Can anyone compare BJU reading to CLE reading?

[mominbc]

Thanks!!!

[G5052]

In general, CLE reading is bare-bones and less "fussy," but not necessarily in a bad way. The books/workbooks are very plain, but not as plain as R&S. It's also not as strongly anabaptist in the upper levels as R&S is. For 4th and up it's a half-year course. In general, I would say that the lessons are also shorter than BJUP from the comparisons I did, and more tailored towards independent learning. I use CLE as an add-on to their Sonlight readers. I would not think that it would be good for a struggling reader.

 

I went with it over BJUP because I wanted something inexpensive and easy to use. In general I like BJUP, but their big teacher manual and all the add-ons to their reading program turned me off. My children are good readers, but needed some accountability and structure.

[Suzybearybake]

I had a son who was having a difficult time with reading. We used the third grade program Doors to Discovery and quit after the second light unit. The stories were cute with a strong moral emphasis but the light units were dull and not quite engaging enough. There was not enough phonics instruction for my struggling reader. We switched to BJU and we LOVE them. They are colorful and engaging with oral comprehension questions and phonics reinforcement. I plan on sticking with BJU up until 6th grade. If you have any specific questions on either program I would be glad to answer them. I also have the 3rd grade BJU set for sale ( everything but the worktext) and the 3rd grade light units(302-310) if you are interested. I was able to return the book and CLE teacher's guide but am stuck with the light units (302 has some writing in it). I feel that BJU is more complete and gives more instruction. It is more expensive, but more through and better laid out. I feel that it has made a real difference in my son's reading level and in my opinion is superior to that of CLE. CLE is cheaper, self instructional, and a bare bones version of a reading program that just did not work for us.

[mominbc]

Does the BJU require a lot of parent interaction, I have a baby coming any day and I want my dd who needs extra help in reading comprehension to be able to do this for the most part independantly. She is currently in grade 5 so I would be looking at the grade 4 or 5 program. Is it fairly advanced?

Thanks for your help.

[Suzybearybake]

It does require alot of interaction. The child reads a page and their are discussion questions after each page. The worksheets can be done independently but plan to spend at least 30 minutes on instruction. I think that they are challanging but are presented in such a way to make concepts accessable.