CLE help!

[Guest Mkline]

Hello all!

 

I am hoping I can find some answers on here from others who might know more than I.

 

I've never used CLE before, but I am really wanting to jump in and start using it. I'm not sure about ALL subjects but possibly. We just have tested for LA so far and what I'm seeing for results have me questioning what to do.

 

My oldest son is supposed to be in 4th grade next year. He tested at a second grade level for LA. He isn't a very good speller. He isn't reading at grade level either.

 

My other son is in second grade next year. (Or first. His birthday is in July so I could go either way with him). He tested just under second grade LA. I could tell he was confused about quite a bit so I think I'll start him at LA 1. Does that mean I should do the LTR with him too?

 

So I'm hoping for help! What advice can you give for both sons? Particularly the older one. I'm worried he's going to be so far behind! I know that is so common to hear but I just need reassurance and guidance.

 

Thank you!!

[weintz8]

My 10 year old 4th grader will also be starting CLE 2nd grade LA. I have been using CLE for my other two children so I feel confident this is the best place for him.

 

I don't think you need to do LTR with your younger son if he is already reading well. While LTR and LA1 integrate well, you do not need to use them together.

[strange_girl]

Welcome!

 

CLE Language Arts is rigorous, so starting in the 200's level would be about right. The 200's are pretty much independent, and cover a lot of material.

 

Backing up to LA 1 does not mean that you need to do LTR. They are not reliant on each other.

[Guest Mkline]

Thanks for replying! That is good to know.

 

My son doesn't have any learning disabilities that I know of. We've never had him checked. He does sometimes reverse his letters, and so I worry about dyslexia. But no testing has been done. I really attribute his lack of knowledge to myself, jumping around curriculums too much.

 

Homeschooling has been a huge journey, and I'm finally learning what I need for me to make it work, and for them. My fear is he has gaps. Now I just want to fill those in and get him the best education I can! And I like how CLE tests, so I know how he is understanding the content.

 

I guess what I'm saying is, will we be able to catch up? Should I be even trying to catch? What would that look like with this curriculum?

 

Sorry this is probably a hard question to answer. thank you!

[Paige]

CLE is easy to accelerate. It has lots of review and you can skip review sections, quizzes, and tests, and do several lessons at a time if your child is doing well. I had to start my 5th graders in CLE 2 as well when we switched. I think it does things so differently that the tests can mix kids up. I started my older DS (8th grade) in English 1, however, which I think is their 9th grade program. He'd been through MCT and some other stuff that had prepared him well.

 

[SnMomof7]

The diagnostic tests have a lot of phonetic markings for 1st and 2nd that your child may not know. If you don't score those questions and adjust the test accordingly, how does he place? First and second are very phonics based. If you don't need further phonics I might start in 3rd if the adjusted diagnostic test indicates that.

 

You only need LTR if your child needs a learning to read program. I wouldn't worry too much about catching up at this point. I have children working all over the place in CLE in various subjects. CLE itself recommends you think of the courses as levels, not grade specific. They really encourage homeshoolers to give their children the courses they need, and to disregard grade levels almost entirely :).

[MotherGoose]

CLE has wonderful customer service too, if you don't get the answers you need here. I had a lengthy email exchange with one of their reps about a concern I had. I started CLE at 300 with my 3rd grader and she didn't know the phonetic markings and neither do I so we just skipped those parts (she was reading well). My 6 year old is learning them though. I would not do LTR with a child who is reading.

[Guest Mkline]

Oh my gosh, thank you all! This is so helpful! Seriously, I feel great knowing all this is tried and true, by homeschooling moms like you! :)

 

I love this curriculum! It seems so complete, and easy to implement into our days. THAT is what I need. The appeal for me is the fact that it is planned all the way through high school. I will probably use homeschool plus for the higher years. It is also so affordable, which is a huge relief for us!

 

I'm considering if I should try testing with the math too. I'm hesitant to do so because we just tested in the middle of this year into math mommoth. It is going well. It is affordable. The only thing I worry about is the review, or lack of review should I say. I've heard CLE is full of review, and very comparable in many ways to MM. Any thoughts on this?

 

Also, how do I know where my kids place for reading, bible, and such? I understand without the homeschool plus you can't test for those.

 

Thank you!!

[SnMomof7]

We moved from MUS to MM to CLE. It is so awesome. CLE's best offering, to be honest. When we switched my oldest places two years back, but her math confidence is so much better. CLE math for everyone from now on. ALL the review is built in, no plan in needed, and the layout is excellent. Many people do Reading at the same level as LA.

 

For Bible, another awesome course, you can jump in at reading appropriate levels, but the 500s are the start of a chronological survey of the Bible that lasts until 8th. I really like starting at 5th if nothing else.

[Guest Mkline]

That sounds very good! Thank you for your experience. I appreciate the help!

[strawberryjam]

I love CLE Language Arts for filling in gaps. My 3rd grader has been slow on the Language Arts skills front and the CLE workbooks are doing amazing things for him. We started at 201 and are currently doubling up on lessons and doing them every day, so one workbook takes us about 8-9 calendar days to finish. If I can tell he has mastered something I can cross out those questions to move ahead a little faster. I'm calculating that we should be able to start the 300's by September (we do year round schooling) and will be at the 400's by December 2015, at the current rate. Which would get him caught up by the end of Grade 4. I'm so impressed with the progress in Language Arts I'm going to try out the math workbooks next. We do Singapore Math but I think it would be good practice and review to have a spiral style workbook he can do independently sometimes. Who knows, maybe we'll love it so much that we switch over to CLE math completely. 

[OneStepAtATime]

I would suggest OP that you maybe incorporate some educational games and plenty of physical movement into your day if you go full bore CLE on everything.  It is a great program but all those workbooks can get tedious unless you have a kid that just lives for workbooks.  Take breaks to do other things.

 

And if your child continues to lag behind in subjects, please seek an evaluation.  If he does have dyslexia or other learning challenges you are doing him and you no favors by not getting solid answers.  Sometimes a standard program just makes too many leaps for a kid with LDs.  Especially if they are really bright they can sort of compensate in the early grades.  That gets a lot harder to do as they get into more challenging material if the LD issues have never been directly addressed.

 

Good luck and best wishes.

[mommy5]

My 10 year old son (just finishing 4th grade and is dyslexic/dysgraphic) did very well this year with CLE.  We started him in 301 because that is where he tested in and it has been a great fit.  I agree with the others, you can skip ahead if some is review.  There is tons of built in review in this program.  We didn't use it for spelling (just crossed out the spelling portions) but if we had, we might have gone down to the 200 level.