If your child switched to CLE Math and placed behind...

[nena3927]

How did you manage to catch up? I'm debating on switching my oldest from MUS (middle of Delta) to CLE. Due to the odd scope and sequence of MUS, he would place 2 levels behind and would have to start in level 3. We've been using MUS for 3 years and have loved it until recently. He did have some major problems in Gamma and we had to slow way down on multi digit multiplication with regrouping. We stayed on one lesson over a month but it finally clicked and then we moved on. In Delta, he's having major issues with long division and Mr. Demme's way of teaching is confusing to him. I've been teaching him the traditional way I learned and he's still having issues but is understanding better than before. Of course he has to master this before moving on, and I feel like with this approach we keep falling farther and farther behind. 

I am discouraged though at the thought of having to back up two levels with CLE. I also feel like it isn't fair to him to have him try to play catch up when he has worked so diligently. How did you handle this with your dc? Thank you for your help :)

 

[HomeAgain]

I wonder if something like the Key To...series would help him grasp the concepts and allow you more time to decide on a math curriculum change.

[EmseB]

We didn't try to catch up when we switched. We just did (still do) one lesson a day.

If he's really zipping through the lessons you could do more than that. Have a set amount of time per day to do math and if he can finish more than one lesson in that time, then he does. If not, then there's no rush, right?

[EmseB]

Along the lines of what HomeAgain said, you could just do extra practice for mastery using Khan or something like that instead of switching entirely.

Just in general, I'm not in favor of trying to keep kids at a certain level just for the sake of being at  a certain level, unless there's a some outside reason like a tutorial or trying to get into a school later on.

[Holly]

We actually switched from MUS to CLE.  If that is your only reason for switching, I'd suggest trying something like Khan Academy.  We've always supplemented with the Khan videos when they need a different perspective.  Sometimes hearing a different instructor does wonders!  Long division was hard for one of my kids and took me sitting next to her for many lessons!  We also took it very slowly, stopping after 30 minutes, even if we only had 1 problem done.  Eventually I helped her less and less.

We switched from MUS because one child in particular wasn't retaining information very well in the long run, not over any one topic.  I think HS moms (definitely including myself in this) are too quick to jump ship.  Changing math curricula comes with lots of challenges and shouldn't be done without lots of thought.  We have changed math curriculum many times over the years.  A couple of times it was needed, but I think we switched more often because they hit a wall.  A bit of time and practice would have overcome the issue with far less stress than changing curriculum. 

If you do switch:  We plan on catching up through daily math, year round, M-F.  I assign a math lesson on Saturday if they've missed a day or two during the week.  We always work on math, our family read aloud, and our Bible reading, even if we do no other school for the day.

 

[nena3927]

I guess there are more issues that I should have mentioned that are causing me to ponder switching curriculum.  I do not take this lightly and have been concerned for quite a while now that my ds might need a different approach.

This particular child forgets concepts that MUS previously taught that aren't reviewed often and I have to teach them again. He doesn't want to do a whole page of long division. He's very math minded and does alot of mental math where I would have to have a pencil and paper. However, he struggles with retention and new concepts. Alot of time he will shut down before he's even tried when it's a new lesson and say he doesn't understand or it's too hard. A day or two later he's fine. His situation is really stressing me bc I haven't known what to do for almost year and we just keep trying to plow ahead to avoid switching.

I will look into Khan Academy. I've heard it mentioned several times but have never checked it out. Maybe it will help while we try to decided what to do.

[prairiewindmomma]

FWIW, we've been playing "catch up" for two years. Last year, ds went 1.5 levels during the academic year. This year he progressed two levels.  He is now at the end of 6th grade and in book 504.  IMO and IME, you can't just hope for the best and keep moving forward.

CLE has been a fantastic fit (compared to MUS which we owned and left mid-Gamma---and which another child was successful in) because there is a built in, tight spiral of review.  Going back, we discovered and plugged in a large number of gaps in conceptual understanding.

Things we did to speed through:  1. Always did speed drill until the calculations were automatic, 2. Skipped over lesson 1 (which is always review) if I felt he had mastered the previous material.  3. Skipped lesson 10 (which is a scheduled quiz).  I already knew what he needed to work on.  4. Picked and chose problems so that we were doing two lessons in a day---but focusing on where he needed additional work and only lightly touching on where he needed a moment of review. 5. Work year-round.

If you are working at the table with your child, you likely intimately know where he is strong and where he is weak in math.  You may not move as fast as you would like to....and THAT IS OK.  So much of pre-algebra and algebra really depend on knowing your concrete arithmetic cold. Spend the time that you need to.

[nena3927]

He has always struggled with retention. We finished Rod and Staff English 3 a few weeks ago and even with all the daily oral review that it contains, it still wasn't enough for some concepts to stick ?

 

[Another Lynn]

You might try the Saxon placement test.  Saxon has a lot of review similar to CLE and he likely wouldn't place as far back.  The downside is that Saxon is not a workbook.

Another option is to just teach him the concepts from CLE 300 he hasn't had yet (an introduction to decimals, fractions, some geometry concepts... ) and then start with 401.  IIRC, CLE starts long division in one of the early 400 light units.

[KrissiK]

18 hours ago, EmseB said:

We didn't try to catch up when we switched. We just did (still do) one lesson a day.

If he's really zipping through the lessons you could do more than that. Have a set amount of time per day to do math and if he can finish more than one lesson in that time, then he does. If not, then there's no rush, right?

This. 

Right now he’s doing a couple lessons a day. I’m crossing out problems that he does really well, like rounding and things like that, but otherwise, we just plug away.

[Murrayshire]

My ds placed a year behind when we began CLE a few years ago. We don't really stress the "grade" level as much as the "level," if you get my drift. That way he didn't worry so much about thinking he was behind. (We jumped the Saxon ship) He is where he is and we go from there!

We work about 45-60 minutes a day on math (math drill, board work, lesson, practice... math game days)... 4-5 days a week. If there are back to back lessons that are pretty easy, we do those lesson portions together then only do review problems from the last lesson we worked on that day. I also go through and highlight the problems I want him to complete. Some days I'll have him do them all, like before a test, but most days I pick n choose. I do utilize the "board work problems" from the teacher manual the next day for independent work to see if he retains topics from the previous day. This helps me determine what we need to touch on more often/less. There are two quizzes and one end-of-book test for each light unit. If he shows me daily that he gets what he is learning, we skip the quizzes. (So, that can actually speed up the pacing per book) If we have gaps between lesson days due to vacation, sickness, etc., I will give him quiz 1 or 2 before moving on to the next lesson. 

CLE Math has been the best move for my ds because of how flexible it can be. Ds actually finished 1 1/2 levels (grade level) this year. He has a goal to hit Algebra I in 8th grade, but we are seriously taking one day at a time with math. Not to mention, ds's attitude about math has improved greatly since we have moved to CLE. 

Good luck to you!

[MistyMountain]

I placed my dd in a level I thought she could manage but might not have been able to pass the placement test for. The stuff she was rusty on was not the big stuff for the grade though. We did the first light unit which was all review of that grade. That light unit she had the hardest time with but we got through it and it has been smoother since. For each light unit we skip the 2 quizzes since I can see if she knows the stuff during the lessons. We will keep working in the summer and when she eventually finishes the level we will then skip the first light unit since she just finished the last level and will not need to review. I am pleasantly surprised just how well CLE is working for her so far. She is doing much better then anything else she has used and says that she likes it and understands it.

[strawberryjam]

We switched to CLE when my son was in grade 3 (I think it was in the middle or end of third grade). We started with level 200s and he accelerated quickly - what I did is just skip the quizzes, tests, and sometimes I'd double up on lessons if they were easier ones and then just cross out a few of the review questions. I think CLE is pretty advanced, at least compared to the other math curricula I've checked. It is so thorough. I think it's common to do it a grade level behind. It seems a lot of people do. We love CLE and it is the best math program for us, but we are still slightly "behind". That said, I'm defintely sticking with it because it works and my kids retain the math and really master it. My aim is for them to be constantly getting 95%+ and really understanding it, and that's what's happening.