As I mentioned in a previous post, I use First Language Lessons to teach first and second grade language. Once my oldest son hit third grade, I started using Bob Jones English (BJU Press).
What initially drew me to this curriculum is its combination of writing and grammar, alternately, throughout the book. I wanted to teach both of those skills and felt the variety would be good to keep the student motivated.
The book is easy to use. Each lesson starts with a small instructional part. Following that, there are guided practices on the first page and independent practices on the second page. With this layout, my son is able to do his English fairly independently at times – which is always helpful!
I purchase my English through Christian Liberty Press. It is more economical, basically because CLP produces its own teacher’s version for the book. Their teacher’s edition is compact and simple.
At this point, I am only planning to use Bob Jones English through 6th grade. I used the 9th grade level for my niece when we first took her in, and that turned me off from the higher grades. The 9th grade level was very tedious with little instruction, in my humble opinion.
My next review will cover mathematics. If you have any questions about the curriculum I am reviewing or curriculum, in general, leave a question here in the comments section or on my Facebook page. I will try to keep my eyes open for it!
This post is linked to The Homeschool Curriculum Review Round-Up.
I really liked using Bob Jones materials for many subjects at various points in our homeschooling days. We also purchased a lot of their biographies and fiction books. They had a book club catalog or something for those, I think.
ReplyDeleteHi there, just out of interest what do you intend doing for 6th grade upwards?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what the difference in the CLP teaching manual is compared to the original BJU press one? Do you know?
Thank you, Sherid
Hi Sherid! Actually, I am still figuring that out this summer. ;-) I did use "Daily Grams" for my son this past year for 7th grade. I am hoping to turn his English over to writing and literature curriculum that will include the grammar. I believe the CLP teaching manual is simpler than the BJU. It is their own version, so you are not actually buying a BJU teacher's edition book. It is a small, stapled handbook, per se. Hope this helps! Feel free to email me if you have more questions! thecozynookblog at gmail dot com
DeleteI have been using BJU for my primary (elementary) grades. my oldest is in grade 6 now, and I am looking forward to the upcoming grades, which makes seeing your thoughts on the higher grades interesting to me. Would you be willing you further elaborate on your experience with the grade 9 BJU please?
ReplyDeleteHi Jen. We used the 9th grade BJU English a handful of years ago when we took our niece into our home. For me, it was hard to follow. Of course, my oldest was only 7 years old at the time, so perhaps it was partly because I had not worked my way through the curriculum yet. The BJU 9th grade English was very intense on the grammar level, and the little amount of information in the Teacher's Manual left me confused oftentimes (and I graduated with a B.A. in English! :-) ). If you'd like to discuss further, you can email me at thecozynookblog at gmail dot com. Blessings!
DeleteHi there! I also used FLL first and second and am considering BJU for third. Did you find the transition from FLL to BJU third grade to be a smooth one? Where there any gaps? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, Michelle! The transition was smooth. I didn't feel like there were any gaps at all. I hope it works well for you also. Blessings!
DeleteI was wondering how you liked the CLP teachers book to go with BJU english?
ReplyDeleteHi Jess. I like the CLP teacher's book. It is mostly an answer book, but does have some more guide for the writing sections particularly.
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