BJU Press Blog

curriculum

Make Your Kindergarten Curriculum Work for You

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KindergartenStructure

Quite a few homeschoolers attend my church. Several months ago, I had nursery duty with three other homeschool moms. The topic of conversation? Homeschool curriculum. Even in that small group, everyone had an opinion about what curriculum worked best for certain types of learners.

There are a lot of curriculum choices out there, and each of them has different strengths. My school-age daughters have both used the BJU Press curriculum. My oldest daughter has used it for K4, K5, and first grade; and my middle daughter has used it for K4. They have very different learning styles, but one of the strengths of BJU Press curriculum is its flexibility.

The curriculum isn’t designed for one type of learner—it’s designed for all types of learners. In a lot of ways, the BJU Press curriculum is like a roadmap—the objective is the same for everyone, but you get to choose where you stop along the way and how long you linger at each place. Below are two examples of how you can customize the BJU Press kindergarten curriculum to fit your child’s needs. I’ve chosen to focus here on the kindergarten curriculum since I’ve had one child use it already and another child who will use it this fall.

Customizing Your Lessons

One way you can make BJU Press’s kindergarten curriculum work for you is by customizing individual lessons to fit the learning style of your child. You don’t have to do everything the Teacher’s Edition suggests. For example, the K5 curriculum includes a lot of songs that are designed to help kindergarteners remember challenging concepts (such as the difference between the hour hand and the minute hand on a clock).

My oldest daughter doesn’t remember songs well—the Lord hasn’t gifted her with that ability. I would have probably skipped over that part of the lesson. However, since my middle daughter loves music and singing really helps her learn, we will probably sing every song in the book multiple times.

Making Use of Optional Activities

Another way you can make BJU Press’s kindergarten curriculum work for you is by using some of the optional activities in the Teacher’s Resource CD to provide extra practice for your child if he or she is struggling with a concept. For example, BJU Press Math K5  introduces kindergarteners to the concept of fractions by teaching parts of a whole.

If my middle daughter struggles to understand that concept, I could pull out the Teacher’s Resource CD that’s attached to the inside back cover of the Teacher’s Edition. This CD contains an entire section of extended activities that are organized by chapter. Since I know that my daughter is a very kinesthetic learner, we would probably play the shape matching game that is explained in chapter 13.

You as the parent/teacher know your child best; you know your child’s strengths and weaknesses. So take advantage of the flexibility of the BJU Press curriculum and customize it to meet your child’s learning needs.

6 Homeschool Moms Review BJU Press Homeschool Curriculum

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Are you excited about the homeschool convention season? I am! It’s a great time to reconnect with homeschool families and curriculum vendors that come every year. Sometimes there’s just as much picture sharing going on as there is curriculum shopping.

Haven’t decided if you’re going? Read my friend Megan’s post about 5 reasons why you should attend a homeschool convention.

If you’re thinking about making a curriculum switch for this next year or are just starting out homeschooling, stop by our convention booth! There will be veteran homeschool moms who are willing to offer practical tips and share insights about BJU Press homeschool curriculum.

If you’d like to get a head start on reviewing BJU Press curriculum, see what these homeschool moms have to say about our materials. These reviews are the real deal.

BJU Press Curriculum Review by 6 homeschool moms

Distance Learning

This year, MaryEllen from Imperfect Homemaker is using the Bible Truths 3 Distance Learning Online individual subject kit and offers “7 Reasons We’re Using a Video Class for Homeschool Bible.”

English Language Arts

Jamie from The Unlikely Homeschool gives a short answer as well as the long-story-short version of why her family switches from A Beka Language to BJU Press English in grade 3.

Katie from Paradise Praises gives her curriculum picks for 2015–16 and shares what she likes about BJU Press Phonics & English 1. Her family is also using our spelling curriculum.

Kim from Not Consumed explains what makes BJU Press Reading one of her top picks for beginning readers. She also shares why her curriculum choices have included BJU Press English, Reading, and Handwriting.

Science

Marci from The Homeschool Scientist shares an overview and benefits of BJU Press Chemistry.

Know someone who’s used BJU Press and written about their experience? Share the link in a comment.

How to Make Sense of Math

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Growing up, I didn’t like math. The subject became slightly more enjoyable for me when I got to “play” with the math manipulatives. Shapes were for making art mosaics. Paper money facilitated a pretend shopping spree to the bookstore. And Unifix cubes were (and still are!) just plain awesome for making patterns or sculptures.

You see, I was the homeschooled child who was unwilling to memorize number facts or equations unless I knew the reason why. Using manipulatives gave me a better understanding of the concepts being introduced in BJU Press Math. Instead of trying to calculate abstract numbers in my head, I was able to associate the equation with a concrete object.

A good math curriculum links concepts with tangible elements that visually demonstrate the problem.

BJU Press Math manipulative place value mat

Place Value Mat

Take, for instance, the concept of renaming in subtraction. How can a child understand that adding ten to the next place value (such as the tens or ones place) allows her to accurately find the answer? Using a place value kit with ones, tens, and hundreds reinforces the mental calculation of an equation using the senses of sight, touch, and sound (if she counts aloud).

Watch the first five minutes of this Math 2 Distance Learning sample lesson video with Mrs. Walker to see how a place value mat aids learning.

Build Understanding over Memory

Building number sense through this hands-on learning experience allows your child to understand how a problem is solved and not just memorize a formula to get an answer. Teaching what math feels and looks like by using manipulatives builds a true understanding of the subject. This fun math “playing” helped to develop my number sense without my even knowing it, and other children can benefit from this same experience.

The BJU Press Elementary Math curriculum introduces new concepts using manipulatives. Beginning with a tangible demonstration of math concepts builds your child’s understanding so that she can solve problems when those concepts are presented on paper. The goal is to develop her thinking skills so that she can be a lifelong problem solver because knowing how math applies to everyday life prepares your child for success in the role God has planned for her.

Today, math isn’t my favorite subject, but I do credit my ability to understand and solve real-life math equations in the kitchen, at the office, or at the store to my hands-on learning experiences as a child. Yes, math manipulatives are that foundational.

Which math manipulatives do your kids enjoy the most?

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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 our BJU Press Distance Learning. 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!”