BJU Press History vs Sonlight History // Which is best for you?

If you’ve been researching homeschool curriculum, chances are you’ve heard of both BJU Press and Sonlight. We've used BJU Press History curriculum for the past 3 years, and this year I had the chance to try Sonlight’s History/Bible/Literature for the first time.
I’m giving you a peek at each one and showing a bit of a comparison between the two, so you can learn more and make the best choice for your homeschool.
Have any questions about BJU Press or Sonlight homeschool curriculum? Leave a comment below!
RESOURCES FROM THIS VIDEO
📖 BJU Press Curriculum - www.bjupresshomeschooling.com...
BLOG POST (learn even MORE about Sonlight HBL): blessedhomeschool.com/sonligh...
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Hey there! I’m Sara, and I’m a teacher-turned-homeschooling mom to 4 kiddos (including a set of twins!). I balance homeschooling while working full-time from home, and am so thankful you are here.
I love sharing about homeschooling on my blog, Blessed Homeschool, where you’ll find tips, resources, and curriculum reviews. Whether you are a newbie or a veteran, I hope you will leave inspired and equipped with what you find.
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[@dr.kimberlyminickdc9765]

OMGoodness. I was sold on NOT Sonlight with your "box reveal". My son does not love reading, so this typical, classical model of education presents a HUGE challenge. While I love the *idea* of the intense integration, I love the idea of my son(s-- there are 3, but 2 in high school) loving to learn a little more. I think we could do like half of that number of books, but "if I buy it I want to use it" mentality is still strong. Traditional all the way for us! Thanks for this!!

[@blessedhomeschool]

Absolutely!! I’m so glad it was helpful! (And always happy to meet another fellow “traditional” homeschooler 😊).

[@kathleencambio1788]

Great overview and comparison! You answered so many questions that I had! Thank you so much!

[@blessedhomeschool]

You’re so welcome! I’m glad it was helpful!

[@kiras7874]

Such a great review/comparison of these two curriculums. Very helpful! Thank you for sharing.

[@blessedhomeschool]

I’m glad it was helpful!

[@AwakeMyBones]

Thank you for this video! Very detailed! Just the information I was looking for!

[@blessedhomeschool]

I’m so glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@hollyrivers9955]

Thank you. This was a great compare! I found it so helpful as I’m deciding on history this year.

[@blessedhomeschool]

I’m so glad! Thank you for watching!

[@emmareads734]

I am considering Sonlight for next year and hadn’t thought about how Bible is separate and not intertwined in the history component much. Thank you for pointing that out!

[@blessedhomeschool]

Absolutely! Still a lot I love about the curriculum, but it's important to consider. Thank you for watching!

[@emmareads734]

@@blessedhomeschool exactly! Sonlight still looks great, just something to consider.

[@sheralysvelez3384]

Thank you for this review! This is exactly what I needed!🌟 I’ve been looking into both of these curriculums for our 2023-2024 homeschool year for our history and can finally make a decision based on this awesome review! We also do history, bible and science as group subjects. Thanks for taking the time to be so thorough!! 💖

[@blessedhomeschool]

I’m so glad! Thank you for watching!

[@deborahismarried-fyi8678]

Thank you for explaining so thoroughly the differences in curriculums. Blessings.

[@Lilzippity]

My daughter 5th grade enjoys history LOVES BJU history via videos! We do the worksheets, quizzes & test. We also do classical studies with other curriculm providers. Not that testing is the end all but l she score off the chart using BJU mixed with classical (Latin, classical studies & added literature) . She dances 20 hours a week tennis & co-op. We are timed disciplined and have no issues getting the work load done. The videos helped me when we were homeschooling four children at different academic levels.

[@blessedhomeschool]

Yes, the videos are such a big help when juggling multiple kiddos!! That's a big reason we began using BJU Press when my littlest was born

[@TheChan7]

Thanks for this. So helpful. Does sonlight offer coloring pages for the younger students? Wondering how I would incorporate our younger kids-kindergarten and 3rd grades.

[@blessedhomeschool]

Thank you for watching! There are no coloring pages, so that might be something you’d have to supplement if you choose a HBL program. Sonlight does recommend (in general) that one program would work for all kids if they are within about 3 years of each other. Hope this helps!

[@TheChan7]

@@blessedhomeschool thanks for the helpful info. I really want to try sonlight but it’s a tricky decision since I have 3-12 year olds. And sonlight has so much reading. Not sure if our youngest ones (or I) will be able to handle me reading for so long.

[@blessedhomeschool]

It is a LOT of reading…good reading, but a lot! Have you looked into My Father’s World at all and their family cycle option?

[@TheChan7]

@@blessedhomeschool limboing about MFW but I actually heard from a friend that MFW is a bit drier. And our family is behind on American history. I’m seeing bigger families use biblioplan these days but want something more living book. We’ll see.

[@danahall1282]

So what are you going to be using next year?

[@blessedhomeschool]

We used My Father’s World for our K-2nd grade years, and BJU Press (mostly) for 3rd-5th…next year we are going to go back to MFW because I really wanted to do their Exploring Countries and Cultures curriculum! And although I had no big issues with BJU Press language arts, this year we used them for English, Reading, Spelling and Handwriting, which was a LOT for our schedule. I’m going to be trying Learning Language Arts Through Literature for a more integrated approach…it will be new for us, so I’m curious to see how it will go 😂

[@angelarogers3137]

I love BJU

[@blessedhomeschool]

Yes! An amazing company all-around!

[@lylianmunoz3856]

amazingly smart review. Im looking into Notgrass vs BJU as I have loved BJU last year but my creative daughter said it was super boring. Im afraid Notgrass might not be a solid enough book. Any plans to review Notgrass??

[@blessedhomeschool]

I am not familiar with Notgrass, although I have heard good things about it! I’ll have to see about doing a review. I have a few friends using Mystery of History this year and they are loving it so far - have you looked into that as an option?

[@blessedhomeschool]

Also, thank you for watching!!

[@lylianmunoz3856]

@@blessedhomeschool never heard of it but im on my way to ck it out...tha ks again

[@sarahsmith5077]

We have used Notgrass twice. The first time my girls thought it was SO boring! I waited 2 years and we are doing American History course. It is ok. It has timeline, map work, student activity book, optional-literature read aloud book, all Charlotte Mason stuff. The textbook is a lot of reading which is traditional. Girls love the student activity book. But, they are kinda bored. The love history and using in twice, I probably want use it again. My oldest likes to move fast and she has expressed doing BJU again just because she loves worksheets and being independent. Plus she loves the teachers. It’s hard, because I do like doing history, science, and Bible together…but my oldest who is going into 6th grade…she is just very advanced and moves so much faster than her sister who is 9. And Sonlight we have used as well. It’s too much reading for us and too scripted. I like some of the readers or read alouds with Sonlight. But, I do not need to do the curriculum to get the books :-)

[@lylianmunoz3856]

​@@sarahsmith5077thanks for sharing...Notgrass has felt a bit boring to my kids, just not very creative...same thing on almost every lesson...no hands on activities so we dont do all worksheets and now I use History pockets and/or other crafts to jazz it up. The content of Notgrass is very nice and I like it but its very extensive and comprehensive which takes its good time. Still looking 😅

[@AlishaGarciax]

Hi sara. Me again. Lol 😆 So ive been hearing a lot of DLO. What exactly is that? I can assume what it is but you only skinmed on it in the video.

[@blessedhomeschool]

DLO is “Distance Learning Online”, and it’s an option from BJU Press! We used BJU Press curriculum for about 3 years.

[@gabrielasantana1844]

Hands down the best review on homeschool curriculum thank you SO much! To the point and so descriptive you helped me make my choice for my sons first year of school 🥹🤍

[@blessedhomeschool]

Well thank you for the kind words - you just made my day!! So glad it was helpful! Would love to know what you decided to go with!

[@gabrielasantana1844]

@@blessedhomeschool I went with BJU! Currently ordering 🤍 I have a kindergartener so I think all the books from sonlight might be a little overwhelming if he can’t even read yet and struggles a bit

[@blessedhomeschool]

@gabrielasantana1844 I hope you have a wonderful year with your little one! BJU Press is such a great company 💜.