CLE math vs. Rod and Staff math

[phathui5]

I'm thinking of having ds (7) do either CLE or R&S math in between years of Singapore, since he seems to be going through the third grade Singapore stuff so quickly. Is there anyone here who's used both and can compare them?

 

Or if you've used one of them, can you tell me the pros and cons of it?

[phathui5]

Anyone?

[k10coon]

I am currently using CLE for my ds7. R&S proved to be drudgery for him. Pages of the same problems over and over. After a while, even I didn't know what 3 plus 2 was!

 

I like CLE. There is plently of drill and review. It just seems "nicer". Does that make sense?

 

We also touch on Singapore a few times a week "for fun".

[Erica in PA]

I love Rod and Staff math. I've used it for 5th and 6th grades so far for ds, and this year for 7th grade, we'll be using Rod and Staff 8 (skipping grade 7), so that he can move to another program for algebra in 8th grade.

 

I like it because there is lots of practice of each new concept. There is a review section at the end of each lesson, but the bulk of the lesson is practice of the new concept. I like the mastery approach, so this is a good fit.

 

It's easy to combine lessons to keep moving along, because they break concepts into very small bits, and introduce a bit more each day. This is great when a student needs extra help, but when it's a bit too easy, we just combine lessons to move through more quickly. It's easy to get through the entire book in a school year, even when we take frequent breaks.

 

I think Rod and Staff has helped make ds more stable in math. We used Singapore for elementary school, and he never seemed completely confident, because SM was so challenging. With Rod and Staff, he seems to have a more secure foundation in math, imo.

 

As far as negatives... it's not a "fun" program, though I don't know how important that is for higher grades like these. It's not visually appealing, just black and white pages, no pictures. There are a lot of problems on each page, which could be overwhelming if you require your dc to do all of them... I pick and choose which ones I think will be best for ds, usually about 25 problems per day, depending on the difficulty.

 

It's just very solid, and to me it's a reassuring program. I feel confident that ds is learning what he should be in math, and that he has a solid foundation in basic math before going on to algebra.

 

Erica

 

ETA: I just reread your post and saw that your ds is only 7. I misunderstood, and thought he was in 7th grade. The visual/fun aspects might be more important for those ages. I have a 7 year old as well, and I don't think he would like Rod and Staff at this age. He uses Singapore and Horizons, which is very colorful and visually appealing. (He is very much oriented that way, much like his artist father! :)) I plan to add Rod and Staff when he is in fifth grade, because that worked very well for my other ds to start then.

[Jen500]

Have you considered Singapore's Challenging Word Problems, or the Intensive Practice books?

[phathui5]

Jen, we are using those with Singapore.

 

Maybe it's just having so many choices out there, you know? We've been happy with Singapore, but CLE looks good too. Then so many people recommend Rod and Staff. It's hard to settle and feel like something else could be better.