McRuffy Math or possibly BJU Math

[CindyK]

I would love to hear feedback on McRuffy Math from anyone who has used it. I have not had much luck finding a lot of feedback. I would like to know what you think of it and how long you have used it. I have been using CLE for my 1st and 3rd graders. My 1st grade daughter really dislikes math. She has a hard time sticking to it and getting it done. She is in CLE 109 right now because I have cut her down to one page a day instead of 3 just so she doesn't feel overwhelmed. I like CLE and don't want to make a wrong move but I am having a hard time seeing us going through another year like this and am thinking about using McRuffy Math 2nd grade for next year. I also want to make this next year so that she has more of an enjoyment of learning. At the same time I'm "thinking" about McRuffy for my coming 4th grader even though I could continue CLE with him and still may do so. Does anyone know how teacher intensive McRuffy is compared to CLE. I don't mind the teacher intensive for 2nd grade...just wondering about 4th. I edited this to also ask about BJU math also since I was getting no response. I would love to hear anyone's opinion on both McRuffy Math and BJU Math. Thanks, Cindy

[CindyK]

Bumping...anyone?

[calimom04]

We did bju math 5 this year and I thought it was very good. It wasnt too teaching intensive and taught the "hows" very well. Dd was in 4th but did 5th after coming from abeka 3. She did very well. We did cle math for 1st but I found she didnt retain as much as abeka or bju. Abeka was just too much review she didnt need. BJU has a good amount of review but its not overwhelming. We liked it but are going with ACE for 6th grade. I like their updated upper level math.

[CindyK]

Thanks for your response! I want the review but maybe it's too overwhelming in CLE. I would also welcome any thoughts on Rod and Staff. I understand it's not as advanced as CLE but at this point I'm looking for something that helps my daughter to enjoy math. Thanks for any feedback!

[edeemarie]

We did use McRuffy math for k-3 and it was a fun for the kids. We left it because they only had grade 4 out and I knew a switch to something else was inevitable. So we switched to Saxon (which ds hated!), then switched to MEP (loved it, but too teacher intensive), and have now settled with MM. As far as a traditional and spiral math program that is enjoyable for kids I think McRuffy would be a great choice! I don't have any experience with the others you mentioned.

[busymotherof4]

We have used McRuffy K-2. We haven't finished 2nd grade. My son likes it a lot. We are switching to Singapore because the spiral aspect is no longer working for us. He especially likes the games. Until this year my son liked the variety in each days lesson. It is parent intensive. Some of the hands on aspects are only in the teacher's manual. I found it easy to teach. I am not sure how many levels it has I think 5th grade is coming out but I'm not sure. It is easy to hand down as you only need to replace the workbook. This is a good curriculum to add fun to math. I can't comment on any of the other programs you are looking at.

[CindyK]

Heather and Erin: How long would you say a lesson in McRuffy would last each day? Does the parent teach the concept each day and then the child does the "review" or is it different from that? Also, how many pages per day does the child do in 2nd grade?

[edeemarie]

I would say most lessons were about 20-30 minutes. There is only 1 workbook page per lesson. The lessons are scripted to tell the teacher exactly what to do and lists any supplies needed at the beginning of the page. There is a response book, which is kind of like a daily math warm-up. It has 5-10 questions for the kids to answer. Then they usually do some work with manipulatives and then complete the workbook page (which ds was usually able to do independently).

[shinyhappypeople]

McRuffy math is a really fun, colorful program. In addition to the traditional arithmetic topics, there are a lot of visual spatial activities using pattern blocks, pentominoes, color cubes, etc. The teacher's manual is lightly scripted and idiot-proof. I wish we'd stuck with it long-term. Lessons took around 20 minutes start to finish, longer if there's a game. There isn't an overwhelming amount of writing, just 1 page a day (this was a big deal for my older DD who was utterly overwhelmed with the number of pages she had to tackle in CLE Math). IIRC, new concepts are taught using manipulatives for several days before your child ever sees the concept in the workbook.

 

Shoot, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm tempted (again) to switch back. Both DDs and I have very fond memories of using McRuffy.

[edeemarie]

Shoot, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm tempted (again) to switch back. Both DDs and I have very fond memories of using McRuffy.

LOL! This is exactly how I felt while writing my response! If only they had enough grade level to get up to pre-Algebra.

[shinyhappypeople]

LOL! This is exactly how I felt while writing my response! If only they had enough grade level to get up to pre-Algebra.

 

 

Well, 5th is out, so there's just one more grade level to go and you'd be set :)

 

I seriously am considering it again. We have Learn Math Fast 1, which will fill the gaps and then 9 yo DD could easily transition to the 4th grade math. Hmmm...... decisions, decisions....

 

ETA: the gaps are from bouncing around math programs so much. It's not a slam on McRuffy.

[CindyK]

Wow! Thanks! You've both made me want to go with McRuffy for my 2nd grade daughter. :) I've been researching all day and I keep coming back to McRuffy. Yes, my daughter is overwhelmed by CLE. They have through 5th grade already and are working on 6th. Now I have to decide if I should switch my 4th grade son also. He can handle CLE but I know he'll be begging to switch when he sees how much fun his sister is having. Maybe I love CLE more than they do. :) I am wondering though how it would be to switch back to CLE or other comparable program after 6th grade McRuffy....anybody have any idea?

[busymotherof4]

I would think switching after grade 6 shouldn't be a problem. It seems like at that point either a pre-algebra or algebra program would be chosen. Many people switch math programs at this point.

We spent about 20 minutes a lesson other than game days or if there was more open ended manipulative play. I have a very pencil phobic son and McRuffy isn't too bad for him.

[FlockOfSillies]

My dd hated CLE for the one unit we tried. We switched to BJU and she went from hating math and feeling stupid to getting A's on her tests and thinking about becoming a software engineer like her dad. The quantity of review is excellent, and all in one book. It's what we were missing in Singapore Math.

[ammv15]

I have both Mcruffy and CLE grade 1.I used Mcruffy for k and grade 1. I heard great things about CLE so I wanted to find out what I was missing so we ordered it. I prefer Mcruffy lessons are shorter and more fun. In grade one Mcruffy is more advanced than CLE teaching multiplication. Mcruffy is very gentle and makes math easy. Mcruffy now goes up to grade 5.My dc love Mcruffy and are doing very well with it. My ds hated math until we gave Mcruffy a try. CLE does have alot more practice than Mcruffy. I will probably use them both. I will use Mcruffy daily and just throw in a little CLE when they need a little more practice. I would say that the teaching part is about the same time from CLE to Mcruffy but the student independent time is way shorter. My dc only take 5-30 min with Mcruffy and most of the time that is by choice because they love the games and hand on. If CLE is overkill for your dc I think Mcruffy would be a good fit.

[CindyK]

Thanks ammv15. Yes, I noticed McRuffy teaches multiplication of the 2's by the end of 1st grade. If I were to go with McRuffy I wonder if I should make sure she knows them this summer or is there enough review in the beginning of 2nd grade McRuffy? They should be relatively easy for her to learn either way I would think. Do you know how CLE 3 compares to McRuffy 3? I'm wondering if McRuffy is a little more advanced in 3rd also. I feel so pulled between McRuffy and CLE. I really like CLE but I want my kids to have fun with it (in the lower levels) as well as learn. I have an older daughter (9th) that really dislikes math. She's more of an artsy type and very smart but math is her one weakness. I don't want this to happen to my younger 2. I want them to enjoy math as much as is possible. :) So, are you also buying the whole set of CLE for your kids in order for them to have more practice?

[CindyK]

Thanks Brenda for your comments on BJU. So many decisions! I'm also wondering if color books would be more helpful to my kids and make it more interesting. I can see how it would be that way for me.

[ammv15]

I would not worry about playing catch up from grade 1 to 2. Mcruffy will likely have a review of it in grade 2. It is just an introduction to multiplication and there isn't much of it in grade 1. I can't compare Mcruffy 3 to CLE 300's because I haven't used them. I have always been happy with Mcruffy math. I only purchased CLE because I heard it was very advanced. At least in grade 1 Mcruffy is more advanced. I am currently using Mcruffy and CLE for grade one but it seems like it is too much. So I will just maybe use CLE here and there and cross out most of the problems. I really wanted to use and compare the two programs side by side so I purchased both. I prefer Mcruffy in all areas. Mcruffy is a very gentle program but it is very effective. It just makes math fun and easy. My dc asked for more math. I was printing math worksheets from free sites and figured using CLE would save me time. Now that I have tried both programs I think I will just stick with what has been working well for us (Mcruffy). My dc seem to like CLE but the workload is triple. Mcruffy lessons are short and you could easily do 2 lessons a day without overwhelming the child.I hadn't realized how advanced Mcruffy until recently but it is not a difficult program at all. I actually started my ds in Mcruffy math k when he was preschool age. He couldn't even count to 10 and hated math. Mcruffy really helped him to grow a love for math. He is really awesome at math. He just gets it and is always telling me he doesn't need teaching instruction. Mcruffy is very different than most amth curriculums. It is not a mastery or kill drill kind of math. It is stress free, no grades and very little testing.One thing I noticed when reading Mcruffy reviews is that some people don't seem to get how it works. Mcruffy doesn't drill the child on topics daily it jumps around alot. My dc never seemed to get bored and by the end of the year they had mastered concepts taught without all the drills. I have done two placement test after using Mcruffy with my dc and they placed very well.