Last year I realized I needed to change the way I homeschooled my kids. Besides a few co-op classes for extra-curricular subjects, I had been teaching all of my children, all of their cores subjects on my own for over 10 years. I just couldn’t find the time or the energy to homeschool four children while caring for two rambunctious, noisy little boys this time around.
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I decided to look into online classes and DVD programs for some of my kids. I chose DVD programs for two of my children. I purchased Abeka Academy for my 4th grader and BJU Press Distance Learning for my 2nd grader.
Both Abeka and BJU Press offer video instruction for Kindergarten through 12th grade from a Christian perspective but they also have some differences as well. Watch my full comparison review here or continue reading to get a quick look at the similarities and differences between these two programs.
What’s the Same
- Both are Christian based
- Both offer DVD or online streaming options
- DVDs are leased and must be returned but all other materials are yours to keep
- All the instruction needed is on the videos
- Parent acts as a facilitator and grades assignments
What Are the Differences
- BJU Press Distance Learning gives you the option of purchasing subjects individually. ABeka Academy does not.
- Abeka’s videos are recorded in a real classroom with actual students although the teacher does address “the students watching”.
- BJU Press is a teacher talking directly to your student while using various means to keep the lessons engaging.
- Abeka Academy’s videos provide lots of drill and review to help children memorize facts.
- BJU Press materials and videos help kids think critically about what they are learning.
- Abeka includes religious content throughout their curriculum (videos, textbooks and workbooks).
- BJU Press takes it one step further and teaches all the subjects from a Christian worldview, encouraging students to hold everything they learn up to the truth of God’s Word.
Watch My Full Curriculum Review
Last year I recorded this video sharing my family’s experience using Abeka Academy and BJU Press Distance Learning. Watch the video for a full curriculum review comparing these two video programs for homeschoolers.
Thank you for this comparison. We have used BJU for probably 90% of our curriculum. This year has been a challenge, just trying to find time in the day for working through curriculum with every child. I have been thinking about using BJU’s distance learning next year for my oldest.
If you enjoy the BJU curriculum, I think you will really enjoy the Distance Learning instruction. The videos add more so much more interest and additional information and explanation. 🙂
Thank you for this! I stumbled across this while trying to figure out the best solution to some issues we were having with our 9 year old. I love Abeka and the content is of excellent quality but she really struggled with the pace of the video instruction and was extremely distracted and thrown off kilter by the classroom setting with Abeka. She is on the autism spectrum and listening to other children race to shout out answers was anxiety producing and overstimulated her quite a bit. I watched several of your videos on YouTube and ordered BJU for grade 3 right away and we couldn’t be happier. The more relaxed approach and one on one video format is working so much better for us! There is an overall more relaxed feel. Both Abeka and BJU are excellent as far as scope and sequence is concerned but if your child doesn’t thrive in a classroom setting, the Abeka video instruction may not be the best fit. If your child enjoys a slightly competitive and fast paced setting they may do much better with Abeka vs BJU. This is why I love homeschooling…the ability to change something if there are issues. Thank you again for all of the helpful information you put out there for us homeschooling families.
This has been so helpful, thank you!
I am a first time homeschool mom – my kids have gone to a private Christian school until recently. I wasn’t sure where to begin or what to do so on a recommendation we chose ABEKA knowing full well that the Christian school my kids went to used BJU. We are in our second week of using ABEKA and I am finding it to be extremely stressful, tedious and time consuming on my part. We are using the accredited version and I find I am still doing a lot of the work with my kids. We start at 8am and usually do not finish until 6:30-7pm It is exhausting and my kids are starting to resent this experience. I have tried to reach out to ABEKA to no avail. I am wondering if i should have just stuck to BJU. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank You
Hi Ellie,
I am so sorry to hear that your experience with homeschooling has been so exhausting. Doing school from 8am to 7pm is NOT necessary and not beneficial to your children. Whatever curriculum you use, you should adjust the workload and assignments to make it manageable for your kids. There is a lot of busy work with Abeka that is not needed. That being said, there is also work with BJU press that is not needed for every child also. I adjust the BJU Press video lessons and assignments to better fit my kids and skip lessons they already know. The problem you might face is that you signed up for the accredited option with Abeka and they probably have requirements on what your kids need to finish.
My first suggestion would be to find out what your children are required to do with the accredited option of Abeka and do the minimum needed so you can minimize their workload and time doing school work. It sounds like you have tried to reach out to them with no success which is unfortunate. You can also consider doing Abeka on your own (without the accredited option) so you can adjust your kids workload to their needs and not to someone else’s standards. I’m sure the Abeka curriculum was a huge investment for your family. Perhaps you can make it work by making changes to how your kids use it (again this may not be possible with the accredited version).
I don’t know the ages/grades of your kids but kindergarten/1st grade should only take an hour. Rest of elementary grades should take no more than 4 hours. Middle school and high school are around 4 to 6 depending on the rigor of the courses being taken. I hope this helps.
I am curious if you do the accredited programs for homeschool? I will be a first time homeschool parent. My oldest attends public school and my middle starts Kindergarten this fall. I’m just a little overwhelmed by so much and even in thinking of homeschooling. Without knowing how long I will homeschool them, do you think using an accredited program is worth it?
I have never used an accredited program but I know they can be helpful for some families. Remember though, that even if you homeschool for awhile and then choose to put your kids back in a traditional, each school (including public schools) have their own requirements for what school work will transfer over to their school. Just because a program is accredited doesn’t necessarily mean a public or private school will accept it. It is best to learn what your local schools require and will transfer over (especially for high school level work). And make sure to visit HSLDA to learn what the legal requirements for homeschooling are in your state. https://hslda.org/
Hi Janelle,
Do you think it’s would be an easy transition switching from Abeka to BJU? I plan on using Abeka for 1st grade but then I would like to switch over her over in 2nd grade… thoughts?
Abeka and BJU are very similar and easy to switch from one to the other. You should be fine doing Abeka in 1st grade and then switching to BJU in 2nd grade.
Do you preferred Abeka or BJU for teaching Phonics rules and reading?
Between Abeka and BJU, I think Abeka does a better job teaching phonics. However, I prefer the Orton-Gillingham method of phonics which is used in curriculum like Spell to Write and Read, All About Reading/Spelling, and Logic of English.
My son has been with Abeka Academy for his elementary years. He is gifted in math and science and wants to study engineering. He will be entering 6th grade next year. I am currently using BJU for my kindergartener. She is thriving. We will be staying with BJU until graduation for her. My son said he wants to switch to “his sisters school” because the videos are made for the student and not in a class setting.
However, I’m scared to make the switch now because I feel wherever we start middle and high school we should stay through graduation.
Would you consider the BJU high school just as college prep as Abeka Academy? We are definitely interested in dual Enrollment and just want to makes he’s college ready.
Would love feedback on the high school.
Thank you and I appreciate the comparison video you made. It’s very helpful for parents like me.
Abeka and BJU Press are very comparable in terms of academic excellence and preparing kids for college. The middle school years are a great time to try out a new curriculum and if it doesn’t end up being a good fit, you can switch back to Abeka in high school. Hope that helps.