BJU Press Blog

distance learning

Our Distance Learning Teachers Have Quite the Character

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There wouldn’t be Distance Learning daily video lessons without our teachers. They’re the ones who generate the excitement, script the lessons, and bravely face the camera on recording days. How would you like to do all that? I didn’t think so—me either.

Sometimes because of all the seriousness of recording lessons, you only get to experience one side of these teachers’ multi-faceted personalities. So without further ado, let’s view a “different” side of three of our Distance Learning teachers.

Miss Jessica Ingersoll

As an elementary Distance Learning teacher, Miss Ingersoll enjoys many things, and near the top of the list is being your child’s teacher. Watch “Meet Our New Teacher” for some fun facts about Miss Ingersoll. See what similarities your child can relate to. You can view a sample daily video lesson for her courses at the links below.

Mr. Bill Harmon

As a secondary Distance Learning teacher, Mr. Harmon tackles the subjects your child (and you) might find difficult. His unique approach creates memories your family will never forget. Watch “Experiencing Chemistry with Dry Ice” for a sample of how he conducts scientific experiments on camera. And yes, in case you’re wondering, he’s this crazy off camera too! Take a look for yourself by viewing a sample daily video lesson for each of his courses at the links below.

Mrs. Debbie Overly & Distance Learning Families

Elementary Distance Learning teacher Mrs. Overly shares a funny anecdote about an early filming experience in “Homeschool Families Share About Distance Learning,” an interview style video from a homeschool convention. You’ll also hear from other homeschool parents and students about their experience with Distance Learning video lessons. Mrs. Overly is well known and loved by her students. She includes many demonstrations and hands-on activities in her daily video lessons to help your child learn. View a sample daily video lesson from each of her courses at the links below.

Your family has the opportunity to meet several different Distance Learning teachers and attend their workshop sessions at homeschool conventions this year. Follow our BJU Press Homeschool Facebook page for announcements about where the teachers will be, and sign up for our customer appreciation events.

How to Homeschool with an Infant Without Losing Your Mind

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baby girl with blue eyes

When my husband and I started homeschooling our oldest daughter last fall, we knew it was not going to be easy. I wondered if we were crazy—here I was, mother of three children under the age of seven trying to educate my oldest daughter, keep my five-year-old and toddler out of too much trouble, keep my house reasonably clean, and make sure my family had clean clothes to wear and food to eat. And to top it all off, I was pregnant with our fourth child and struggling with morning sickness for a good part of the day.

I was more than a little worried that our household would fall completely apart once the new baby came. And I wasn’t sure how or if we would get any homeschooling done. I pictured our family going into survival mode—and never coming out. Maybe some of you can relate.

But we did survive. Our fourth daughter arrived in the middle of December, and the transition was remarkably smooth. We did (and still do) have some rough days. But I learned some things along the way that I wanted to share. I hope these tips will be a blessing to you if you are facing a similar situation.

Planning Ahead Helps

Thankfully, I had many months to figure out how our family was going to make the transition. Since our little blessing was due in the middle of the homeschool year, we chose to start early (the first week of August) so that we would have ample time to take off if we needed to. Even though we haven’t had to take off nearly as many days as I thought we might, I’m really glad that we prepared for the possibility.

I also tried to minimize our commitments for the spring. We’re doing the basic subjects plus a weekly piano lesson—and no more. The lack of clutter on my calendar keeps the stress from creeping in.

I also took the time to plan out a basic daily schedule. Our schedule is not as tight or rigid as it used to be; I’ve learned that a little flexibility helps me not get overly stressed. Instead, we follow a flexible schedule and divide up our time into chunks. (Read more about this scheduling method from Kim at Not Consumed.)

Other People Can Help

Following the birth of my daughter, I had a lot of extra help. The fact that my daughter was born around the holidays meant that my husband had some time off. My parents and my in-laws also came to visit. They helped clean and cook and babysit. We chose to take advantage of the extra help and kept on homeschooling through those early transition days.

Distance Learning Can Help

Distance Learning is a big reason why homeschooling has gone so smoothly for us this year. My second grader watches Distance Learning daily video lessons for three subjects: science, English, and Bible. Because she can do these subjects almost completely independently, homeschooling doesn’t have to stop while I’m nursing the baby, fixing the toddler a snack, or starting a load of laundry. (You can learn more about BJU Press Distance Learning here.)

Homeschooling with small children and an infant is challenging. But it is doable and very rewarding. If this is what the Lord has called you to, He will enable you by showering you with wisdom, strength, and grace to meet the daily challenges you face.  And remember that you’re not alone! If you’re in need of a big dose of encouragement, check out some of my other posts.

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2017 Homeschool Catalog: Lower Retail Prices

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Our 2017 Homeschool Catalog is on its way to your mailbox. Every year I have so much excitement and pride about completing this catalog that my five-year-old daughter picks up on my excitement too. When I brought a copy home recently, she wanted to share it with everyone! Let me mention some of our favorite features.

New Lower and Simpler Prices

Instead of having a different price for each video lesson option, this year we’re offering a single price for each grade and subject kit. All BJU Press Distance Learning kits for grades 1–12 are $879 each. That’s $70 less for the DVD and hard drive options and $120 less for the online option. This news was my wife’s favorite part of the new catalog.

New Distance Learning Courses

We have all-new video lessons for nine courses. These are videos with condensed lessons, designed with your child in mind. Back in the fall, Bill Harmon previewed his chemistry course with a video on dry ice. One of our newest Distance Learning teachers, Michelle Jarrell, also showed a sample of file folder activities about heritage studies for second graders in this video. You can watch sample video lessons from all our new courses on YouTube:

New Flexibility for Bible and Foreign Language Courses

Our research shows that families handle Bible in various family-oriented ways. So we’re removing Bible courses from the grade-level kits and dramatically reducing the price to $49. Now families can choose the Bible course that works best for them.

We’ve also taken the foreign language courses (now only $79 each) out of the grade-level kits to allow the same flexibility. This way your child can start learning a language when it works best for him.

See the Bible courses and foreign language courses from Distance Learning.

New Textbooks

The six new textbooks for 2017 all have fantastic artwork. The connections between God’s Word and the subject content were also strengthened. Learn more about each textbook by clicking on these links:

New Testing Section

We used to have a separate catalog for our standardized testing services, but now we’ve consolidated them into this single homeschool catalog for easy viewing!

New Lab Kits

This year we’re offering Logos Science Kits, prepackaged kits with all the supplies you need, for our grades 7–12 science subjects. The kits make gathering supplies for labs simple so that you can focus on hands-on learning. There are enough supplies in each kit for four students. So just one kit will supply my entire “student body” of four (when all my daughters get into high school!).

We pray that each of our products will help you give your children an excellent biblical worldview education. Have a great school year!

Why Distance Learning Is Perfect for Learning Spanish

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When I was in school, my experience in my foreign-language class was not so great. I didn’t feel like my teacher knew the language well or how to teach it. Even though she did her best, I discovered when I got to college that I was behind the other students in my class. I didn’t enjoy the subject and was frustrated because I had a lot of catching up to do. I want a better foreign-language experience for my kids, and I’m sure you do too. Our Distance Learning courses for Spanish can make that happen.

Spanish Is Important

The United States now has more Spanish speakers than any other nation except Mexico, and the number of Spanish speakers is expected to increase dramatically in the near future. Getting a foundation in Spanish at a young age has never been more important. Learning Spanish can open the door to a new world of employment and ministry opportunities. Consider other benefits of studying a foreign language.

Spanish Can Be Scary

I won’t beat around the bush. Teaching Spanish can be hard, especially if you (like most parents) aren’t fluent in the language. And knowing the right way to say things can be difficult even if you are. This could be one of those times when it’s best to delegate the teaching of a particular subject to an expert. And who has more expertise than a native Spanish speaker who also has a strong teaching background?

Meet Mrs. Kuhlewind

Let me introduce our newest Spanish teacher, Mrs. Aida  Kuhlewind. Originally from Venezuela, where her parents are missionaries, she is a fluent speaker of Spanish and has first-hand experience with Hispanic culture. She’s also an accomplished Christian teacher. Señora Kuhlewind teaches our new Spanish 2 Distance Learning course. When we asked her about the course, she couldn’t stop talking about her goal of getting kids to love using Spanish so much that they want to use it outside of their academic course.

Inviting Mrs. Kuhlewind into your home means your kids will learn not just the language, but also about Spanish-speaking countries, their culture, and history. It’s like taking a field trip right in your living room. Your kids will love the lessons, and you’ll be confident they’ll be ready for advanced Spanish.

Ready to get started? Check out Spanish 1 with Señor Cancino.

Interested in Spanish 2? Check out the video below to see Mrs. Kuhlewind in action.

Mrs. Walker’s Secrets to Unforgettable Teaching

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Phony and fake or true and genuine—kids can spot it a mile away. That’s why Mrs. Walker puts more than the usual preparation into her Distance Learning video lessons. She knows that most elementary-aged students don’t watch her math, reading, heritage studies, and English video lessons because they just love those subjects. There has to be something more to motivate them to learn. Here are three ways she does that in her teaching.

The “Hook”

Now this idea might sound scary if you know the story of Peter Pan, but with Mrs. Walker you have nothing to fear. Her “hook” is used to help your child make a connection. As she prepares lessons for a subject, Mrs. Walker asks herself, “What can my student relate to?” Teaching the lesson this way means that sometimes Mrs. Walker seems to go off topic, but she’s really using her hook to help your child build a bridge of understanding. She provides encouragement along the way, pausing to speak directly to your child so that he can think independently and draw connections.

Dinner Nugget

No, Mrs. Walker isn’t talking about something to eat even though she would probably love to have an excuse to make chicken nuggets on camera. What Mrs. Walker means is a nugget of information your child might share at the family meal. She does this by including in her lessons personal stories, such as the time she went skydiving (yes, really!) and various interesting facts as in this Math 2 video lesson, which introduces the baobab tree. You won’t have long to wait before your child says, “Guess what Mrs. Walker told me today!”

End on a Giggle

Learning is a great big challenge for your child at times, especially when he is just beginning to learn to read. But Mrs. Walker wants to teach him that learning is also fun. She tries to end almost every lesson on a positive note—most often with an amusing comment or story that causes a giggle to escape from your child’s mouth. (Just watch him and see!) It’s Mrs. Walker’s goal to use humor as a way to encourage your child to keep coming back to learn more.

By the time your child completes a Distance Learning course with Mrs. Walker, he’ll consider her more than just a teacher. She’ll be a true friend.

See Mrs. Walker in action with Reading 5—a favorite course for her Distance Learning students!