carrie_irene Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Goodness do I have myself in a tizzy trying to determine what I am going to do with math this summer and heading into next year. My DS is 7.5, doing mostly 2nd grade stuff, though Saxon 3. He is good at math. He loves math. But I am afraid that Saxon 54 will be tough with having to copy the problems down. I was thinking of switching him to CLE until he is ready for Algebra, then going back to Saxon. (I used Saxon personally and loved it for Algebra). Thoughts? I was Looking at CLE's placement tests, and I am not sure he should do the 400 series, though. It feels more advanced? Maybe Saxon 3 is really going to kick it up over the next 70 lessons? My daughter is exactly one year younger and doing Saxon 2. Again, very good at math. And again I was thinking that CLE might be good for her....making her a little more independent? And now I need to start my 5 year old on something more intentionally....and my nearly 4 year old wants to do school too. So I was looking at CLE's kinder II program for those two, adjusting as needed for their levels. Anyway.....would love thoughts here! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Copying the problems out of the textbook and onto paper once we hit Saxon 54 was a big problem for my son. It seemed silly to me for him to struggle with it. It never even occurred to me, that it could be an issue, but my son went from loving math, to hating it....just because he didn't have a workbook anymore. We ended up switching to Singapore, so he could have a workbook. But, I think I should've gone with Math Mammoth or CLE instead. I love Singapore and how beautiful math is when taught that way, but it's most definitely not independent. I don't want to switch him again, so we'll stick it out, but it would've been wise of me to chose something that lead to semi-independence, rather than relying on me teaching the lesson every time...forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom28kds Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I used Saxon with my older kids. I loved the spiral approach and the self teaching part of it. I pulled my now 6th grader out of PS last year and decided Saxon would be too much because of all the copying. I tried CLE and I love it for him. It is very independant and he writes in the book. It has review but not as many problems as Saxon. I'm very happy with it. I also use CLE Math for my 1st and 2nd gr. and like it for them also. I love the way the introduce and memorize math facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I've used CLE for a number of years with both of my kids and have been very happy with it. My son going to finish CLE 7 within the next couple of months and while I'm considering having him finish up the series with CLE 8, I'm concerned about having him jump into algebra at the same time he is having to start writing all the problems out. So, the workbook has been great (and part of the reason I switched from R&S Math), but I feel like we're going to have to pay the piper at some point. My dd, also uses CLE, but she has no problems with copying things out, so I'm not worried that this will be an issue for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Here's my take on it. I would suggest starting a non-workbook approach before they hit Algebra. This is because they need to get good at writing down problems correctly and working from that point. There are so many little details in Algebra that need to be correctly written down that it would be good to get some practice writing down problems before they get too complicated. My son right now will forget to copy something as simple as a negative down and it messes up the whole problem. I'm not saying do it in 54, but definitely before hitting Algebra. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ds8 is using 5/4 this year. He writes anything down that he has to write in order to do the problem (copying decimal numbers so they line up properly or answering word problems). I write anything that is strictly copying a problem onto the paper. As he gets older, I'll make him do more writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I've used CLE for a number of years with both of my kids and have been very happy with it. My son going to finish CLE 7 within the next couple of months and while I'm considering having him finish up the series with CLE 8, I'm concerned about having him jump into algebra at the same time he is having to start writing all the problems out. So, the workbook has been great (and part of the reason I switched from R&S Math), but I feel like we're going to have to pay the piper at some point. My dd, also uses CLE, but she has no problems with copying things out, so I'm not worried that this will be an issue for her. You know there is CLE algebra now, right? Just throwing it out there. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 We are very happy with CLE for both our dds. They started with MUS and weren't retaining things. But with the gentle spiral of CLE things have been really going well. We've never considered Saxon. So I cannot comment on the differences, though I've read quite a few reviews comparing/contrasting them both. Here's one: http://forums.welltr...on-vs-cle-math/. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2hunangirls Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Here's my take on it. I would suggest starting a non-workbook approach before they hit Algebra. This is because they need to get good at writing down problems correctly and working from that point. There are so many little details in Algebra that need to be correctly written down that it would be good to get some practice writing down problems before they get too complicated. My son right now will forget to copy something as simple as a negative down and it messes up the whole problem. I'm not saying do it in 54, but definitely before hitting Algebra. Beth That is my tale on it as well. I guess I remember copying my whole life, and it just didn't disrupt my world. The few times my dd has said anything I've just said "sorry, there is no work book." I'm horrible. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrie_irene Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Here's my take on it. I would suggest starting a non-workbook approach before they hit Algebra. This is because they need to get good at writing down problems correctly and working from that point. There are so many little details in Algebra that need to be correctly written down that it would be good to get some practice writing down problems before they get too complicated. My son right now will forget to copy something as simple as a negative down and it messes up the whole problem. I'm not saying do it in 54, but definitely before hitting Algebra. Beth Good point! I had been thinking about this too. Thanks for all the feedback...I think switching for now will be the best fot for my little man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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