CLE Math Question

[Mommee & Baba]

What's your opinion of the CLE Math?

[Mommy22alyns]

It saved math here.  It's very solid and traditional math.  It's spiral, which helps kids not forget things they've done.  Written to the student, so easy to teach.  We tried Saxon, Singapore, and Right Start until going to CLE 200.  Rebecca would cry over math and she thought she was terrible at it.  After we started CLE, she gained confidence and no more tears.  She tests very favorably against other math curricula.  I really can't say enough good things about it!

 

Sylvia has used it from 100 forward and has had similarly excellent experiences.

[IdahoHomeschooler]

It is a really great math program. It somehow manages to be both gentle and rigorous. It teaches directly to the child by introducing one new concept with a handful of problems to solve, then spends the rest of the lesson reviewing previous concepts. This approach likely works well for the majority of kids, but might bomb for the smaller percentage of kids that are able to master concepts quickly and not need much review. There are math programs better suited for those kids. The CLE approach has created in my child the ability to feel successful in math, and to enjoy math so much that she proudly proclaims that math is her favorite subject!

 

My criticisms of CLE is that is a little lighter on teaching conceptually than I would like. They use the terms 'carry' and 'borrow,' which are not accurate. I have rephrased these terms to be 'make a ten' and 'break a ten' (or hundred or thousand, etc), which I feel is a more accurate way of stating what we are doing. I also find it incredibly helpful to use manipulatives to show these concepts, which is also encouraged in the teachers manuals. The other issue with CLE is that the story problems are pretty easy. This will be something that I will supplement this year with a word problem workbook, probably from Singapore Math. Other than that, I really can't complain about this program. I wanted to avoid programs that weren't secular, and I was really reluctant to buy CLE for that reason, but I'm glad that I did!

[SparrowsNest]

I use Singapore for conceptual math, but we'd also used Horizons for that spiral review.  My daughter is young (just turned 8) but was halfway through Horizons 3 when we kind of hit a wall.  So we made a lateral move to CLE and it's been a success so far.  She REALLY likes it (that said, she really likes ALL the CLE products!), and has actually been doing more than her assigned lessons.  She said, "I like how they talk to me and take things step by step."  

 

I don't know if we'll stick with it for the long haul or move back to Horizons once she's matured a little.  But for now, it's getting the job done without any fuss.

[SnMomof7]

CLE = Math Hero

 

DD1 lost two years to MUS, continual reteaching, and not enough review. Then we had a layover in MM territory. Crazy tight page layout, it was a fight to get two pages done.

 

CLE = love

 

DD1 was convinced she just couldn't so math. Turned out she just needed a good spiral! Going on our fourth year, all the children use CLE now :).

[blondeviolin]

This is not helping me with my indecision between Saxon and cle.

[Misha]

After having a major math meltdown with MM, we tried Singapore and TT. Neither fit us. My formerly math-loving children felt they were terrible at it and would cry when it was time for math.

 

We have only just started CLE and it has gotten a hugely positive response from my children who said, "This is my favorite math of all the math we've tried." We generally keep religion out of our curricula but, after reading such wonderful things about it, I decided to order it and give it a try. 

 

Today after doing two lessons, they both requested more. So far, so good terrific.. 

[Insertcreativenamehere]

I used it in grades 2 and 4 last year and we loved it! Will supplement word problems this year with Challenging Word Problems from Singapore, though ...

[sbgrace]

I used CLE in 5th grade, moving from Singapore MIF mid-way through the 5th grade year. CLE covered pretty much the same material as Singapore at that grade level. We had covered everything on the end of year assessment in MIF using CLE, though the rigor of word problems in CLE is far less (I supplement that area).

 

I think the spiral is a superior way to learn generally/for most kids compared to mastery, and research supports that idea. I wish the strong conceptual programs had spiral approaches!

 

CLE has taken the stress out of math with my ADHD kid. There are small bits of new things each day so it doesn't take much focus, the spiral means he's going to keep seeing whatever if he's tuned out when it's introduced, and the variety of problem types in the lessons keeps his attention. Both kids like it, and I plan to stick with it.

 

I do add conceptual teaching to parts, but it has required a lot less of that than I expected. I use Education Unboxed or AOPs videos primarily for this when needed. It's been so much easier to add conceptual to CLE than it was to add review to MIF. I always teach the introductory portion of the lesson, even though it's written to the child. This allows me to add conceptual, correct terminlogy (borrowing instead of regroup, average instead of mean, etc.)

 

The major weakness of CLE is in word problems. I use Singapore FAN math Problem Solving and Process Skills (and also Singapore CWP for one child) to add challenging word problem work to CLE.

[hermione310]

We've had great success with CLE math. I love it! 

 

We were using K12's math through third grade. The year their materials were brought in line with Common Core, everything went downhill. The conceptual explanations were overwhelming. DD had no problem with the computation, but the requirement to work through the same problem in a multitude of convoluted ways became incredibly frustrating for her. And the amount of worksheets frequently made math lessons 90+ minutes. It was mastery-based as well, so concepts that hadn't been covered in weeks would be re-introduced and DD would have to learn them all over again from scratch. One day DD laid down on the floor in the middle of a lesson and moaned that she couldn't take it anymore. 

 

Flash forward to CLE. Since we've made the switch, math is painless! Each lesson takes DD about 40-45 minutes to complete. I work through the new material with her, and she completes the remainder of the review work independently. Her retention is excellent thanks to the spiral review, and introduction of new concepts is done so gently that I don't hear more complaints. The speed drills are another plus to ensure that basic math facts are computed as a brain-stem function at lightning speed. I love the practicality of CLE as well -- for example, including common conversions (number of feet in a mile, number of cups in a pint, etc.) in the lessons and speed drills and using real-life examples like baking to illustrate math concepts. 

 

I'm ready to do unpaid infomercials for CLE! ; )

[OneStepAtATime]

Love CLE. I actually very much prefer it to Saxon. One thing I suggest, though, is that you need to be prepared to cut some of the review problems. Some kids don't need as much review and too much review can burn out a bright child. Easy to do, though.

[Paige]

CLE has been great for my math hating/fearing kids. It's almost eliminated tears and I'm actually seeing retention. I really love it and wish we had used it from the beginning with them.

 

However....

 

It would not be my first choice for a math-loving child or someone who is gifted in math. It's very slow and incremental and the word problems are super easy. I think they are deliberately writing word problems that are a step below the computation done in other parts of the unit as a way to give kids confidence with word problems, or to try not to make it too hard. You could skip pages and accelerate it for a math-intuitive/gifted/loving child, but that's a whole lot of wasted pages to pay for when you could go with something else that provides more depth and difficulty. 

 

My math loving kids use something else. 

 

 

[strange_girl]

CLE math is the only math I will use at this point. We've tried Horizons, Abeka, Singapore, Math in Focus, and Saxon.

 

CLE wins over them all, lol :D

[MeaganS]

CLE Math is my solution for my child who struggled with the more abstract math programs like Miquon and Singapore. She could use the rods and solve a problem if I showed her how, but she never internalized any of the math rules and patterns that she was supposed to. I realized that she really does just need to memorize facts and algorithms and then she sees the big picture better. So conceptual after algorithm for her. Saxon worked pretty well for a while, but it just took WAY too long and was causing tears (like 2 hours a day). CLE was recommended as an alternative to Saxon but would take less time. And I agree with that assessment. This child will never love math, but she is doing a good job and usually gets it done in an hour (and that's mostly because she spends so much time staring off into space). My math goals for her are fairly limited in the long run and if she gets through Algebra successfully, I will be really happy. Who knows though, she's surprised me before and I feel like CLE will adequately prepare her regardless.

 

However, I agree with the pp who said it isn't their first choice for a mathy kid. Unless I was prioritizing independence (because it rocks at independence), I wouldn't choose CLE for a mathy kid. There are so many awesome programs that aren't as overkill in review and are better conceptually that CLE isn't my first choice for my other children who are more naturally inclined.  CLE will definitely get the job done, though.

[aaplank]

My kids have been using CLE math for several years. I was getting worried when I kept reading about everyone's concern with CLE's word problems. I always thought they seemed like excellent preparation for real-world math skills. But, I second-guessed myself and got Singapore's Challenging Word Problems to reinforce conceptual math. My kids breezed right through CWP (they are not "mathy") and instead of using some of the suggested problem solving skills they went back to the way they were taught with CLE to solve the problem. I was thrilled!! So happy to consistently be reassured that CLE is the right choice for us.

[kagmypts]

I have very math-inclined kids, and CLE has been perfect for us.  All 3 of my kids are working one grade level ahead of where they are, but they are doing well.  They have had no problems solving Singapore's CWP either.  I love that CLE is  99% self-taught!

 

For the record, all 3 of my kids have scored in the 99th percentile on the ITBS math section each year that they have taken it.  They have yet to miss a single math problem on the ITBS.  I couldn't be happier with the program.

[Mrs. B]

I use MEP, but jumped from MEP 3a to CLE 400 series last semester for my son. It was for a temporary season of life where I was having to tend to family things. I knew I wouldn't have time to teach MEP for a few months. My son loved CLE! Except he does multi digit operations from left to right instead of with right to left traditional borrowing and carrying, so that was a minor issue. I was going to use CLE for my younger daughter for that season, but knowing I wanted to go back to MEP this school year, I didn't want her to learn multi digit addition and subtraction the CLE way. MEP teaches that completely differently. Instead, I just kept plugging away at year 1 MEP lessons for her at a slower pace.

 

MEP can be a bit too conceptual and in depth. CLE is nice to cover things in a simple, thorough, straight forward way. It was like a breath of fresh air doing CLE for a season. My son wants to continue with CLE, but he is super mathy and obsessed wih numbers. I feel MEP is a better fit for him as long as I am able to keep up with the lessons. My plan is for him to finish out the CLE 400 workbooks after he completes MEP year 3b to give him a break before starting MEP year 4. Admittedly, I will get a break as well because MEP is teacher intensive. I love CLE because it is spiral, thorough, and is written to the student. I had some good math teachers through my school years and I loved math class. CLE covers things just as I remember being taught in school. I now prefer the MEP program to traditional US math, but will switch to CLE in a heartbeat if MEP doesn't work for the long haul.

[mommy5]

I recently posted on my blog a full review of CLE math.  We've been using it for 3 years.  http://suchatimeasthis.com/2015/07/13/we-love-cle-math/

[boscopup]

My oldest son started out with Math Mammoth, then Singapore, followed by AoPS. When the next kid came along, he used Singapore for K and grade 1, but then I realized that he needed more daily review of certain topics (like time and money), plus he needed more math fact drill. So I switched him to CLE 200. He's just starting the 400 level and doing great with it. We are at a point where I am having to cut out some review problems, as a PP mentioned, but I just see where he is and what he needs. Sometimes he needs more practice, and sometimes he needs less. He is a mathy kid, but has attention issues. CLE has been a great fit for him, and he now knows his math facts forward and backward. I cut out the speed drills recently, as he had demonstrated that he didn't need them right now.

 

Third kid is Mr. Independent, so I let him do Singapore Essential Math K when he was 4, and he used CLE 100 in K. He's now in 1st grade and about halfway through CLE 200. He loves that he can do math without Mama. :tongue_smilie: The only issue we had with it was that the word problems were in the TM only for the first half of 100 level. He was so happy when the word problems moved to the student text and he didn't have to wait for me to get the TM out. ;)

 

In general, I've seen my kids use the same mental math techniques that Singapore teaches. CLE teaches it too! My kids can handle word problems without issue, even ones outside of CLE. And in general, they know math. It's been a great program for them. I plan to continue to use it until they're ready for Prealgebra, at which point they'll likely use AoPS like big brother did. All three are mathy kids.

[sewingmama]

I'm in love and will never change.

 

It took my math phobic, cried every lesson and retained nothing , two grades behind child and in 6 months had her at grade level and scoring 96% on the National Math test without a single meltdown because her confidence has soared.

 

It's awesome and I can't find a single fault with it for me.

[LittleIzumi]

It's been perfect for my math-phobic ADHD girl. It didn't work as well for my mathy kid. Mathy girl finished 200 and moved easily into Beast Academy. ADHD girl is starting CLE 400 and supplementing with BA 3 as well for concept ideas. And CTC. :p

[Caviar]

Love it!  Use it with all three children.

[Spillman6]

Love CLE. My 10th grader used Abeka to 6th grade, then tried TT, then CLE. A great fit. Will use with my 3rd grader this year.

[lotsofpumpkins]

We love CLE math here too, but not all of my dc are using it. My 2nd and 3rd graders are in CLE this year. My 5th grader struggles in math, and having so many types of problems each day was stressing him out. R&S wasn't much better. So, we got MUS for him and he is doing much better.

 

My oldest two dc (7th and 8th graders) are both in algebra this year, and CLE definitely got them ready. My oldest used from LU203 to LU807 and my next child used from LU106 to LU707. He is mathy and wanted to catch up to his older sister, so I told him he could jump to algebra if he could pass the placement test, and he did!

[Guest jr4x4]

After two years of Saxon (grades 1 and 2), I switched to CLE Math 1 and 3.  I like that CLE is spiral and teaches to the student.  I teach several grade levels so working towards independence is a high priority, for me, when choosing curriculum.  (Which is one reason I moved away from Saxon.)  I did supplement with several other curricula (Life of Fred, MiF, Zaccaro, to name a few) because I thought CLE fell short on word problems and rigor.    My children felt a great achievement to move to the next Light Unit.  As the teacher, the Light Unit workbooks made it easy for me to move lessons around or combine lessons as appropriate.  Math fact drills were seamlessly built into the CLE lessons.  Because of its incremental approach, I do believe that most children can achieve math confidence using CLE, but they may not be "challenged" by math using CLE alone based on my experience with these two grade levels. I think CLE is great as a spine curriculum, but I would suggest you be prepared to supplement.  I will use CLE Math 1 again with my 4 year old because I have that much confidence in the program's ability to inspire confidence and drill the math facts.

[happycc]

This curriculum has been perfect for my 11yrs old. We dropped down to 300 level based on her testing and have done this over the summer and starting 400 soon. She has struggled and struggled with all types of curriculums. This is my review curriculum. It reviews topics that she has been introduced to but never really fully grasped. Most curriculums move along too quickly. She needs a very spiral approached but not an approached where the problems are introduced in a boring plain way like Saxon. CLE has problems presented in different ways ... matching, fill in blank, dot to dot, interesting math facts and everything is written in the mini workbooks. My daughter does not need to struggle with copying issues...from textbook to paper and as a result she can focus on the task on hand rather than on penmanship. The lessons are pretty short and sweet. Takes her 30 minutes to complete one chapter in a lightunit including times test for facts. I don't do the oral stuff with her until end of light unit and in one swell swoop. I know...not a good idea but time is the issue. Now we also do work in Math in Focus grade level to meet Common core standards for the charter school we are in. A few problems of that a day to fill a full hour of math. Math in focus is not spiral and not a whole lot of review. It is a living hell to teach her with this but it keeps us moving forward. I know she doesn't have to get it fully the first go around because CLE will catch her again. For her Math in Focus is just exposure. I have a wonderful tutor who Skype and works with her daily.

 

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