Eni Mini Miny Moe...which Math is a go?

[kahlanne]

So many choices all with valid pros and cons. How do you ever know what to choose? Four choices are all on my chopping block. Help me decide which to keep. (primarily for k and 1st grader)

 

I have all of Rightstart A and it appears enjoyable. I read over a few lessons and it doesn't seem extremely time consuming. What am I missing? Everyone tells me it is too teacher intensive, minimum of 45 min- 1 hour each lesson. Having a 2, 4, 6, and 11 yr old, I am worried I won't have ample time to devote to it. Is it the games that extend the time spent? Or is it farther into the program that it gets that way? Rightstart is very scripted and scheduled which is a big pro. When I compare it to Singapore, I find its scripting and single book easier than flipping from textbook, workbook, and hig. but everyone says Singapore is less time consuming. Opinions? Other than that, any reason to choose one over the other? I have been told that RS leaves gaps late in the program? Correct?

 

For Singapore, I have Primary Mathmetics 1A and 1B Textbooks US editons and The Teacher's Guide along with answer key. My understanding is that most prefer the Standard Editions but I didn't realize that until after getting these. The teacher's guide is more confusing to me than Rightstart's guide. Would the HIG make that big of a difference? I can figure it out but I wonder will the HIG still be more complicated than Rightstart? Time wise, which takes longer from a teaching standpoint? Is it worth the extra $ to purchase HIG even though I have the TM?

 

For my oldest, I have a couple of options, Ace's Paces Math or Math Mammoth. I believe mastery is better for her after changing from spiral this year. (Don't know which works best for other children yet.) For a struggling learner, would you suggest choosing a mastery program as the spine and supplement with a spiral math program? Overkill? Pace isn't highly reviewed but I think the slow pace and self teaching would work for my daughter and the expense isn't great. Math Mammoth has the option of purchasing the topics she needs more work on. Would she do these topics at the same time as having her work on her grade level, 6th? There are many gaps that we need to close. She has never been able to memorize all of her math facts and does her own version of grouping/mental math even without being taught. Teaching time needs to be as minimal as possible while still giving her all she needs to learn.

 

Would it be better to us MM with both 11 and 6 yr old even though 4 yr old isn't ready for MM? What would you suggest for 4 yr old in this case? Could 4 and 6 both be taught using Rightstart A? 6 yr old knows her numbers and a few addition facts but very few. 4 yr old doesn't know all his numbers but can count to 15. Lastly, where does Singapore fit and for whom if any?

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Kathie in VA]

I tried RightStart but it didn't work for me. Could be more due to the approach.. *I* don't do well with the spiral approach. I did get the whole box of their games but we didn't pull them out as often as I hoped. With real little ones around *I* tend to avoid anything with lots of pieces. I did like the Activities for the Alabacus and the Worksheets books. I used them for K but decided I wanted a fuller program to continue with. I went to Singapore PM, standards ed. but I still use the abacus as our main manipulative as there are no pieces to loose or choke on. I haven't been using the HIG too much and now I'm regretting it a bit... there's some mental math in the back that might have helped some. But basically we like it. I tend to glance thru the HIG at the beginning of a chapter and then mainly use the textbook to teach from and stop when it says which workbook pages to do. We do the tests also. I'm hoping to add in the CWP next year and intend on finding a way to use the mental math review in the back of the HIG.

 

Well that's our journey so far with these prgms.

 

hths

[CrunchyGirl]

RS didn't work for DS although part of the problem was with me--I felt like I was going crazy with it. I'm actually going to give RS A a shot though with my artsy kid this fall (we'll be doing that and OPGTR for K4). DS ended up in Singapore and it's perfect for him. I like it too. I find it easy to teach and accelerate (which is a requirement with him). I've never had a teaching manual for Singapore although I'm planning on getting the HIG for level 3 here in the next month or two.

[kahlanne]

I tried RightStart but it didn't work for me. Could be more due to the approach.. *I* don't do well with the spiral approach. I did get the whole box of their games but we didn't pull them out as often as I hoped. With real little ones around *I* tend to avoid anything with lots of pieces. I did like the Activities for the Alabacus and the Worksheets books. I used them for K but decided I wanted a fuller program to continue with. I went to Singapore PM, standards ed. but I still use the abacus as our main manipulative as there are no pieces to loose or choke on. I haven't been using the HIG too much and now I'm regretting it a bit... there's some mental math in the back that might have helped some. But basically we like it. I tend to glance thru the HIG at the beginning of a chapter and then mainly use the textbook to teach from and stop when it says which workbook pages to do. We do the tests also. I'm hoping to add in the CWP next year and intend on finding a way to use the mental math review in the back of the HIG.

 

Well that's our journey so far with these prgms.

 

hths

 

 

Thanks for the advice. I was told Rightstart was mastery not spiral. Am I mistaken? The games worry me to as I always tend to run out of time for extras like that. This is why I was wondering if it was the games that make it so time intensive or the regular work?

[NASDAQ]

RS A is pre-SM 1A/1B in my opinion. I use it with my JKer. It's a better match to Singapore Essentials (K).

 

RS A is not as time intensive, but it's very, very spiral. It's also (imho) a bit annoying. It's hard to explain. I just have trouble seeing where it's going sometimes. I also don't find the games useful. I've used the games with my older one, a little bit and ditched them to go to worksheets; I just don't find games provide the same type of targeted learning. They can be useful for generally keeping stuff fresh.

 

I am not familiar with Ace Paces math in particular, but I'd go with MM over any of their stuff. MM is pretty good. Review what you need to review.

[kahlanne]

Turns out I have Rightstart B as well. Amazing what you can find if you clean your bookshelves. I knew Rightstart A seemed simple but didn't realize it was behind SM 1a-b. Now time for me to take a look at it. Thanks for the help.