lgliser Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 My kids are in 3rd grade this year. I decided that CLE reading looked cool so we added it to our list. I liked that the stories seemed like good character builders. It was recommended that we get level 2 since we had never done a reading program so we did. I didn't realize it was so heavy on phonics. And I don't know why I didn't think about it being a little like WWE.... and I know it's more reading focused and WWE is more about writing, but they both have story comprehension. I don't mind having more of that - it's not going to hurt my kids a bit. The phonics though... We do AAS and I feel like things are overlapping and a little overwhelming. Probably mostly because they're covering different things at different times, or in different ways. Oh and like right now, CLE is reinforcing the rule, "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking," which AAS says is not true 60% of the time! I'm trying to decide if it's just too much or not. We'll stick with it because I bought it and I do like the stories, but I don't know if I should just sort of gloss over some of the things. Things like opposites are super easy. Going over the vocab words is pretty easy. I like that sometimes we come across a hard one. The pronunciation of the words is new to them. Like when it's written like: /blah blah/ with the schwas and the short, long vowel symbols, etc. We've never really covered that stuff before. In CLE reading level 2 they are presenting it like it's already been covered in level 1. Part of me wants to gloss over it too but I'm not sure why since we've never done it before. I guess I'm feeling a little lost on how to teach it since like I said, they're presenting it like we should already know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 My DD is eight and in third grade. We bought CLE Reading 3. We both really like it. She does just fine with the diacritical marks and there isn't any other phonics (so far, anyway). I just let her use a key for the ones she doesn't know. But, those sections are such a small part of the program, they could easily be skipped. DD has completed AAR 3 & 4 and and is now working through AAS 3. Perhaps CLE Reading 3 would have been a better fit? Of course, I guess it would also depend on our DD's reading level. My only complaint is that it doesn't fit in the 30-minute slot I assigned for it in our already jam-packed schedule. Takes more like 40-45 minutes for us. I wish grade 3 was a half-year like the grades above it. I almost chose grade 4, but there was more writing to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 CLE does become much less phonetic in the 300s in both LA and Reading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I'm asking myself these questions too. I thought CLE would be a good addition since the math is so good, but the instructions are just different enough that my kids are having to ask me a lot of questions. For us, I was hoping it could be done mostly independently while I was working with my younger two, but so far that hasn't been the case. I think we'll finish the year, or at least through Christmas, and re-evaluate from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgliser Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 I didn't realize the upper years were just half a year! Wow... I'll keep it up for now. Just not sure we'll stick with it again next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I really like CLE reading but don't begin using the full program until grade 4. I buy the readers for my kids before that but looking at the younger levels I didn't see as much value as grade 4+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I really like CLE reading but don't begin using the full program until grade 4. I buy the readers for my kids before that but looking at the younger levels I didn't see as much value as grade 4+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermione310 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 We used it for grade 3. I thought the messages in the stories were great character education. Where I'm really seeing the benefit is with levels 4+. I took a year off, then perused the samples for grade 5 this year and was very impressed with both the story content and the skills taught in the Light Units. We're adding it back in as a supplement. Love that the lessons don't last a full year so we can do both novel studies and CLE. I've really been impressed across the board with the content of CLE materials -- Math, LA, Reading, and Bible. They're a hidden gem! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I started the girls with it in 2nd and 4th grades. YDD didn't care for the full-year reading and all the diacritical markings in grade 2 (she was a self-taught reader). Everyone likes the half-year 4th grade and up. I feel like it teaches a lot of "little" things that I might otherwise forget. I also like that I have time to add in lit guides as well. I'll continue it through 8th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgliser Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 I started the girls with it in 2nd and 4th grades. YDD didn't care for the full-year reading and all the diacritical markings in grade 2 (she was a self-taught reader). Everyone likes the half-year 4th grade and up. I feel like it teaches a lot of "little" things that I might otherwise forget. I also like that I have time to add in lit guides as well. I'll continue it through 8th grade. I don't love the diacritical markings myself and forgive the dumb question, but should we spend a lot of time on them anyway? Are they super important? I like the sound of CLE teaching a lot of the little things that I might otherwise forget. I'm always thinking of little things and wondering which, if any, of my curriculum options will teach it. So that sounds good to me :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Because the other levels are 1/2 year courses if done daily, it's okay to slow down some of the full year courses as well, IMO. If you like them, just do them at the pace your schedule allows. CLE Reading is Dd2's favorite subject ;). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3girls4me Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Because the other levels are 1/2 year courses if done daily, it's okay to slow down some of the full year courses as well, IMO. If you like them, just do them at the pace your schedule allows. CLE Reading is Dd2's favorite subject ;). I'll add that we had started another program for reading this year - Drawn into the Heart of Reading - and it was so-so. But I decided I didn't want to do it solely. So I ordered CLE 5 for my DD and she did the happy dance. We had used it last year and I had no idea she liked it so much. Ha!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.