A detailed, real‑life look from a former classroom teacher and homeschool mom of six
For the past two years, our older kids have used the BJU Press Homeschool Online curriculum kit with textbooks as the backbone of their homeschool program. As a former certified classroom teacher and principal, I came into homeschooling with a pretty clear sense of what I wanted from the curriculum: strong instruction, thoughtful structure, and resources that help my kids grow in independence instead of relying on me for every step. BJU’s Grade 5 program has been a big part of how we have done that, and in this review I want to walk you through what it actually looks like in our home.
I also filmed a full video review where I flip through the books, show our spirals, and talk through more of the pros and cons in real time. If you are deciding whether this curriculum is right for your family, I highly recommend watching the YouTube review alongside this post so you can see everything up close.
A Little Background Before the Review
Before I stepped into homeschooling, I spent over a decade in education. I taught second and fourth grade in a traditional classroom setting, covering all subjects. I taught fifth grade math and science, held certification from early childhood through sixth grade, and had an English Language Arts endorsement for sixth through eighth grade. Later, I became principal certified as well. All of that shaped my expectations for the curriculum at home. I am drawn to programs that offer clear, incremental teaching, strong academic content, and built‑in ways to assess how a child is actually doing.
That is part of what initially drew me to BJU Press Homeschool Online for Grade 6. It combines pre‑recorded teacher‑led lessons with physical textbooks and consumable workbooks, and it runs through a central online hub where my kids can see their lessons and track their own progress.
How BJU Press Homeschool Online Grade 5 Works Day to Day
Everything runs through BJU’s Homeschool Hub. When my sixth graders log in, they see their subjects and daily lessons laid out by day: Day 1, Day 2, all the way through the school year. For each subject, the lesson page tells them exactly what to do. They start by watching a pre‑recorded video taught by a BJU instructor who speaks directly to the camera as if they are working one‑on‑one with the student. While they listen, they open their workbook or textbook and follow along with guided practice, then move into independent practice, and sometimes finish with a separate assignment after the video is over.
After each task, they can check off a box inside the hub so they know the lesson is fully complete. The lessons are not live, which I actually appreciate in this season. The flexibility of pre‑recorded lessons means my kids can move at their own pace within the structure of the day, pausing to reread directions, rewinding if they missed something, or taking a short break when needed. Another thing I genuinely like is that my kids have a different teacher for each subject. The variety of voices and teaching styles keeps the day from feeling flat or repetitive.
On my side, the Homeschool Hub lets me see how each child is doing at a glance. I can open their gradebook, see scores from quizzes and tests, check which assignments are completed, and monitor their average in each subject. For fifth grade and up, many quizzes and tests are auto‑graded inside the platform, which saves me a significant amount of time, especially with multiple children using the program.
What Comes in the Grade 6 Curriculum Kit
When you order the Grade 5 online curriculum with textbooks, you receive access to the online lessons plus a full set of physical materials for each subject. For our sixth graders, that included Bible, math, science, heritage studies, reading, spelling, handwriting, and language arts components that are woven into the reading and writing work. Each of the content‑heavy subjects, like science, reading, and heritage studies, comes with a textbook and a consumable workbook. Subjects like spelling and handwriting are entirely workbook‑based.
The workbooks are consumable, so this is not a curriculum you will reuse as‑is with another child unless you purchase an additional workbook. My kids write directly in them, tear out pages as they go, and generally use them hard through the year. I did not purchase a printed teacher’s edition for every subject. Instead, I relied on the student materials, online lessons, and digital teacher resources available through the hub. For us, that combination was enough to navigate the year without feeling lost.
How I Organized the Materials for Multiple Kids
One thing you quickly learn with a full kit is that organization matters. Between textbooks, workbooks, tests, and handouts, things can get overwhelming without a system. What worked well for us was dividing each subject into quarters. I looked at how many lessons there were in a subject and split the workbook pages roughly into four sections. Then I tore out the pages for Quarter 1, combined them with that quarter’s quizzes, tests, study guides, and any extra handouts, and spiraled everything into a single notebook for that subject.
I repeated this process for each subject. Bible, heritage studies, science, spelling, math, and so on. That meant my sixth graders were not juggling a huge textbook, a separate workbook, and loose tests for every lesson. Instead, they had a neat, subject‑specific spiral for the quarter that held everything they needed in sequential order. When the Homeschool Hub told them, “Today you need workbook page 155 and a memory verse quiz,” both were already right there in their spiral. That setup gave them a cleaner workspace, helped them track their progress in each subject, and made it easier for me to stay on top of grading and feedback.
Bible, Spelling, and Reading: What Stood Out
The Bible curriculum felt thoughtful and intentional. My kids were not only reading passages but also engaging with them through questions, written responses, character traits, and review sections. The consumable Bible workbook covered the entire academic year, and because everything was in one place, it was easy to tear out lessons, organize memory-verse quizzes, and track our progress. I appreciated that the Bible was not treated as an add‑on; it had structure, assessments, and clear progression.
Spelling followed a weekly rhythm that made sense to me as both a teacher and a mom. Each week began with a word list and a pretest, moved into days of word study, practice activities, and proofreading, and then wrapped up with a practice test and final test. It was more than simple memorization. My kids were looking at word meanings, patterns, and usage, which built their vocabulary and writing skills along the way.
Reading may have been one of my favorite parts of the Grade 5 program. The reading textbook was full of a variety of genres and passages, fiction, nonfiction, historical pieces, and more, with illustrations and layouts that kept my kids engaged. On top of that, they received novels to read as part of the course. Some were read in partnership with the video teacher during the school year, and others were positioned more like a guided summer‑reading opportunity at the end of the course. The workbook pages are tied directly to the reading selections, with graphic organizers, comprehension questions, skill practice, and study guides for upcoming tests. I liked that the reading program encouraged both breadth and depth: short texts for specific skills and longer works for sustained reading.
Heritage Studies, Science, and Math
Heritage Studies served as our history and social studies component. The textbook was rich with maps, timelines, stories, and historical context, while the workbook helped my kids process what they were learning through questions, written responses, and activities. Study guides at the end of each unit became a simple but powerful tool. I often had my kids complete the guide to check their understanding. If they struggled on the study guide, we went back and reviewed before moving on to the test. Having those guides built in saved me a lot of time that I would otherwise have spent creating my own review materials.
Science followed a similar format, with a textbook and workbook that covered topics through explanation, visuals, and practice. There were also suggested experiments and hands‑on activities. I loved the idea of these, but I will be honest: in a season where we were juggling eight subjects a day and multiple grade levels, it was not always possible to set up every lab. My kids still benefited from the video demonstrations and discussions presented by the online teacher, but I do wish I had been able to integrate more of the experiments in a consistent, family‑style way.
Math used a consumable workbook with structured lessons, guided practice, and independent practice. Each unit wrapped up with a cumulative review that pulled together the major skills from that chapter. Those reviews were extremely helpful. They showed both my kids and me how well the concepts had settled before we moved on, and they revealed where we needed to slow down or spiral skills back into our routine.
How the Homeschool Hub Built Independence
One of the unexpected gifts of using BJU Press Homeschool Online for Grade 5 was the way it helped my kids grow in self‑management. Each day, when they logged in to the Homeschool Hub, they could see exactly what they needed to accomplish, watch their lessons, complete pages, and check items off as they went. The platform showed them their current average grade in each subject, so they were not guessing how they were doing.
For quizzes and tests, especially in the upper grades, the system handled much of the grading automatically. In our home, my preference was for them to take the quiz on paper first, in their spiral, and then transfer their answers to the online platform. That way, the system graded the quiz, and I still had a physical copy to look over. When I reviewed a quiz, I could see which questions they missed, compare their work to the key, and make notes directly on their paper. The platform also linked questions to specific page numbers in the textbook, making it easy to point them to exactly where they needed to review.
If a score came back lower than we hoped, I had the option to grant a retake, allowing my child to take the quiz again after more review. I appreciated that blend of structure and flexibility. The grading was clear and consistent, but I also had room to support mastery rather than treating every test as a one‑shot event.
What I Loved and Where It Stretched Us
The biggest strengths of the Grade 6 BJU Press Homeschool Online curriculum for our family were its completeness, clarity, and academic depth. I never felt like I had to scramble to invent lessons from scratch. Every subject came with a full year planned out, from Day 1 to the last lesson, including reviews, quizzes, tests, and in many cases, projects and rubrics. The variety of teachers kept my kids engaged, and the Hub gave them a sense of ownership and responsibility over their own progress.
The challenges mostly came down to volume and logistics. With the complete kit, my sixth graders had eight subjects a day, which can be a lot in certain seasons. There were days when we had to make judgment calls about what to trim or shift to keep our homeschool rhythm healthy. Hands‑on projects and experiments, especially in science and heritage studies, required more preparation than I always had capacity for while managing multiple grades and little ones. I also think parents who prefer minimal screen time or a very open, interest‑led approach might find BJU’s structure more formal than they are looking for.
For our family, BJU Press Homeschool Online Grade 6 has been a strong, academically rich framework in this stage of our homeschool journey. It has given my kids access to excellent instruction and given me tools to track their learning without having to carry the entire load alone. As we look ahead to future years, we will continue to adjust and customize, but I am grateful for how this program has served as a solid foundation.
If you are considering this curriculum, I encourage you to read this review and then watch my full YouTube video where I show the books, spirals, and Homeschool Hub in action. Seeing it laid out visually can really help you decide if it fits your family’s needs and season.
Gervase Ware is a homeschool mom of six, educator, and motherhood and lifestyle creator who shares real-life homeschool routines, curriculum reviews, family systems, and trusted resources for intentional living at GervaseWare.com.
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