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Saturday, February 28, 2009

CLE Math Answer

I had a question asked in one of my comments so I thought I would post the answer to it here for any of those that are interested in Christian Light curriculum or just even the math.

Christian Light's math includes a teacher's manual and 10 Light Units. In the early grades Christian Light's math does require teacher instruction though it is not intense. The teacher's manual includes what needs to be done for each lesson. Flashcards, drill and then the lesson for the day. Christian Light's math manual is NOT scripted like Saxon math's manual for grades K-3. It does not tell you what to say but does help guide you in teaching your student. Lessons are short, yet effective. After the lesson the student is able to complete their lesson independently. So far the math is working well though my oldest isn't fond of it. She'd much rather have the bells and whistles and color that many math programs contain. But the math program is effective and I am seeing progress in her math abilities wether she wants to admit it or not. Christian Light's math is spiral and incremental meaning the program reviews material by bring it back so the student doesn't forget the material and its incremental meaning that it teaches new concepts in bite sized pieces one step at a time.

Christian Light's Language Arts is much like its math. We are currently using the level 3 Language Arts and I really like its spiral and incremental approach. This method seems to work well for my oldest who has had very little grammar instruction thanks to the Calvert we used with the cyberschool. Again the LA is spiral and incremental. It reviews previously learned concepts throughout the grade level and teaches it in bite sized pieces so that the student can put the pieces together and understand its whole.

We are also using the Christian Light for Reading as well and this subject seems to be the least liked subject by my oldest. Even though I like the rhyme and reason of the program she just doesn't like it. Besides this, the Reading program is very thorough,. In order to be successful with the program you need to have at the very least the book and the Light Units. The manual is useful , contains alternate Light Unit tests but isn't a must have if your budget is tight. If you do purchase the manual it is useful. The Reader only contains the stories and nothing else. Its the Light Unit that has the bulk of the program inside each workbook. Each level is different but in level 500 the Light Units contain vocabulary, Bible Memory verses that go along with the story that has been read and important and crucial reading skills , reading comprehension and much more.

As for the Christian Light Science and History we aren't using these so I can't comment on them. There are many happy families that use them but I decided not to use them this year.

So there you go folks. My mini review of our experience with using Christian Light Education so far in our homeschool.

1 comment:

Bluebonnetgirl said...

Tracy, We are a Catholic homeschooling family and I just discovered CLE and will likely use it for Math, LA, and Reading. What do you recommend for Science and Social Studies? Thanks much!