Desperate for advice on math programs...PLEASE read/respond! TIA!

[sheryl]

OK, I just posted a reply to a math thread. This was going to be my “related†question in my own separate thread.

 

My 10 ½ y odd has always used Saxon math K to finishing up 5/4. She has add/adhd issues. That means 2 things: she doesn’t focus well AND she may be hyper sometimes.

 

She has always done well with Saxon until recently.

 

Saxon is spiral which means the topics are presented in “increments†(small chunks) of info. There are pros and cons. The pro is smaller chunks of topics will retain her interest because we jump from one topic to another. HOWEVER, that can turn into a con because spiral does NOT teach mastery and if we’re always hopping then she has NOT mastered the concept.

 

I’d like a combination of spiral and mastery. Is there such a program which teaches using BOTH METHODS? In addition of both methods, I’d like a program that is written to challenge the child to “understand the whys†to the questions and working/solving their math problems….not just memorize facts and gain answer that way.

 

ANY SUGGESTIONS DESPERATELY NEEDED!!

Thanks in advance.

Sheryl

<><

[Verity]

I am a fan of Math U See and am using it successfully with my ADD kids. Each week has one lesson that we view on a dvd, it uses manipulatives that help you to see the concept in concrete terms. Then the student workbook comes with six worksheet pages per lesson. The first three worksheets are only the new topic then the last three include the new topic and review. You can get additional worksheets to print from their website for further practice. The concept of MUS is to learn to mastery and I think this makes more since than a purely spiral approach.

[PeterPan]

Well as much as I'd like to help you with your math or say that changing programs will help, I have to say that this age (10+) is about the most fun. You have hormones flying, crying jags, increasing opinions, etc., etc. etc., etc.... In other words, it might not be just the math. Take a mental health week and do something different. See how things are when you come back. We took our mental health week last week, and it did us a world of good. I had fun workbooks of puns, math puzzles you solve and color, that sort of thing. A week of that and we're much more focused and back on track. Try it. It's February, and you have a pre-teen. It can't hurt. :)

[Melissa in CA]

Well, having used several years of Saxon with my older two boys, and finding how much we truly HATE incremental math, I can completely understand your frustration.

 

Saxon, in my opinion, is not spiral...it is incremental. A great spiral that we are currently using is CLE. I just asked my ds yesterday if he is still enjoying CLE and he said a resounding, "yes." He said that he is finally feeling comfortable with math because of the constant review of previously learned concepts. It keeps things fresh and helps him not forget. Now, though we love CLE right now, it is not what I would call a mastery program, though it is helping my son master math.

 

Before CLE we used BJU. Now, BJU is definitely more mastery. You learn concepts (and build on said concepts) per chapter. But BJU is not what I would call spiral...at least not daily spiral (though I used the older editions, the newer editions, I believe, are adding in daily review). At the end of each chapter there is a review section that contains previous concepts, so you do get your review there, but it's not, I don't believe, what would formally be called a spiral math. I hope that makes sense. BJU is not mastery in the sense of MUS, but not necessarily a total spiral program either...it's somewhat of a mix of the two. It's a great math curriculum. I wouldn't at all hesitate in recommending it to you. And yes, BJU definitely teaches the whys....but you'll have to use the TM and teach it. They "whys" are not found in the student text.

 

Now MUS is definitely mastery, with very little review of previous concepts. I used it one year and felt we lost too much ground in math. Had zero desire to continue in it. It's not for everyone, but many children thrive on it. With an ADD/ADhD child, it's definitely worth a look-see. ;)

Edited February 10, 2010 by Melissa in CA

[ELaurie]

we love Professor B Math!

 

It does an excellent job of explaining the "whys" of Math. It's a mastery approach. It's computer based, so drills can be done orally, which reduces the amount of written work for children (like mine) who feel stressed by too much written work, or constantly need to be on the move (or both :tongue_smilie:)

 

I keep a running list of topics I feel they need to go back and review from time to time, and simply have them do a couple of review problems in addition to their regular work each day.

 

A link is in my signature line. Let me know if you have other questions about Professor B Math :)

[Surfside Academy]

Now MUS is definitely mastery, with very little review of previous concepts.

 

 

I have to respectfully disagree with this. We've been using MUS from the very beginning and my oldest is now at the Delta level. Yes, it is a mastery program but there is quite a bit of review. The first 3 lessons all pertain to the new material and the remaining 3 pages/lesson are review. Even though he's currently working on division, he'll have long addition problems, subtraction, multiple digit multiplication, conversions, etc.

[MIch elle]

at clp.org - look at the samples AND the scope & sequence charts (teacher support materials).

[Melissa in CA]

I have to respectfully disagree with this. We've been using MUS from the very beginning and my oldest is now at the Delta level. Yes, it is a mastery program but there is quite a bit of review. The first 3 lessons all pertain to the new material and the remaining 3 pages/lesson are review. Even though he's currently working on division, he'll have long addition problems, subtraction, multiple digit multiplication, conversions, etc.

 

I didn't say no review, I said very little. ;) Three lessons of review a week may sound meaty, but we did not at all find it so. The review was quite narrow in scope, and very simple. And if I remember correctly, much of the review was of the concepts in the previous three pages...not three entire pages of cumulative review problems.

 

My ds used Gamma in 3rd and lost A LOT of math ground coming from Abeka in K-2nd. In my opinion, compared to other programs I have used over the years (Abeka, MMM, Miquon, Singapore, Saxon, BJU and now CLE) MUS is/was just too easy and is the only math program, besides Saxon, that I regret using. Math should not be too hard, but it should at least make my ds think. When he could finish his math each day in less than 20 minutes, and practically do it blindfolded without much thought at all....I would say it's too easy.

 

Now, having said that, perhaps the basic higher levels get much harder. My older boys did use the MUS Geometry though, and quite honestly, it was a wash too. So, either I have very intelligent math students (NOT!) or MUS is just too easy for some students. I don't know. :confused: So many use it and love it, and I truly wanted to love it too. I was disappointed to be so disappointed in it. It must just be me and mine though, because rarely does one hear bad things about MUS. In fact, I always regret saying anything...as if I am committing the most horrendous of crimes. :lol::D

 

So, just ignore me. Most do.;):D

[anotherbrother]

I also agree with Math U See. I think it's a great mastery program. If you wanted to keep her interest you could also try some of the Singapore Math Workbooks / Textbooks. Another program I've looked into is Teaching Textbooks, however it isn't available for a Mac on the level that I needed it.

 

Good Luck

[homeschoolally]

We ran into the same issue with our ADD child with Saxon. He has really done well with the switch to CLE. It has the spiral approach we need without as much overkill as Saxon. The fact that he can work in a workbook has also made a huge difference for him. He often spent more time copying problems from Saxon than he did actually working them.

[sheryl]

Well, having used several years of Saxon with my older two boys, and finding how much we truly HATE incremental math, I can completely understand your frustration.

 

Saxon, in my opinion, is not spiral...it is incremental. A great spiral that we are currently using is CLE. I just asked my ds yesterday if he is still enjoying CLE and he said a resounding, "yes." He said that he is finally feeling comfortable with math because of the constant review of previously learned concepts. It keeps things fresh and helps him not forget. Now, though we love CLE right now, it is not what I would call a mastery program, though it is helping my son master math.

 

Before CLE we used BJU. Now, BJU is definitely more mastery. You learn concepts (and build on said concepts) per chapter. But BJU is not what I would call spiral...at least not daily spiral (though I used the older editions, the newer editions, I believe, are adding in daily review). At the end of each chapter there is a review section that contains previous concepts, so you do get your review there, but it's not, I don't believe, what would formally be called a spiral math. I hope that makes sense. BJU is not mastery in the sense of MUS, but not necessarily a total spiral program either...it's somewhat of a mix of the two. It's a great math curriculum. I wouldn't at all hesitate in recommending it to you. And yes, BJU definitely teaches the whys....but you'll have to use the TM and teach it. They "whys" are not found in the student text.

 

Now MUS is definitely mastery, with very little review of previous concepts. I used it one year and felt we lost too much ground in math. Had zero desire to continue in it. It's not for everyone, but many children thrive on it. With an ADD/ADhD child, it's definitely worth a look-see. ;)

 

 

Melissa, HELP! Please explain to me, guess I'm getting this wrong, the difference b/t incremental and spiral then!!! What is the teaching method, goals behind each? How do each work? My questions are redundant...understand now I don' understand the difference (I thought a website referred to them in the same sentenc so I assumed they were the same) :confused:

[Melissa in CA]

Melissa, HELP! Please explain to me, guess I'm getting this wrong, the difference b/t incremental and spiral then!!! What is the teaching method, goals behind each? How do each work? My questions are redundant...understand now I don' understand the difference (I thought a website referred to them in the same sentenc so I assumed they were the same) :confused:

 

OK, from what I understand, and someone please correct me If am wrong, Saxon is spiral, but it is a very incremental spiral. You get a little tidbit of info, and it can take MANY lesson's to actually understand that tidbit of info. So in each lesson, You learn a new tidbit as well as working on trying to understand various previous incremental tidbits. This drove my boys CrAzY!!! They never felt like they mastered any tidbit before having to focus on another unrelated tidbit of info. All the while trying to grasp the tidbits already covered. Some children thrive on that type of math. My children did not. At all.

 

Now CLE, too, is spiral and somewhat incremental, but not nearly as choppy and incremental as Saxon. My ds can do his lesson and actually understand what was taught. It's not a daily struggle of understanding various tidbits thrown at him each day. Eventually Saxon began putting little chapter/lesson numbers next to the problems so the child can go back and review what was previously taught. I used both the older versions without the little helps, and the version with. No doubt the version with the lil numbers was much nicer than hunting through lesson after lesson trying to figure out, again, how to complete a problem you never learned how to complete adequately in the first place. Now, I didn't use the younger grades of Saxon. I used the 5/6 and up...and this was years ago. Things may have changed, but my understanding is that Saxon is still incredibly incremental spiral, not truly what one would call spiral.

 

Other true Spiral programs would be Horizons, and Abeka.

 

Mastery would be MUS, Singapore and Rightstart. I think BJU fits in as mastery as well.

 

Saxon, though call spiral by some, is a whole different ballgame as an incremental spiral approach.

 

Does that help?? I'm not sure I understand what I think I understand either. :confused::D

[Corraleno]

Another program I've looked into is Teaching Textbooks, however it isn't available for a Mac on the level that I needed it.

 

(slight hijack here: all levels of TT should be Mac-compatible by next fall, if that helps at all)

 

Jackie

[Melissa in CA]

Really, your best bet is going to be combining programs. If Saxon is working for you then keep at it but add in something like MUS to get that mastery that she needs.

 

It has clean white pages with high contrast and on a few problems that can really help a lot of kids with ADD stay focused.

 

It does have some review pages each lesson and I have realized that ,as we have gone through all of the Greek books now, review is "hidden" in the other work. It might seem like you are doing fractions but there is a lot of multiplication and division in those problems. You can't do long division w/o subtraction and multiplication, see what I mean?

 

Just MUS works fine for one of my kids but if you like the incremental, constant review of Saxon there is no reason to abandon what is working. Adding MUS on the side will give you many benefits though. It really does teach the "why" behind math, keeps things hands-on when nessesary and gives you that mastery you are looking for.

 

You can trade off programs on a schedule, or you can just go with the flow and decide which program would work best on a given day. (my dd with ADHD does this)

 

Christina, I completely agree that sometimes combining programs is helpful. But wouldn't it be rather difficult to combine MUS with Saxon??? Saxon teaches many different mathmatical concepts each and every year....MUS teaches one concept per year. MUS is on the extreme side of mastery. One would have to have all the elementary MUS years onhand for it to be helpful in teaching alongside Saxon wouldn't one? :confused:

 

OP, I personally think an excellent math curriculum for helping to understand the whys, and one that is very scripted for the teacher, is Making Math Meaningful. I used it alongside Abeka one year and absolutely loved it. You might want to have a look at it: http://www.cornerstonecurriculum.com/Curriculum/MMM/MMM.htm

 

Also, I think Singapore would make an inexpensive possibility as a supplement to Saxon.

 

I would also seriously look at CLE if you want to continue in the spiral method, but without the hardcore incrementalism of Saxon.

[CindyJ]

Try A Beka. It is very similar to Saxon, because it reviews everything constantly, so there is no way they can forget the old concepts, but it also introduces new things in increments. However, I think A Beka does a better job explaining than Saxon does, and a better job giving practice in the new concepts. Plus, every few lessons, they have a review lesson, so they don't have a new concept every single lesson. Another plus is that it is a worktext format, so they dont have to copy problems, and it is in color. I recently had my dd in Saxon 76, and she began to not understand and remember the new concepts around lesson 50, so I switched her into A Beka. I am very pleased. I have used A Beka for years with all 5 of my children, switching them into Saxon around 54 or 76, but each child is different. I only use the student worktext; I do not use the teacher's edition. There is an explanation at the top of each page every time a new concept is introduced; it is very easy to teach from that alone. The worktexts are around $15 or $20 apiece; you can't lose too much money trying it, I figure.

[TKDmom]

Now, I'm not totally sure I have the right understanding of spiral vs. mastery (so please don't throw things at me if I'm wrong). But it seems to me that Singapore is a nice mix of the two methods. It teaches one concept at a time (say multiplication in one chapter, then another chapter on division), but you can expect to see the topic again next year. There is some review, but not a ton. I have started using the RS Math Card Games for more continuous review.

[Veritaserum]

I recently switched my 9.5-yo ADHD daughter from MUS to CLE. She had been stuck in MUS Gamma for about a year and a half and it was like pulling teeth to get her to do it. She's doing much better with CLE, which is a gentle but thorough math program.

 

I had switched my 7.5-yo dd from MUS to CLE a few months ago. She was having meltdowns and cried while doing MUS because she found the pages of almost all the same type of problem (+8, +7, etc.) to be so boring. Now she cries at the merest hint of switching from CLE to anything else. She loves it! :)

 

I'm going to have them do a page or so of Singapore Intensive Practice once per week just for the word problems, but I don't think that's wholly necessary with CLE.

[TracyR]

Well, no. There isn't a math program that has both because really if there was I think we would all be using it.

 

Mastery math programs ( that I know of there maybe more..)

Singapore,

Bob Jones

Rod and Staff

Calvert

K12's math

Math U See

 

Spiral

Saxon

Christian Light

(there maybe others but I'm not sure at the moment)

 

But my point is that they either have one or the other. If you have a mastery math program you will have to supplement with drill as its not included within the program. It maybe in the teacher's manual but its not ingrained into the program. If you have a spiral program you may have a child that doesn't need so much drill work and may like to focus more one one concept rather then just a little bit at a time. Its almost like a no win situation really. I would love it if someone would come up with a program that does both. But to date there really isn't any out there that fit both mastery and spiral at the same time.

 

Even though the concepts are taught spirally the main goal in the end is mastery. They are just taught the steps to solve the problems in smaller steps rather just all at once like a mastery math program. The goal is still mastery though, just not all at once.

 

If she does well with a black and white format , as I know some kids color is too distracting, then maybe switching to CLE might do the trick. She maybe tired of writing all those math problems out. Being a mom to 4 girls, yes 4 , my girls can be like that at times. Plus if your daughter has ADHD she maynot have the patience to sit and write out her problems in a notebook, paper,,etc. My 12 yr old daughter is very much like this.

 

 

Another thing if you don't want to change math programs maybe changing the way you do it might help. Instead of having her write her problems down on paper maybe get a dry erase board and used colored markers and let her solve her problems on there. Type out some of her math problems.

 

I agree with one other poster. Ten is a tough age to deal with too. It seems with girls it starts at 3, then again at 7 , then at 10, then 12 until that very fateful day. I've noticed this trend with all of my girls. My youngest is three , she was the sweetest most loving little thing, then one day she woke up 3! LOL. She is still sweet but it quite the little stinker now. My oldest at age 6 one day and woke up 7 the next day. That loving little girl who wanted to make her mommy happy all of the time turned into this moody girl. The same with my 2nd daughter. Then again at 10 they had theri ups and downs and now my oldest is 12 and is starting to come into her own , she isn't little but she's not a teenager either. Being a mom to girls definitely has its very own challenges. Some days you just really need to be creative.

Edited February 10, 2010 by TracyR

[Vida Winter]

Now CLE, too, is spiral and somewhat incremental, but not nearly as choppy and incremental as Saxon. My ds can do his lesson and actually understand what was taught. It's not a daily struggle of understanding various tidbits thrown at him each day. Eventually Saxon began putting little chapter/lesson numbers next to the problems so the child can go back and review what was previously taught. I used both the older versions without the little helps, and the version with. No doubt the version with the lil numbers was much nicer than hunting through lesson after lesson trying to figure out, again, how to complete a problem you never learned how to complete adequately in the first place. Now, I didn't use the younger grades of Saxon. I used the 5/6 and up...and this was years ago. Things may have changed, but my understanding is that Saxon is still incredibly incremental spiral, not truly what one would call spiral.

 

 

 

We have had an enormous success moving from Saxon to CLE. I was almost finished with 5/4 and moved my dd into CLE 300. I plan on sticking with this through at least level 800.

[Melissa in CA]

Mastery math programs ( that I know of there maybe more..)

Singapore,

Bob Jones

Rod and Staff

Calvert

K12's math

Math U See

 

Spiral

Saxon

Christian Light

(there maybe others but I'm not sure at the moment)

 

 

And each of these are vastly different from each other! For example, Singapore may be considered a mastery curriculum, but it's not at ALL like MUS. Same with BJU. The scope and sequence is vastly different. With BJU your dc will learn a variety of different mathematical concepts within a given year *(+/-, measurements, fractions, division, multiplication, place value, factoring, etc., etc., etc.) with MUS they focus on teaching one main concept a year; Gamma= All Multiplication with some review of adding & subtracting from the Alpha & Beta levels. Delta= All division with some review of adding, subtracting & multiplication from the previous years. Whereas with BJU your dc will be taught all of the *above each and every year, with review being from previous chapters, not previous years. Make sense?

 

And as I have already mentioned CLE and Saxon are vastly different in my opinion...even if they are both labeled as "spiral"

 

I think the closest program I have used that is a mix of mastery & spiral would be BJU, even more so in the newer versions that contain more built in review. BJU teaches by chapter (mastery chapters) then the next chapter will teach a different or even related concept. Then, many chapters later, it will spiral back to a previously "mastered" chapter and build upon it. Mastery chapters with spiral thrown in.;) The closest I have come to the best of both worlds. But, regardless, my ds really, really, really likes CLE. :D

[sheryl]

CLE (which O suggested on sn board) and BJU! Based on your "great" (I'm impressed with y'all) descriptions and my dd's needs, I feel this may be the way to go. I've heard many great things about Singapore, but I would be putting her in for 1 year as they stop at grade 6 (I think). Then, I'd be switching again. Hopefully then we'll stick with CLE or BJU for quite some time before we switch again. This is our 6th year (K-5) using Saxon. She does NOT write out the problems, we have the homeschool version, but it's still soooooooo repetitive.

 

I need to re-read these replies several times. I need to think about staying spiral and switching publishers and adding mastery, switching to mastery all together and supplement. See many of you mentioned this and I don't fully understand....if you have spiral what is it missing and what do you supplement with? If it's mastery, same question....what's missing and supplement with what.

 

In terms of creative thinking skills for child to learn the "whys" behind a math problem, do you think BJU and CLE both offer teaching the whys?

 

Thankful for your input and can't wait to hear your replies on this reply post.

 

Sheryl <><

[sheryl]

Thanks everyone. But, would you please read/comment on my reply before this one?

[Lovedtodeath]

OK, I just posted a reply to a math thread. This was going to be my “related†question in my own separate thread.

 

My 10 ½ y odd has always used Saxon math K to finishing up 5/4. She has add/adhd issues. That means 2 things: she doesn’t focus well AND she may be hyper sometimes.

 

She has always done well with Saxon until recently.

 

Saxon is spiral which means the topics are presented in “increments†(small chunks) of info. There are pros and cons. The pro is smaller chunks of topics will retain her interest because we jump from one topic to another. HOWEVER, that can turn into a con because spiral does NOT teach mastery and if we’re always hopping then she has NOT mastered the concept.

 

I’d like a combination of spiral and mastery. Is there such a program which teaches using BOTH METHODS? In addition of both methods, I’d like a program that is written to challenge the child to “understand the whys†to the questions and working/solving their math problems….not just memorize facts and gain answer that way.

 

ANY SUGGESTIONS DESPERATELY NEEDED!!

Thanks in advance.

Sheryl

<><

You just described my daughter with math!:bigear:

[Chloe]

I think Rod & Staff comes closest to a mastery/spiral mix. Each lesson focuses on one concept with lots of practice problems, but there's also several review problems of past concepts in each lesson.

[EKS]

I have used Saxon 2-8/7, MUS Alpha-Zeta, and Singapore 1A-5B.

 

First, are you assigning *all* of the problems in Saxon?

 

The reason I ask is that the problems are what tie the presentation on a particular topic to the next presentation on that topic. So the topic is presented, practice problems are done, and then there are a few problems every day until the next lesson on the topic (which may be in a week or two). The problems actually get slightly more difficult over time.

 

A true spiraling curriculum (as opposed to incremental) would not have the systematic review in the way Saxon does.

 

I would say that Singapore is an example of a program that combines the benefits of spiral and mastery. There is a cycle of topics that gets covered in the year and then that cycle is repeated the next year with bigger numbers or harder problems or whatever. But within the year there is review. For example, the year generally starts with operations on whole numbers. Later on they might do a unit on money with problems that use the skills learned in the whole number operations section. And a section on length will use them, and a section on capacity, and so forth. Then when they do fractions, they need to understand factors and multiples and be able to multiply and divide to make equivalent fractions. Singapore (especially the Standards edition) also has systematic review after every unit.

 

I use the Singapore textbook and workbook. I use the CWP book a level behind as a review of the previous level. And I break up the review exercises so we do a few each day instead of doing them all at once. So, right now in 4A we are doing a unit on fractions and in CWP we are doing problems involving capacity (that he learned how to do in 3B). And for the review problems we are doing some multidigit multiplication and division and other things we were working on over the past few weeks. If I felt he needed more review after that, I would use the Extra Practice book.

 

I have also used MUS, and while I like having it to use as a supplement, I think the wide spiral that Singapore uses makes more sense. A kid in 2nd grade may be ready for multidigit addition and subtraction (what MUS teaches for the *whole year*) but s/he is also ready for single digit multiplication and division, some fraction work, and so forth. MUS takes the idea of mastery to an extreme.

[monalisa]

It is mastery, but it has a lot of review if you use all of the program (the TM, the Reviews book, the regular workbook). Plus there are fact drills on the CD that comes w/ the TM, that you could use as timed. If you just needed timed fact drills, you could use something like Calculadder as a supplement if you weren't happy w/ it.

 

We're using BJU 1, and I've looked at about everything (and bought Saxon & then sold it to a friend because I couldn't stand to teach it), and for me it seems to have a good balance of mastery with built in review. I'm pretty sure I'll stick with it for the next few years.

[sheryl]

Kai and all, Thanks. Yes, I've heard Singapore is good, but my understanding is they stop at grade 6.

 

I've got so much reviewing of these posts.

 

Mastery is easy for me to understand. Many have cited MUS and basically it's exhausting a concept to "master" it before moving on. I'm having still a hard time understanding difference b/t incremental and spiral. I do want a program that teaches her to think and delve into understanding the "whys".

 

I've learned from my thread that many people use more than one math program...why? For my reasons I've stated?

 

Sorry I'm beating this. Math is in it's own category, that's for sure.;)

[Melissa in CA]

Sheryl,

 

Not everyone uses more than one math program. I don't. I did when my ds was very young, but haven't done so in several years. I have not really found the need. I do have a couple Singapore CWP books onhand, but rarely ever pull them out. My ds always tests in the 90+ percentile on standardized tests, with or without supplementing....mostly without.

 

I used Abeka in K-2, MUS for 3rd, and BJU for grades 4-6, and this year I am currently using CLE. NOT because BJU wasn't doing the job, but because the new 7th grade BJU math was harder for me to teach. The TM was distractingly too full for me, too much visual writing/information on a page causes my brain to shut down. I just didn't feel I could teach it properly. So I decided for his 7th grade year that we would try something different, something more independent. It's been a huge hit, and the constant daily review and mastery sections have helped him really cement in some things he constantly struggled with. The reason I left Abeka was due to my freaking out about how they were jumping so quickly into multiplication, not because my ds wasn't keeping up. I regret the decision to leave Abeka and go to MUS, but I don't at all regret then going to BJU.

 

BJU teaches the whys behind math. Something I felt Abeka wasn't too great at from grades 3+. BJU uses a lot of manips to teach with, somewhat like MUS but with more than just blocks. But, as I mentioned previously, you will not get the "WHYS" if you do not teach from the TM. BJU is a curriculum that is MEANT and CREATED to be taught. If you do not have the time, nor the inclination to teach it, then I would say pass on BJU. Truly.

 

Though I really like CLE, CLE does not really teach the whys....at least not in the levels I am using (600 and 700). My ds understands them, and so far has had no problems with CLE, but I admit it does scare me to use it for pre-alg. I plan to go back to BJU next year for Pre-alg and maybe use CLE as a supplement.

 

As for spiral compared to incremental. In my experience the only program that *I* would call incremental is Saxon, though CLE does have an incremental flavor. You really need to view all the samples online. CLE offers samples of each and every light unit (the 1st light unit is review/testing, so be sure to check the following units for an accurate picture). BJU offers samples of the first chapter in each of their math books. I think you can find samples of them all online. You're going to have to investigate them to find what resonates with you. We are all different and what will work in your situation might not work in mine, and visa versa.

 

All of the programs mentioned in this thread are excellent maths! Abeka, BJU, CLE, R&S, MUS, Singapore, etc., are all great. They will all teach your dd what she needs to know. It's up to you to research them and decide what YOU feel is best for YOUR situation. ;)

 

Wow, this was going to be short and sweet. Sorry, I got carried away once again.

[sheryl]

THANKS! Wow, after starting this thread I realized how much I do not know about math curricula. I've always "relied" on the same things....Saxon and have never delved into these issue.

 

There's much for me to consider and decide.

 

I'm grateful. Thanks. Sheryl <><