CLE vs. Saxon math

[KrissiK]

We have been having great success with CLE math these last couple years, but next year we are joining a charter school. I can choose my own curriculum, but it has to be secular, or the charter will not pay for it and I cannot turn in work samples using Christian curriculum. I really would like to continue with CLE, and I suppose I could, I would just have to figure out another way for work samples. I have been looking at Saxon and it seems like it would work for us, but I just hesitate.... especially for DS1. His history with math curriculum has been extremely rocky and at times, downright ugly. But, we seem to be sailing on smoother waters with CLE and he is definitely making progress. I really don’t want to change curriculum with him unless I am sure it’s going to work. 

Any comments or helps from anyone who has BTDT?

[BusyMom5]

What would it hurt to get the Saxon and just use it occasionally,  or give tests, and still use CLE, too.  Then you' gave the wirk samples, but most of his work would be cle.

[Another Lynn]

17 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

What would it hurt to get the Saxon and just use it occasionally,  or give tests, and still use CLE, too.  Then you' gave the wirk samples, but most of his work would be cle.

That's what I was thinking.  Stick with what works, but dabble in Saxon on the side for work samples.  

[Kiara.I]

Or keep doing CLE and submit work samples from those "grade level math" workbooks you find at Costco?

[KrissiK]

44 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

What would it hurt to get the Saxon and just use it occasionally,  or give tests, and still use CLE, too.  Then you' gave the wirk samples, but most of his work would be cle.

I’m really leaning toward doing this, or just getting free worksheets from the internet. It just seems like more work, but I absolutely do not want to quit CLE 

[nixpix5]

31 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

I’m really leaning toward doing this, or just getting free worksheets from the internet. It just seems like more work, but I absolutely do not want to quit CLE 

We do this. We use BJU for one of our students as well as other Christian curriculum. When I write our work plan I add non Christian resources to the list. When I write progress updates each month I will say something like "student did 27 math lessons/work pages this month and worked on subtraction with borrowing, multidigit multiplication...." etc. Then, the work sample I turn in is the secular pages I made sure were done. Our school is public but our advisor there is Christian and she herself told us to do it this way and not worry about it. They buy us secular curriculum so I don't feel like I am wasting money. It just gives us more resources to draw from. We have made it work.

[Carolinagirl1]

I have no idea how to tell you to modify a Christian curriculum for a charter school, but I can weigh in on a switch from CLE to Saxon, because we did just that this year. It has been a disaster. We were so spoiled by the streamlined format of CLE with the self contained lightunits and the teachers manual. The problems were all written out in the light unit (workbook) all neat and tidy and it was so easy to check answers. The teaching was 1/2 to 1 page at most in nice little bite size chunks, and very easy for my 6th-7th grader to understand. We switched to Saxon because I wanted to use the same curriculum through Calculus and got great feedback from here on the curriculum. First, I felt the need to make copies of the answer forms so we could keep the work neat and straight. Then we had to wrangle a huge text book, a test and worksheets book, the answer key, and the huge 2 inch binder for the work. On top of that, the teaching is usually 2-3 pages, and then we need to watch the Art Reed DVDs (which we love - it is the ONLY (optional) part that we love). CLE is spiral and it just worked for us, but Saxon is spiral, and it is just overwhelming. I don't know if it is the level that we are on now, but it is leaving us both in tears, so much so, that my daughter thinks she needs to repeat 7th grade! I have an appointment at Mathnasium for extra help because we are so lost at this point. I am great at math, but to give my input and try to incorporate it with Saxon, trying to figure out where this lesson was on this and that lesson was on that - it's making us crazy. 

I might add a disclaimer that I went with the recommendations to allow my daughter to use the solutions manual to correct her lessons while I correct the tests. Possibly, it would've been easier on us if I corrected all of the lessons but that would've required me reading 2-3 pages a day, which would've been ok for some people, but being used to only having to read the bite size chunks of CLE and having some other family issues to care for, I just didn't have the patience or the time for Saxon to work properly for us. All that being said, I do like the conceptual basis in the lessons. I regret our decision to switch, but I'm not sure what we would have done when CLE Algebra is over. BJU? 

[KrissiK]

Thank you, CarolinaGirl!! I appreciate your thorough answer. Mentioned a lot of the problems I was wondering about. I really really like CLE math, and I think we’re just going to try to make it work.

[kagmypts]

On 5/23/2018 at 7:43 PM, Carolinagirl1 said:

I have no idea how to tell you to modify a Christian curriculum for a charter school, but I can weigh in on a switch from CLE to Saxon, because we did just that this year. It has been a disaster. We were so spoiled by the streamlined format of CLE with the self contained lightunits and the teachers manual. The problems were all written out in the light unit (workbook) all neat and tidy and it was so easy to check answers. The teaching was 1/2 to 1 page at most in nice little bite size chunks, and very easy for my 6th-7th grader to understand. We switched to Saxon because I wanted to use the same curriculum through Calculus and got great feedback from here on the curriculum. First, I felt the need to make copies of the answer forms so we could keep the work neat and straight. Then we had to wrangle a huge text book, a test and worksheets book, the answer key, and the huge 2 inch binder for the work. On top of that, the teaching is usually 2-3 pages, and then we need to watch the Art Reed DVDs (which we love - it is the ONLY (optional) part that we love). CLE is spiral and it just worked for us, but Saxon is spiral, and it is just overwhelming. I don't know if it is the level that we are on now, but it is leaving us both in tears, so much so, that my daughter thinks she needs to repeat 7th grade! I have an appointment at Mathnasium for extra help because we are so lost at this point. I am great at math, but to give my input and try to incorporate it with Saxon, trying to figure out where this lesson was on this and that lesson was on that - it's making us crazy. 

I might add a disclaimer that I went with the recommendations to allow my daughter to use the solutions manual to correct her lessons while I correct the tests. Possibly, it would've been easier on us if I corrected all of the lessons but that would've required me reading 2-3 pages a day, which would've been ok for some people, but being used to only having to read the bite size chunks of CLE and having some other family issues to care for, I just didn't have the patience or the time for Saxon to work properly for us. All that being said, I do like the conceptual basis in the lessons. I regret our decision to switch, but I'm not sure what we would have done when CLE Algebra is over. BJU? 

 

You saved me a significant amount of typing.  We absolutely love CLE, but in sixth grade, I decided to switch my daughter to Saxon.  It is my one and only homeschooling regret.  For the reasons stated above, Saxon was a disaster.  I really wish that I had thrown the book away a few months into the school year.  My daughter is extremely mathy, but I think that she actually regressed in her math skills while she used Saxon.  Never again.

If you enjoy CLE, I would stay away from Saxon.