Bob Jones University Homeschooling

By Valorie Delp

Mother homeschooling daughter at dining table

Bob Jones University homeschooling is a household name in Christian homeschooling circles. Not only are they a full service supplier of homeschooling textbooks, but they also have a variety of other services including testing options and online classes.

Just What Is Bob Jones University Homeschooling?

Most people associate BJU with the traditional textbook approach and rightly so. From the earliest days in kindergarten all the way through high school, BJU offers textbook curriculum. Aside from being a full service textbook provider, there are several distinctives to Bob Jones University homeschooling.

Difficult to Find Subjects

Many people turn to BJU for a complete grade by grade curriculum for some of the more difficult to find subjects like art, music appreciation, or foreign languages. Originally, BJU publishing started as a service to Christian schools and consequently, you can find numerous subjects that you'd find at your local Christian school.

Distinctively Fundamentalist Christian

Bob Jones University homeschooling is unabashedly a fundamentalist Christian curriculum and you will find that woven not only throughout the textbooks but also within the scope and sequence with semesters dedicated to studying various aspects of church history. Some people who do not share fundamentalist Christian views have a difficult time with the language of BJU materials.

Full Service

With BJU, you can be on your own or you can use their services such as testing, and distance learning. If you choose, you can even have BJU keep transcripts for you. If you live in a state where a transcript is required, this is an extra plus as it makes record keeping much easier.

Testing Services

With BJU, you can also order testing materials to see where your child falls on nationally standardized norms. In order to test your own child, you need to have a bachelor's degree and fill out a short application.

More on BJU Distance Learning Options

Another reason that many Christian homeschoolers choose to work with BJU is because they offer distance learning and video courses. This makes it easier to teach subjects that you are not familiar with. It can also help your child learn more independently or simply from another teacher.

The Hard Drive

Relatively unique in homeschooling BJU offers a hard drive option. You pay a one time fee for the year and they send you a hard drive with all of their textbooks and teacher supports. You have to have Windows XP or Windows Vista. Then you simply plug in the hard drive into your USB port. The hard drive even keeps track of which lessons you've completed. Homeschooling doesn't get much easier. The hard drive is available from grades one through 8.

DVD

BJU advertises this as their most portable option. Many parents enjoy having the lessons on DVD, especially for high school topics. In grades K-6 the DVD set is available as a complete grade level set. In 7th to 12th grade, BJU DVDs are available as either separate courses or a complete grade level set. This means that if you're using another curriculum but just want that one difficult to teach subject covered on DVD you can order it through BJU. In fact, many parents opt to do this during the high school years.

By Satellite

You could consider this more of an umbrella school option as your child will essentially be "attending school" within the comfort of your home. In many ways, this is an excellent option for a child who may not be homeschooling permanently but is home due to illness or extenuating circumstances. Taught by credentialed teachers, satellite courses are available online for a subscription fee.