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.

Start here:

We’ve Updated Our Distance Learning Ordering Process!

by

Here’s some exciting news about Distance Learning! We’ve streamlined our online ordering process to make purchasing the Distance Learning courses you need quick and easy.

screen shot of bjupresshomeschool.com Grade 1 Online with Books product page

Finding a Course

It’s so easy to find the products. To order any Distance Learning product, just go to Distance Learning and select either the grade or the subject you’re looking for. (The Distance Learning link is also located on bjupresshomeschool.com in the menu at the top.)

Learning About Your Options

The layout of the product pages lets you see all the information at a glance. At the top there’s a picture of what’s included. Just below the picture are sample videos for the grade or subject you’re viewing.

Want to know more? Click the Details, Contents, or Instructor tab located just above the sample videos to get answers to questions you may have about the course.

If you’d like to order the course without books or you need it on DVDs or a Hard Drive (available for Grades 1–8), you can select those choices from the Other Distance Learning Options box to the right of the sample videos.

For some upper-level grade kits, you can choose to include a foreign language course at no extra cost.

For Grades 1–12 (in the Online or DVD format), you can substitute up to two courses (from Grade 1 or above) up or down two grade levels by clicking on Customize my kit. For example, if your child is ahead in math, you can order Grade 1 Distance Learning Online, but substitute Grade 2 Math for Grade 1 Math.

Ordering Your Selection

Once you’ve decided what you would like to order, simply click the Add to Cart button to the right of the product picture.

As part of the checkout process, you’ll need to agree to the terms. Online classes also have a student registration process that sets everything up for access to the online courses.

Check out our Distance Learning courses on bjupresshomeschool.com, and choose the ones that are just right for your kids!

BJU Press Blog Anniversary!

by

It’s time to celebrate our blog’s first-year anniversary. If you’ve just discovered it, we hope you will take some time to explore the treasure trove of resources, ideas, and encouragement we have to offer.

image of a cake with one candle in it repersenting BJU Press blog's one year anniversary

The following have been some of our most popular blog posts:

  • Apples for My Teachers by Eileen
    “To all my teachers—you would probably be surprised how often I still think of you. Now that I’m a teacher too, I realize how much I learned from you.”
  • Count Your Blessings by Meredith
    “I hope you enjoy making these crafts. Making placemats was one of my favorite activities to do while growing up.”
  • Create—Communicate—Illustrate from BJU Press
    “An integral part of our products is the art our employees create to further communicate the meaning of the text that our authors write.”
  • Overwhelmed by Megan
    “It’s moments like these that help me realize how much I need help—not a cleaning service or a babysitter or a caterer but divine help.”

We’ve got more great content planned for this coming year.

For those of you who already follow our blog, you may have noticed some changes we’ve made to the blog such as the header image, trying different types of content, links in the writer section, and different font sizes. As we continue to develop our blog, we’d like to hear your opinions.

What do you like best about the blog?

Thank you for partnering with us in Christian education. We hope our blog will be an encouragement to you in the year ahead.

Who Is Involved in BJU Press Distance Learning?

by

Every one of our Distance Learning courses is tailor-made with your student in mind. As we create these courses, each step is planned out, prayed over, and pieced together by a skilled team of people who are committed to the task of providing a quality Christian education to the next generation. Over the next few weeks, we would like to share with you how we develop our Distance Learning courses. We will focus this “virtual tour” on answering three specific questions—who is involved, what roles are assigned, and where does everything come together?

Who is involved?

  • Scene Shop Team—develops the sets for the courses and segments
  • Writer Associates—write scripts for special segments
  • Drama Associates—produce special segments needed to communicate certain concepts
  • Teachers—design the daily lessons and present them
  • Assistants—create PowerPoint® visuals, procure media, and design handouts
  • Make-Up Associates—prepare actors and teachers for filming
  • Video Specialists—record and edit segments and lessons
  • Quality Control Team—checks each video file for various issues ranging from spelling mistakes to technical errors
  • Product Support Team—creates master DVDs and master Hard Drives for distribution
  • Support Material Team—compiles Video Lesson Guides and Student Handouts materials
  • Online Team—uploads lessons, materials, and instructions to BJU Press Online

image of behind the scenes at the BJU Press Distance Learning set design studio.

What roles are assigned?

To best answer this question, we asked several people to talk about their roles.

Phil—Scene Shop Team Member

How would you describe your role?

My main job is to find or make whatever props are needed for any given lesson. I do primarily 3-D construction of props, so on any given day I might be carving or sculpting something from foam and then painting it. I also help with the design and construction of the teaching/special segment sets.

What do you think is the best part of Distance Learning, and why?

The variety that we are able to offer these students—not just quality, individualized teaching, but the educational and yet entertaining special segments that are produced. That’s something that no classroom teacher and certainly no homeschool parent using just textbooks can offer.

image of BJU Press Distance Learning math prop.

Melissa—Head Drama Associate

How would you describe your role?

I’m responsible for coordinating all the individuals and departments involved in creating the special video clips that go into our lessons—as well as training other drama associates to do the same.

What excites you about including biblical worldview, sound education, and joy of learning into your projects?

What other distance learning product [that has this level of] academic excellence [presented from] a biblical worldview also provides such incredible resources to the student? We bring in guest experts; we dramatize complex concepts to maximize understanding for all types of learners. There are no other teachers that I’m aware of that could possibly put as many hours into teaching one lesson, as many resources into teaching one concept, as our teachers do.

 

Collage of BJU Press Distance Learning warehouse storage and clothing

Check back next week and meet a Distance Learning teacher, a video specialist, and a production manager!

Redeeming Our Time Here on Earth

by

About half a mile from my house is a large cemetery. Every once in a while, my family will walk down there and explore. I have always found it interesting to read the epitaphs on the headstones. Some identify the person—“Beloved wife and mother.” Some describe the person’s character—“Faithful follower of Jesus.” However, it’s sobering to read the names and dates. I have a very common last name: Davis. There are dozens of Davises buried in that cemetery near our home. Some of them even share the names of my husband and children. Some of those Davises died in infancy. Some died in old age.

I always tend to have morbid thoughts after a walk through the cemetery. Sometimes I think about how I would respond if I had a child buried there. Or I think about what someone would write on my tombstone. Would I be remembered as “beloved” or “faithful”? Most frequently, however, I think about the fact that I only have so much time here on earth. If the Lord tarries, I am going to die someday—just like everyone else.

image of a clock on a desk

The Bible often reminds us that our life is like a “vapor” (James 4:14). We are admonished to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16). If you are like me, your days probably seem like an endless repetition of laundry, meals, dishes, schoolwork, and childcare. You probably feel like you couldn’t possibly add one more thing to your to-do list without passing out.

One way we can redeem our time is to prioritize and focus on what really matters. Christ stated that the two greatest commandments were to love God and to love others (Matthew 22:36–40). That’s a good starting point. For me, the loving God part includes things like making time for my daily Bible reading and prayer and for church services and ministries. And the loving others part includes things like teaching my children (not only academic things but also spiritual things), and fulfilling my husband’s priorities for the day. Some days, prioritization may mean that the newest issue of my favorite magazine sits unopened, that I don’t get to work on a craft or project, or that my house is not quite as clean as I would like it to be. And that’s okay.

We only get so many hours in a day, so let’s use them well. If you don’t know how to best use them, ask the Lord for help. He promises to give wisdom to those who ask in faith!

How do you “redeem” the hours in your day?

Organize Your Files in Two Steps

by

WP-Organize-Files-1-2015

How much time do you spend looking for information that you know you have somewhere? What if you could get to any piece of information quickly? If you organize your electronic files, you can quickly and easily find what you’re looking for later.

1. Use a sorting system.

Since this is a series focused on technology, I will explain how to use the filing system on your computer. One key idea in organizing files is to avoid as many “trips” as possible. When organizing things on the computer, keep everything in two main folders (subfolders are allowed).

Put unsorted items in one temporary folder. This is for things like an article you download or a file you’re using temporarily. You could also use it for anything you don’t know where to file right when you receive it.  Then, regularly go through and move each file to its proper location or delete it, as appropriate. If you already know how you want to file something, don’t put it in the inbox folder, save it directly to the correct folder in your sorted location (see step 2). To move a file, you can click on it and drag it over to another folder.

Whether you have a PC or a Mac computer, you can use the Downloads folder that’s already on your computer as your inbox. Whenever you download a file from the Internet, it will typically go into that folder anyway, so it works well as a place to keep your unsorted files.

  • You can find the folder on a PC by clicking on the Start button and then on Computer, or click the file folder icon at the bottom of your screen on the taskbar (which opens Windows® Explorer to show you your files). You should then see Downloads at the top left of the window that opened under Favorites.
  •  On a Mac computer, opening Finder (the blue-face icon on the toolbar at the bottom of your screen) will allow you to see the Downloads folder on the left toolbar.

2. Know where to store files.

Files on the computer are stored in what is called a folder tree. It works a little differently from physical folders because it allows you to easily place folders inside other folders. To organize your files, use the Documents folder that comes preinstalled on your computer. You might be tempted to use your Desktop, but that is not really a good place to organize files. You have a limited amount of space on the screen, and just like with your physical desk, if you have a lot of things on it, you may have a hard time finding something you use regularly. It also adds another place to look for files you need to back up. Instead, use shortcuts on your desktop for files or even folders you use daily or very frequently. It’s easy to make a shortcut:

  • On a PC, right-click on the file or folder you want to have on your desktop, and choose Send to and then Desktop (create shortcut). You should now have a shortcut on your desktop.
  •  On a Mac computer, click on the file or folder while holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and choose Make Alias. This will create a file just below the item with “.alias” at the end of the name. Click on that new alias file and drag it over to your desktop.

3. Organize files in the right place.

For organizing files in your Documents folder, you can create folders that match the way you think about your files. For example, if your files change every school year, then you could create a folder called 2015 School Year and then create subfolders in that folder for different subjects.

  • On a PC, once you are looking at your files in Windows® Explorer, you can right-click on a blank space around your files and select New and then Folder. You will then have an opportunity to name the folder. You can move files into the folder by clicking and dragging them over to that folder.
  •  On a Mac computer, once you are looking at your files in Finder, you can click on the gear icon at the top and select New Folder. You can name the folder and put files in it by dragging them over to that folder. By keeping all of your important files in your Documents folder, you have only one place to look when you need to find something.

Now that you know how to organize your files, check back on the last Friday of next month to find out how to use some of the electronic resources available to you as part of the BJU Press curriculum!

Microsoft, Encarta, MSN, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Mac is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

If you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

• • • • •

Andrew enjoys helping others use technology in a way that glorifies God. He and his wife help with the children’s ministries at their church. Along with their three sons, they like to read together about other people’s adventures and then go out and have their own.