We have switched to levels 2 and 4 this year, coming from CLE. I didn’t choose it because I thought it was CM, because I understand that it is not. And I don’t even care much for the stories and the copywork.
I picked it because CLE was taking FOREVER each day. I have a personality where crossing things off to make the lessons shorter stresses me out. I would rather have a short lesson that I can add to if needed.
So for me, the reasons we picked it are: the shorter lessons, the traditional scope and sequence (as opposed to MUS’s non-traditional scope and sequence), the variety, the color, and the real life application. I also read a lot of FAQ from the author in order to feel confident in her thoughts behind “drill and kill”. It made a lot of sense to me.
However, I have also become convinced of the importance of having math facts down cold by upper elementary. So we are going to spend time on that. I’ll be sure to mix it up with flashcards, XtraMath and maybe a few worksheets from MUS’s website etc.. Since the Master Books lessons are short, we’ll actually have time to get around to fact review! With CLE, just doing the lessons took so long that we let that go….or we got it all done accompanied by tears. 🙂
We’ve only done a few weeks so far, so I don’t have a solid opinion or review yet.