zibby3 Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 My 5th grader is behind in math partly due to her dislike/struggle with math, partly due to too much jumping around to different curricula trying to find the right thing, and the resulting overall lack of consistency. Her skills are a little all over the place. She has gaps we need to fill. I do believe she will be able to catch up. I think I have finally figured out that she does better with paper/workbook style math, and with no computer/screen component at all. I am now mainly looking at CLE math or Learn Math Fast. Or maybe both? For the diagnostic tests for CLE, she did not "officially" pass the level 200 test, but that was mainly because of failing an entire section on measures (1 yard=____inches....). I think CLE level 300 would be best and i think she won't mind one bit if some of it is too easy, but I am struggling with the idea that she is 2 years behind. I think I need to swallow my pride on that one. How easy is it to "catch up" using CLE? Can we easily work at a faster pace or skip if she already has certain skills? Should I consider Learn Math Fast to catch up, and then move to CLE? Or use both at the same time? Is there anything else I should look at? It can't be anything crazy expensive or teacher intensive because I have 4 kids and 3 part-time jobs at the moment. Things we've done in the past: Started in private school for k/1, then a little Singapore, Teaching Textbooks, Easy Peasy/Khan Academy, and most recently just an Easy Peasy printables book we had that is meant to go with the online program, but she has been doing better just doing it on her own/with me. I would love to hear any advice! Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobblygook Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) I’m in a similar situation with my 5th grade daughter. I’m leaning towards CLE right now, because it’s what I’m most comfortable using and it worked well with my two older boys. I do have Learn Math Fast but I’m not sure it’s the best fit because there’s not enough review for her. I really think she needs the spiral that CLE provides but I don’t think she’s going to like it. The lessons are longer than what she is used to doing, but she probably needs that. With CLE, there are ways to accelerate. My daughter, for example, knows some things that are above her grade level and yet doesn’t know some things that are below her grade level. She went part-time to a private school that has a unique scope and sequence for math. CLE has a short section of new material and then a longer review section. If my daughter knows a particular concept, I plan to possibly do two sections of new material and then just one review section. You can also cut out the tests and quizzes, but I find them helpful. Edited February 14, 2021 by Gobblygook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdomandtreasures Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I err on the side of focusing on mastery of a concept over speed of keeping up with grade level. I say go with CLE. It's a great program. You could buy teacher guides for grades 2-4 on eBay and skim them for a better idea of where to place her, then buy the appropriate workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant4Christ Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) CLE is advanced and pretty fast moving once you hit fourth grade. Even though DS started CLE from the very beginning (grade 1), grade 4 was a disaster. I think it was more the spiral approach though, not the program itself. DS just never felt confident in CLE because it kept moving on and also phasing out concepts before he had them mastered. We switched to Rod and Staff since it is a mastery program that gives plenty of practice (if needed) and review. We went backwards an entire year to give him a solid arithmetic foundation to base all future math on and it's been a much better fit for him. We worked through the summer to catch up. It is very easy to skip ahead and/or test out of a chapter. Something to note about CLE: it teaches standard and metric units of measure simultaneously which could be difficult if you haven't been doing this right along. I can't remember if CLE has remedial math or not but I know Rod and Staff does. Oh, and I just remembered another option for CLE is to order the first light unit of each grade since it is literally a review of all the previous year's concepts that should be mastered. That would make it much easier/faster to find any gaps and catch up. Edited February 19, 2021 by Servant4Christ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zibby3 Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me! It really helps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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