If you have used CLE and NOT like it can you tell me why?

[Susie in MS]

I am looking at 1st grade mainly.

Thanks!

[Mandy in TN]

I am using 1st grade LA and LTR and I like it, because it is working for us. I can however give you a big con. The 1st grade LA and LTR are very time and teacher intensive.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[MIch elle]

for grade 6. We used CLE math 5 & reading 5 last year.

 

We've used the CLE readers grades 1-8, but in grades 1-3 we used ONLY the readers and not the workbooks. In grade 2, we tried to use Happy Hearts reader and the workbooks but we dropped the workbooks because I felt that it was too much for a 2nd grader. Also in grades 1-2 we used the readers a year behind; I Wonder & Helping Hands used in grade 2, then in grade 3 Happy Hearts and Doors to Discovery.

 

In grades 4-8, I liked the CLE readers with the workbooks.

 

In 1-4 grade we used R&S math, then switched my younger dc to CLE math in grade 5. I like CLE math. We continue to use R&S English because I have all the books and it works for us.

 

HTH,

[Nestof3]

We tried CLE Social Studies in the 4th (my first year of homeschooling), and it was positively the most boring thing ever.

[Susie in MS]

Thank you ladies!!

Anyone else?

:)

[Melissa H. in GA]

I owe you an e-mail, sorry about that :blush::blush:

 

 

But, to answer your question...I started my son in 1st grade using R&S math. My ds thought it was boring so, after doing about 1/2 of it, we dropped it for CLE 1st grade.

 

He did fine:001_smile: on the fact drills and he loved the format of CLE, but, he started having trouble with the spiraling of other things, less than/greater than/simple geometry like what does congruent mean, etc.

 

I then got the TE's for the CLE 2nd grade and the lessons for 2nd grade math are 5 to 6 pages long plus speed drills. It also had many things that *I* thought were unnecessary for 2nd grade. Like reading dials.

 

To make a long story short, we finished out the year with R&S 1st and he is now using R&S 2nd math. We started on July 1, so we haven't been using it too long. But, we skipped through the first part as it was all review and already cemented in his head/the math facts to 10. We are now starting on the triplets in R&S 2, and he is doing very well with it. I don't have him do all the written work and that has eliminated some of the "boring" aspect for him.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Melissa in GA:001_smile:

[Rhonda in TX]

We worked on the 4th and 5th grade levels. I love their math and reading, but their LA didn't work for us. I can't even point out exactly why, it just didn't.

[TracyR]

We will be starting the 1st grade math in the fall and it looks great so far.

Like all things there are always cons.

 

CLE wouldn't work well for a child that doesn't do well with a spiraling program. Learing small bits of information at a time and building on it. A child who grasps math well may tire of the program. But I have heard alot of reviews that it works well with children like this as well.

 

Its not a colorful,flashy program. But it is cute and quaint and if you have a child that likes to color they can always color in the pictures to make it colorful if they want.

 

It does require the teacher to teach in this early level. I haven't seen a math program that doesn't require some effort on the teacher yet at this level.

The higher up you go though the more independent they become. One thing is don't become a slave to the Teacher's manual. Use what you think will work and skip the stuff you think is not necessary for your child. Compared to other math programs I've used I don't think their manual is intensive at all though.

 

Other then that I don't see too many negatives about their math program. I haven't ordered their reading yet so I can't comment on other subjects. I actually like this program alot more then alot of other programs I have used so far. As for the history and science . Not too many families use their science and history. Only those who really want to use all of their curriculum. Many subsitute with Apologia or Mystery of History or whatever else.

 

Hope that helps.

[Penny]

I prefer R&S because I think CLE teaches some things too early. For instance, my 5th grader was learning line segments, rays, and other geometry concepts that I thought to be somewhat pointless at this age. Meanwhile, R&S is drilling in the basics of long division with double digit divisors, fractions, fractions of whole numbers, lots of mental math, etc. Concepts that should be absolutely mastered before moving on.

 

R&S can get boring for kids. My solution is to move through it faster if so. I love the way that the child really knows the basics.

 

I used to have one child doing CLE 5th grade and one doing R&S 5th grade. I just recently moved the CLE child back to R&S.

 

Penny

[SnowWhite]

CLE wouldn't work well for a child that doesn't do well with a spiraling program. Learing small bits of information at a time and building on it. A child who grasps math well may tire of the program.

 

This is why CLE didn't work for my ds. He loves math, but despised the spiral style of CLE.

[Denainms]

I am selling my CLE grade 2 math and going back to Rod and Staff, for the same reasons previous posters mentioned. Ds hated the spiral approach, it frustrated him, and I too agree that they introduce some concepts (abstract) that are way too early for their concrete minds. I did try using 1st grade CLE and then switched to Rod and Staff and ds thrived in R & S

CLE moved too fast for him.

 

That being said, we really like their reading. It was a little advanced, so I went back to the 1st grade 2nd semester reader and he is doing really well with it.

 

The language Arts is good, but I discovered some of the same things being taught in the reading workbook, so I didn't think it necessary to do the same thing twice. We went to PLL (scheduled in MFW) and we started All about Spelling which I really like and did not need the spelling part of CLE LA either.

 

The 2nd grade Bible is good but as a personal preference on my part, I did not like some of the stories and activities such as reading about Job and then drawing boils all over his skin on the picture.:tongue_smilie: Even though it is biblically accurate, I just didn't like it.

 

I do think CLE is a great academic program, most of it just wasn't for us.

[MelissaM]

Here's my opinion of CLE first grade material:

 

Bible: Good, but very basic. My ds loves the puzzles and mazes in the LU. No denominational teaching in LU 101. We've finished 101 and I will be order 102-105 now that I know it works well for us. The TM is not needed unless the teacher is unfamiliar with the material (and probably not that useful even if you're not)

 

 

Math: CLE introduces concepts very early, but I've still found it gentle. i.e., We are in LU 102 and <,> has been introduced. It's not a problem for ds so far, but I'm not new to hsing either. I told him the whole "Mr. greedy alligator eats only the biggest piece" and he got it. The TM is great and essential- not fully scripted but not just a list of ideas either.

 

Learning to Read: I've had to tweak this a bit, but like it okay "as is". We use the "Visual Discrimination", reading words, and sight words. I skip some of the LU pages and just dictate the spelling suggestions in the CLE TM and have ds copy a sentence from a BOB book. The whole lesson (reading CLE primer, LU work, and spelling/penmanship/copywork) takes about 20 minutes. We started LU 3 this week. While I recommend getting it, the TM's usefulness depends on how you use the it.

 

Language Arts: This doesn't start until LTR LU 5 so we haven't started it yet.

 

 

HTH.