BJU Press Blog

Simplified Homeschool

You know that organization is the key to a smooth homeschool day. We share tips on planning your time and lessons as well as advice from other homeschool parents. There are also highlights from our Distance Learning daily video-lesson program, which is designed to simplify your homeschool.

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How One Homeschool Mom Managed Her Roles

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WP-tablet-for-DL-12-2015Do you feel overwhelmed with the myriad of things that you have to do? That feeling comes over all of us now and then; but if you’re a busy homeschool parent, you’re probably more familiar with it than most.

Eujeana, a homeschool mom who shared her story on the Hip Homeschool Moms blog, explains how overwhelmed she felt and how a complete homeschool curriculum helped her educate her four kids effectively. She describes the sheer quantity of work that she faced.

There are about eight subjects in the elementary grades, so that was thirty-two subjects I was supposed to teach each day! Really? No way could I do that successfully and still have dinner on the table and other household management tasks accomplished. Using a complete curriculum with a distance learning program not only helped me to teach the subjects my children needed, but it also allowed me to give my children a rigorous education and still give them time to be children!

In her search for a solution, Eujeana discovered the concept of a complete homeschooling currirculum, specifically with BJU Press. With this program, she found that she could get involved with her kids’ education while also enjoying some flexibility. Lesson plans were already taken care of, so Eujeana could clean the house, create her shopping list, cook her family’s meals, and do all the other things a mom has to accomplish each day.

Homeschool moms like you have multiple full-time jobs. You wear the hats of mother, wife, household manager, and teacher for multiple grades. If you’re feeling too busy and overwhelmed, it’s possible to find relief through a comprehensive homeschool curriculum that does some of the paperwork, planning, and instruction for you. Look for a program that doesn’t take over your homeschool, but supports you with lesson plans, activity ideas, suggestions, and video lessons. Check out Eujeana’s full article, “Traditional, Boxed, Complete Homeschooling Curriculum and How It Worked for Us!”

Making Homeschool Easier

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When you think about how to describe homeschooling, what words come to mind? Most parents probably think of words such as love, joy, knowledge, and fun to describe the interactions and bonds that are shared with their children. But I’ve noticed that the words easy and simple generally aren’t associated with homeschooling.

mom sitting at computer working on paperwork

Parents who have homeschooled know that grading, organizing lesson plans, and keeping track of student records can be a stressful, time-consuming process. What if I told you that there was a way you could effectively manage teaching lessons, grading tests, constructing lesson plans, and organizing gradebooks? It’s hard to believe, but BJU Press Online Learning makes all this possible . . . and more!

Online Learning delivers a high-quality biblical worldview education by providing daily video lessons for your child that can be watched from a web browser on almost any device. Expert teachers with years of experience teach fun and interesting lessons that your child can work through individually. Most textbooks, tests, and quizzes are easily accessed from the same simple login. Quizzes and tests are accessed online and are graded instantly, saving you valuable time that can be spent on the important things. Gradebooks and records are conveniently stored digitally, ready to be accessed anytime. It’s like having your own digital teacher’s aide right in your home.

The school day begins when your child logs into our simple web interface. He can see the next available lesson and is able to work through it on his own at his own pace. Many of our customers who use online learning have several children learning at once. One or all of your kids can work independently while Mom or Dad works with the others, makes dinner, or works from home.

Later while the children are playing or after bedtime, you can access the content to see how they’re doing. The answers for most assignments are available right on the lesson screen, so you don’t have to flip through pages to find answers. If you disagree with how the system graded the test question or want to add an additional assignment, no problem. The system is flexible and designed with the parent in mind.

Still in Control

You, the parent are still in direct control of your child’s education. You’re able to customize the program to meet the academic needs of your child.

To learn more about BJU Press Online Learning, please visit our homeschool website.

Three Benefits My Family Received from BJU Press Online Learning

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My whole world changed when Dad accepted a new job on the other side of the country. It was the middle of the academic year, and I had just turned seven. This move meant a new Christian school, a new teacher, new classmates, and even a new curriculum. It was all pretty traumatic.

I’m sure my parents had some concerns of their own: Would Meredith’s academic training measure up to the standards of this new Christian school? What support would her new teacher be able to provide? How would she fit in with her new classmates?

My experience with the new Christian school wasn’t bad, but by the end of the school year, Mom and Dad had decided it was best for my academic training to take place at home. Homeschooling quickly became a new challenge that Mom and I faced together on a daily basis.

mom and daughter sitting on couch and using a computer

As I think back on it, Mom probably had a hard time directing my focus to more scholarly pursuits when I declared that art and recess were my favorite subjects. (However, my love for reading may have helped to alleviate this difficulty.)

We each had one more concern. I wanted to know who I would find to play with since I had few friends in our new city and no siblings at home; Mom wondered if she was qualified to teach since her degree wasn’t in education.

In the years that followed, we both found the answer to our concerns. I spent my “recess times” pedaling over every square inch of a nearby park with neighborhood friends. Mom found support and encouragement through other homeschool moms, conferences, her sisters (both education majors), and BJU Press HomeSat.

BJU Press HomeSat (now called BJU Press Online Learning) served as the backbone of my education and benefited my family in three specific ways.

A Tailored Learning Program

Every day, I watched BJU Press video lessons for certain subjects, and my mom taught me the remaining subjects. This approach allowed Mom to choose the best educational materials to complement my learning style subject-by-subject.

A Daily “Break”

It also gave both of us a “break.” I enjoyed learning from different teachers who addressed me as their audience (a single student). The visual elements (including specially filmed segments) and hands-on activities that each teacher completed with me made the lessons understandable and enjoyable. As I watched the lessons, Mom focused on other responsibilities. This “free time” allowed her to be more effective in her roles as a wife, mother, friend, and teacher. Dad also enjoyed these benefits especially when the result was eating one of his favorite meals for dinner!

A Sound Christian Education

Another benefit that I’m only now able to recognize is the fact that Dad and Mom chose to use BJU Press Online Learning as a tool to make sure no gaps would exist in my education. They saw the importance of filtering academic subjects through a biblical worldview but at the same time were unwilling to compromise my future academic success. Their foresight in choosing BJU Press Online Learning as well as their guidance enabled me to excel in my studies and to reach my goals.

Today I’m proud to say that BJU Press still offers Online Learning to homeschooling families. In fact, the content (grouped by individual subjects or grade kits) is now offered online or on DVD. You can learn more about BJU Press Online Learning on our homeschool website.

What’s your BJU Press Online Learning story?

Encouraging the Weary Homeschool Mom

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tea cup with tea bag and dustpan in the background

On a faraway mission field in a land of hardened hearts, my mother labored day after day to teach my siblings and me all the things we would need to know for a successful, Christ-focused life. Through bitterly cold autumns and long, frozen winters, she pressed on, certain of her mission. Now and then there was a desperate note in her voice during morning prayer and a heavy sigh or two as she balanced housework with lesson plans. Notes, calls, or visits from friends always lifted her spirits, giving her the boost she needed to keep going.

Somewhere near you, there’s a homeschool mom with that hint of desperation in her eyes, that weary slump to her shoulders. There’s a worn-out young mother who has only just begun to teach her babies the ABC’s. With encouraging words, a simple gift, or a few hours of your time, you can be the hand of God to your homeschooling sisters in Christ, helping them through a time in their lives that is as exhausting as it is joyful.

1. Offer Your Help

When your friend who homeschools gets that weary look in her eye, get creative with offers of help. Maybe you can take that stack of books back to the library for her, and while you are there, pick up some new books that suit the family’s reading philosophy and fit the reading levels of the children. After assuring her that her house and yard look amazing, you may tactfully offer to pitch in with bathroom cleaning, vacuuming, weeding, raking, or anything else that she needs.

2. Give Her a Treat

Like many other moms, I wake up to tiny hands pulling at my legs, constant demands for explanations and help from the older child, and a house that seems to grow ever-deepening piles of laundry and stacks of dishes. Amid all the things that I do for everyone else, I often forget to care for myself. The same is true of young moms and homeschool moms the world over. A visit from a friend, who comes bearing a cup of specialty coffee or a box of soothing herbal tea, may make the difference between a bad day and a blessed one. If your budget allows, offer your friend a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure or a full spa day.

3. Schedule a Field Trip

If the two of you are close friends, offer to take her children out for the day on an educational field trip. If you both homeschool, the setting should be one that works for both sets of children, given their ages and any special needs. The zoo, a local farm, a museum, or a nature preserve are all excellent options. While you and the munchkins are out, your friend can clean and organize the house─or stay in her pajamas in bed with a good book, enjoying a much-needed day off.

4. Combine Classes

If a field trip is not an option because of weather, location, or other factors, consider combining your families for a joint homeschool class. For something new, try the one-room-schoolhouse style with everyone in the same room, from the tiny learners to the older ones. Special topics and hands-on learning games make the experience even more fun. It may not be relaxing, but the change of pace will refresh you and your homeschooling friend and give you the opportunity to understand each other’s burdens a little better.

5. Support Her with Words

Tell her that you believe in what she’s doing. Whether your family chose to homeschool or not, tell her that you support her God-given passion to educate her little ones at home. Tell her again, in different words. Tell her in writing. Tell her with a homeschool mom mug, and then with a tote bag, and then with an e-card that simply says, “I’m praying for you today.” She needs to hear it often from those she loves and trusts.

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Rebecca is a work-at-home freelance writer, novelist, wife, and the mom of two bright-eyed little ones. She credits her success in writing and her love of books to her own mom, who homeschooled three kids from pre-K through high school.

Above the Storm

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billowy clouds in the blue sky

I was aboard a small jet, flying home. On the ground far beneath us were thunderstorms. But above the clouds, the plane was flying through one of the most peaceful, beautiful worlds I’ve ever seen. The clouds spread out in a panorama of white beneath the plane like a blanket of snow. Some clouds towered up like mounds of cotton-candy all around us. The sun’s rays slanted across the billowy masses, turning portions of clouds to pink and gold. I felt as if I were traveling through a fantasy world, a world so soft and still that nothing could ever trouble it. Looking at those clouds from above, no one would ever guess that storms were going on down below them.

This is where I’m supposed to live all the time, I realized. Above the pressures of life, in a world where God’s presence shines on the clouds and where His peace rules.

I pondered that thought as we jetted on through the white, fluffy wonderland. Why is it so hard to live above the daily grind? Why is my vision so easily clouded by the storms of doubt, worry, and frustration with everyday problems? Why do I often live beneath the dark, gray undersides of the clouds instead of up here where I see them as soft, shining pillows on which to lay my head?

There’s a sense in which we choose which side of the clouds we see. We choose the dark underside when we forget to pray. Philippians 4:6–9 reminds us that in order to have God’s peace protect our hearts and minds, we have to come into His shining presence. We have to come with thanksgiving. We have to bring our specific requests to Him instead of succumbing to worry. And then we have to consciously choose to dwell on what is beautiful and true.

I don’t seem to need any help seeing the gray clouds swollen with rain in my sky. But I know I desperately need God’s help to obey, to trust, to love Him with all my mind, and to continually choose the world above the clouds.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Philippians 4:6–9)