Abeka vs BJU Press Homeschool
The main differences
Both sell a full year of textbooks and worktexts for each grade from the preschool years to 12th grade, with teacher materials for the parent and the option of recorded video teachers instead. Abeka's parent kit gives 170 days of written lesson plans, and its video program uses DVDs or streaming that must be returned at the end of the period. BJU Press can sell its video courses with or without the printed books, and its online kits let a single subject move up or down a grade. A 3rd grade kit was over $1,000 at both.
| Abeka | BJU Press Homeschool | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography | All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography |
| Grades | Pre-K (K4) to 12th grade | K3 (preschool) to 12th grade |
| Method | Traditional | Traditional |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Faith-based | Faith-based |
| Cost a year | $1,094.05. 3rd grade child kit (26 items: textbooks, readers, workbooks and quiz and test books) plus the essential parent kit (lesson plans, teaching charts, answer keys): $1,094.05 on sale today, list price $1,215.55. | $1,037.10. Grade 3 complete grade textbook kit (all student and teacher materials for social studies, English, math, science, reading, spelling and handwriting): $1,037.10. The grade 3 online video kit is $1,149 with printed books, or $979 without them. |
| Placement | None on the publisher's site | None on the publisher's site |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A parent who wants a complete, school-style year in one order, with the lesson plans written out and the option of video teachers later. | A parent who wants a full, textbook-based year with detailed teacher editions, and the option to hand some or all subjects to video teachers. |
| It doesn't fit | A family on a tight budget, or one that wants a child-led pace, living books or project-based learning instead of textbooks and tests. | A family looking for a low-cost year, or one that prefers living books or a child-led approach to textbooks, worktexts and tests. |
Abeka
Abeka sells a full set of textbooks, readers and workbooks for each grade from pre-K (K4) to 12th grade, covering language arts, reading, arithmetic, history and science. In the parent-led option the child works from a child kit of books and test booklets while the parent teaches from a parent kit with 170 days of lesson plans and answer keys. Abeka Academy pairs the same books with a year of recorded video lessons on streaming or DVD, for a higher price.
Does well: A full grade comes as one kit with every textbook, reader, workbook and test booklet the child needs for the core subjects.
Watch for: One grade with the parent kit costs over $1,000 even on sale, and the video option costs more again.
BJU Press Homeschool
BJU Press sells a full curriculum for each grade from K3 to 12th grade, covering reading, English, spelling, handwriting, math, science and social studies. A parent-led grade kit holds the student textbooks and worktexts plus teacher editions that guide the parent through each lesson. The same courses can be bought as prerecorded video lessons, streamed on the Homeschool Hub or on DVD, with or without the printed books.
Does well: A complete grade kit holds all the student and teacher materials for the core subjects, so the year is one order.
Watch for: A grade 3 kit costs over $1,000 whether you choose the textbooks or the video lessons.
Lists with both
- Homeschool all-in-one curricula 22
- Faith-based homeschool curricula 22
- Traditional homeschool curricula 24
- Homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 48
- Homeschool curricula for middle school 51
- Homeschool curricula for high school 38
- Print homeschool curricula 44
- Homeschool curricula over $600 a year 10
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared