscure facts and dates but really tested for understanding and comprehension. We also decided to do literature guides instead of using them for Lit. We also did Apologia for science.
I think both are solid school curricula. I haven't used much of their high school stuff and what I did use, we usually ended up changing. Here is what we tried and stopped: A Beka grammar- we only used the grammar portion and we used quite a bit of it before I began to realize how ridiculous it was (in my opinion). It all depends on your goals. My son is most likely not going to college and delving that deep into grammar was just not necessary. If someone is college bound it might be a whole different story. We use Easy Grammar more now. It is a simpler but thorough grammar for most everyone's needs. A Beka chemistry- A good textbook, but I like the explanations in Apologia better. A Beka biology- same as above. Bob Jones grammar and writing- I loved the 8th grade book, but not the 9th grade. It seemed way to condensed and fast. Again, we only used the grammar part. ________________________________________________________________________ Here are some I would recommend: Bob Jones literature- I love the stories they pick out and we actually used 9th (I think). We did a few stories, but not all. We only really stopped using this because I don't focus too heavy on literature studies. I would recommend this to anyone for light use or for heavy use (if you use the whole book). This isn't high school for everyone but: Bob Jones pre-algebra. It was a great organized curricula. It moved at a good pace and had ways to adjust for advanced learners if you wanted to do so. I would recommend this also. _______________________________________________________________________ Now, here are some other curricula to consider: Math: 1. Teaching Textbooks: it is a computer based program where the computer teaches the lesson. ALL the problems are worked out for the student, if they need to find out more or find out where they went wrong. It is costly, but resells well. Most of them have automated grading now, I think the automated grading goes through algebra. 2. Math U see- A mastery based program. It uses DVD's to teach the student (or the parent in order to teach the student). Very nice layout and plenty of problems on each concept. Again costly, but resells well. Science: Apologia- it is highly recommended and well loved by many. It doesn't work for some people, but I love it. It looks less appealing (not as many pictures), but the explanations (imo) are more thorough and engaging. History: I don't really know enough about different curricula to advise, but many people love Mystery of History or Story of the World or Notgrass or My Father's World. Anyway, I don't mean to get so long winded. I know you also might be looking at using one of these programs exclusively and go through their "high school" program and get the accreditation. If that is the case, I understand you won't be able to pick and choose your texts. Accreditation might look appealing, but it is not as important as many people think. There are public schools that aren't accredited and getting into college is not based on that from what I have heard. I wanted to use BJU high school program, but couldn't afford it. I am glad now that I couldn't afford it, it would have drove us both crazy.
We have used BJU. My children love it. I have tried apologia and they hate it. We aren't in high school, they swill be entering the 7 th grade. We used Saxon math instead of the bob Jones. Next year we are going to do all Bob Jones and get the Dvds to watch when I can't teach the concept, I work outside the home I decided I needed a little more help. They actually enjoy watching them. Not everyday but if they need help its perfect.
