Bob Jones University Press Homeschool Curriculum: A Comprehensive Overview

Bob Jones University Press (BJU Press) offers a comprehensive homeschool curriculum designed to provide a structured, academically rigorous, and biblically-centered education for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. With a focus on educational best practices, a biblical worldview, and engaging learning experiences, BJU Press aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed academically and grow spiritually.

Core Features and Benefits

Biblical Worldview Foundation

BJU Press courses are designed to instill a biblical worldview in students. This means that every subject is taught through the lens of Scripture, helping students understand how their faith relates to all areas of life. Strong Biblical teaching is incorporated in a very effective manner, sometimes identified explicitly as Biblical Worldview Shaping.

Academic Rigor

The curriculum maintains high academic standards across all subjects and grade levels. BJU Press textbooks are built from a foundation of diligent research and rigorous standards. The curriculum is challenging without being overwhelming, providing a balance between academic rigor and student well-being.

Structured and Comprehensive

BJU Press offers an all-in-one K3-12 core curriculum designed to meet all homeschooling needs. The courses are structured on educational best practices, providing a clear and organized learning path for students. With BJU Press, everything arrives in one box, planned, printed, and ready to use.

Engaging and Multisensory Learning

Lessons encourage critical thinking skills, and activities and lessons support multisensory learning. The curriculum incorporates hands-on activities, visuals, and interactive elements to cater to different learning styles. Science books for first through fifth grades are more activity-oriented than traditional science texts, making them useful for children with different learning styles.

Flexibility and Customization

BJU Press offers flexible buying options and online and parent-led formats to fit various lifestyles. Courses are designed to be adaptable, allowing parents to adjust the pace and content to suit their child’s strengths and weaknesses. If a child is strong in math but needs more help in reading, the curriculum can be adjusted accordingly.

Critical Thinking and Reasoning

Beyond facts and processes, BJU Press textbooks encourage students to think for themselves. Students are encouraged to use discernment and to consider their worldview in everyday situations. The textbooks help students develop skills in critical thinking with inductive teaching, hands-on learning, and probing questions.

Curriculum Components

Textbooks

BJU Press Textbook Kits contain everything needed to successfully teach a child. Lessons in the student text are rooted in sound academic research and are presented in a format children can relate to. BJU Press offers a mixture of softbound and hardbound student texts. Throughout BJU Press's curriculum, student material is colorful and well-presented.

Teacher's Editions

The teacher’s edition is an essential guide that supports the parent by providing instructions, fun activities, additional explanations, and much more. Most teacher's editions include reduced images of student textbook pages. Teacher's editions are available as either printed books or ebooks (in a proprietary format). Teacher's edition's are still needed as answer keys, and sometimes for other lesson resources. BJU Press is starting to publish Teacher Edition Companions for some courses that provide simplified lesson plans for homeschoolers.

Video Courses

BJU Press Homeschool Hub is an all-in-one homeschool solution. Daily video lessons are delivered to children by expert teachers. The newest versions of the video courses walk students through the lessons, drawing attention to key information and tying things together, not just parroting the text. Video instructors also direct students when to pause and read pages from a textbook or complete pages in an activity book.

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Subject Areas

Bible

The BJU Press Bible curriculum for junior and senior high school is well-written, purposeful, and easy to use. From the earliest grades, the curriculum integrates biblical principles and values into every subject, reinforcing a Christian worldview.

Reading and Language Arts

BJU Press begins reading instruction in kindergarten. The phonics program is contained within Beginnings K5 and Phonics and Reading 1. Beginnings K5 provides all that is needed for kindergarten, aside from math and Bible instruction. The goal of the K5 program is exposure to beginning concepts without pressure. BJU Press's Reading 1 correlates with their Phonics and English 1 to continue with language arts instruction for first grade. While there are a variety of informal activities in the K-1 Programs, they lean toward more formal learning than some more relaxed programs for homeschoolers.

Math

BJU Press's math program strives to help students develop an understanding of math with manipulatives and thought-provoking word problems. At upper levels, BJU Press math encourages children to think and analyze through well-designed word problems. The math program requires more direct teaching than do many other math programs, especially for high school level, but it does a good job of teaching both concepts and skills.

Science

Science books for first through fifth grades are more activity-oriented than traditional science texts. Junior high science texts (Life Science and Earth Science) are good courses that will work well in the homeschool. Higher-level texts assume the classroom environment for lab work and are increasingly difficult to use. However, BJU Press lab DVDs and lab kits are appropriate for homeschool use.

Handwriting

BJU Press uses a slant printing/handwriting system very similar to ScottForesman's D'Nealian that is very popular with some homeschoolers and teachers.

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Technology Solutions

Trove

Trove is the premier learning platform for teachers and students using BJU Press materials in school. Trove makes it easier than ever to find resources, build lesson plans, create assessments, and interact with students-all in an online format.

AfterSchoolHelp and Christian Classroom Online

BJU Press also offers additional technology solutions like AfterSchoolHelp and Christian Classroom Online to further support students and teachers.

Professional Development

BJU Press offers professional development resources designed to help educators make the best use of their materials. The updated BJU Press Professional Development site has been designed with educators in mind.

The Exchange Conference

The Exchange Conference exists to help educators make the best use of BJU Press materials. This annual event features numerous opportunities for both new and veteran teachers to examine and explore the various academic resources that BJU Press provides.

Considerations

Cost

The cost for BJU Press with physical books and full video access can be a significant investment. However, many parents find the comprehensive nature of the curriculum, along with the time and effort saved, to be worth the expense. Payment plan offers 0% interest on $350 or more.

Teaching Style

BJU Press requires more direct teaching than do many other math programs, especially for high school level. Families with only one or two grade levels to teach generally find they can make use of BJU Press texts and teacher's editions more easily than families with more grade levels to teach. The problem of getting through the large amount of material in the teacher's editions sometimes causes families to use only the texts or workbooks, thereby eliminating essential parts of many courses.

Hands-on learning

While BJU Press includes manipulatives and cut-out projects, it may not fully align with a Charlotte Mason approach that emphasizes nature walks and spontaneous learning.

Testimonials

Homeschooling parents have praised BJU Press for its academic rigor, biblical worldview, and engaging video lessons.

A homeschooling mom in Texas shared, “I have used the BJU Press homeschool curriculum and the Homeschool Hub for eight years with three of my four children, from preschool through 6th grade, and I couldn't be happier. The curriculum is flexible and works wonderfully as a springboard for learning. It provides my kids with a solid foundation in the basics yet leaves room for them to explore topics they’re excited about, allowing us to dive deeper when their curiosity is sparked. One unique feature I love is that the video teachers teach from a studio, so each child feels like the teacher is speaking directly to them, making learning more engaging and personal. The Homeschool Hub has also been invaluable-it's user-friendly, with new, helpful features added regularly, truly supporting our homeschooling journey. I highly recommend it to other homeschooling families!”
A homeschool mom from Maine stated, “We used BJU Press Homeschool materials for all our kids and couldn't be more pleased with the results. As a homeschool family, we were looking for a product that was engaging, academically challenging, and Bible-based. Over the years, I have reviewed numerous homeschool curricula, and I'm still convinced that BJU Press Homeschool is the best on the market! We are thankful!”
A homeschooling mom from Utah remarked, “From my first introduction to BJU Press curriculum as an elementary teacher, I was impressed with their high academic standards and the Godly worldview that is integrated into every subject. When my children were old enough to start homeschooling, I knew that this was the curriculum that would best help them to succeed academically as well as spiritually. We have enjoyed all of the hands-on activities that are provided to help reinforce learning, and lessons that can be geared to all learning types. We have recently started using distance learning online, and through this my children have access to knowledgeable, engaging teachers to go along with the exciting lessons with fun activities that the BJU Press curriculum already offers. With its excellent standards and a team of knowledgeable people to help guide my children, BJU Press curriculum is an answer to prayer!”

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