what path to take... math Q

[skaterbabs]

Dot will finish CLE LU 109 during her next full school week. LU 110 (based on her past history) will take about ten days to complete. We will at that point need to provide more math for her, but I'm wondering if I should order the 200 level (which she'd finish in late summer) or move to another program and work through the first grade in something like MEP, Math Mammoth, etc. Her average score on tests & quizes is 99% correct. The rare occasions in which she makes a mistake are what I term "blond moments." It's never a question of not having mastered the material, because she demonstrates a thorough understanding of it in the daily work.

Opinions?

[StephanieZ]

I don't know anything about what the CLE curricula covers. . . but I've never had any problem allowing my dc to go ahead to the next level of material once they master a level. My dd7 (1st grade) is in 3A in Singapore and is also doing the Miquon books and she just keeps moving on, no problems. My older 2 followed similar paths, no problems. They just work at their own pace and slow down when needed.

The only "problem" for us kicks in when they hit algebra -- and in that case it was never an issue of understanding concepts, but rather an accuracy issue, which I think is largely develpmental. (In my case, my oldest got to that accuracy level around turning 12, my second son seems to have it now, at an older 10.) So, for us, I don't bother trying to slow anyone down until Algebra looms. . . In the meanwhile, I just make sure to take time to master everything and explore whatever rabbit trails appear (roman numerals, graphing activities, etc.).

Whether you want/need to add a second curriculum depends totally on what your main one covers.

[skaterbabs]

CLE is very thorough, and I'm pleased with the program. Some people consider it weak on mental math/logic types of things, but I don't see a lack there. (I'm not "mathy", though, so I doubt that I would notice it.)

I don't think she's really missing anything, but since she still has five months left in the current school year, I don't know if I want to go deeper or just keep moving ahead. We don't supplement CLE at all, but I'm not willing to allow her to go from March to September with no math. In all likelihood, we'll just order the 200 level, but we have an opportunity to do something different if we WANT to do so.

[Jen in PA]

I have to agree with Stephanie about following the child's lead on pacing at this age. My dd loves math. I have tried many stalling tactics, but the result is that she just goes through the material I made her wait for even faster. We use SM, but we only do math 4 days a week at home, and she has an outside math concepts class once per week. I am seriously considering dropping down to 3 days a week of SM and one day of special math and logic games to avoid hitting algebra too young. I think for a mathy kid a new math book is what a fun novel is to an avid reader -- just lots of fun and discoveries they can't wait to get to.