Please share your opinions of Rod & Staff Math

[Joyfullyblessed]

Hello,

 

I am beginning homeschool with my soon to be five year old son in the Fall. I have really been looking at math programs for him and keep coming back to Rod and Staff math.

 

I would love it if anyone who has used Rod and Staff math would share their experience with the program. I want to hear the good and even the bad if there is anything. What do you like about it?

 

I also looked at Abeka, but I don't know if that would be too much, too fast. I am not a math minded person at all, so I need to be able to teach my son well and not stumble.

 

I am anxious to hear opinions on Rod and Staff because I am SOOOO close to placing my orders, but I have to pin down this math thing. Thanks in advance to everyone for their help and suggestions.

 

Have a wonderful day! :001_smile:

[Nakia]

We love Rod and Staff math! We've used it for 3 years, and I think we will use it all the way. Last year (3rd grade) I worried it was too slow, but in 4th grade it REALLY picks up! R&S really believes in getting the basics down at the beginning. The teacher's manuals are fabulous!! And you cannot beat the price. I don't think you will be disappointed!

[Aurelia]

We hated it. There were too many problems with too little "hands on activities" for my daughter, and too much rote memorization with too little conceptual understanding for my taste. I dreaded doing math with it, and she cried every day.

[SilverMoon]

We're not very far into R&S math, but I do like what we've done so far. R&S doesn't have a kindy level math though. You'd have to step up to first grade level books, or get the preschool books.

 

My rising first grader just used Spectrum math last year. Most educational supply stores and bookstores carry them. Kindy isn't worth expensive math sets imo. (Disclaimer: I don't get formal with my kids until first grade.)

[Angel]

I would have to say that it depends on the child. I did R&S 6-8 with my older dd. It was a perfect fit for her. Slow and steady, taking time with a concept to make sure that it was understood, very little jumping around with topics. It was just what she needed.

 

Because we loved it, I bought R&S 1 to use with my 1st grader. What a bomb with her. My younger dd just needs more hands on learning and she actually likes jumping around from topic to topic. She needed something different everyday. I loved it, but she hated it. We moved on to Saxon for 2nd grade.

 

I will say that the TM is very easy to teach from. I, too, am a math challenged mom:glare: yet I found it easy to teach the older grades as well as 1st. I had a few problems in the 8th book but that's far down the road for you ;) Also, R&S has a TON of problems. We rarely did them all, in fact younger dd would do maybe half the front and half the back of a page. There is a lot there. Older dd did evens or odds only.

 

Disclaimer: I am in the "not rush academics" camp, so take this for what it's worth...:D R&S does not have a K math book, it begins in 1st. The pre-school books are meant for 4yo to 5yo. If you decide to go with R&S 1st grade in K, I would take it slow and maybe do it over two years and add in some hands on manipulatives and fun math games to flesh out a K year with it. Especially since your dc is not yet 5. This will also give you the opportunity to find out if your dc likes the slow and steady approach or if he will prefer more hands on learning for math.

 

It's a great program, but, as always, the best program is the one that fits your child. Good luck!

[Sandy in Indy]

We've done the 1st and 2nd grade books (along with Singapore). I really like it and ds has done very well with it. I don't make him do all of the problems so we do two lessons a day. We're finishing Singapore 1B and will do 2A before moving back to R&S 3.

[Mom0012]

I've used R&S math 1 - 4 and expect to finish level 5 this year. I really like it and it has worked very well for my son. I feel it is a very solid program and intend to continue with it all the way through. I have searched the boards and read testimonies from many parents who have used it through level 7 or 8 and had children that then went on to algebra successfully. I have read that R&S has an algebra program in the works and I'm hoping that will come out by the time my son is ready for it.

 

The biggest drawback to R&S for me is that they discontinue the workbooks in 3rd grade and your child is expected to copy the problems out of the book. I have gotten around that by cutting the binding off of the student text and letting my son write directly on the pages.

 

I also agree with Angel that picking a math program really depends on the child. I think R&S is probably ideal for a student who needs a slow and steady approach with lots of practice.

 

Lisa

Edited July 13, 2009 by LisaTheresa

[MIch elle]

Both my dc used R&S math. My oldest used R&S math 3-6, 8; my younger used 1-4 then switched to CLE math 5, 6.

 

Christian Light Education has samples on their website clp.org

[2_girls_mommy]

We will be doing our 3rd year of it this year, and plan to continue all the way. No, they don't have kindy, so we used the 1st grade book for K, and it worked fine here. There is lots of writing, but as long as the concepts are being learned, cut down on the writing. I don't make her do all of the problems. My dd will be going into 2nd grade w/the 3rd grade book this year.

 

My youngest who will be 5 will be starting the 1st grade soon. She did the preschool counting with numbers book last year. She will continue with the ABC workbooks for her K year with the 1st grade math until she completes them. I don't know how it will work for her, but I am sure she will be fine. For us, it does have hands on. We made the duck pond with a felt board, and they count and move those around every day, just like the teacher's book says. In 2nd grade there is a boat poster and a bee poster that if you make provides some manipulatives. I start with hands on by adding counting bears or dry beans too. I have a clock book with hands that can move that we use for the clock lessons. So you can use your imagination to add in more if you need it.

 

I love that it is so sweet. I love that it really drills the basics and gets the kids to memorize the facts. I love that my dd can add 2 digit math problems faster than I can, because she has her facts memorized to 18. No issues with it here.

[Scuff]

We hated it. There were too many problems with too little "hands on activities" for my daughter, and too much rote memorization with too little conceptual understanding for my taste. I dreaded doing math with it, and she cried every day.

 

Ditto that. It killed my DS's love for math. Absolutely killed it. BORING. But I have heard great things about it and for a slow and steady learner it would be great. For us it was just too much of the same thing day after day after day. I do have gr. 1-3 to sell if you decide on it.

[MeAndTheBoys]

I posted on a similar question--if you're interested in R&S with a 5 year old, do take a look at Christian Light Education Grade 1 also--it is very gentle, very sweet. They don't have a K curriculum, so the Grade 1 spends about 1/3 of the year on very basic math (numbers, counting, number lines, simple addition) then gears up into more "1st grade" things like measurement, subtraction, drilling addition and sub facts, etc.

 

I just liked the look of it more than R&S--less drill and kill--but they are both good and gentle programs.

 

We actually started CLE Math 1 at age 4 1/2 and took 18 months on it, and it was my best curriculum choice that year. We are currently in Grade 3, and I will start Grade 1 with my K-er this fall.

 

Betsy

[Closeacademy]

I like Rod and Staff math for my non-mathy child. I use it mainly to reinforce and review concepts.

 

My math curriculum for this child is a combination of texts and methods that I adapt to her needs.

 

We use Waldorf techniques of story and pictures to learn about new concepts, facts and notebook our discoveries.

 

We use Singapore methods to show the different ways of looking at a problems.

 

We use various manipulatives from abacus to fingers to bears to cuisinere rods to number lines for help in visualizing solutions to problems.

 

And we use Rod and Staff to review. They do the problems over and over and over and over again.

 

Rod and Staff is good but you may need to be creative. I like Singapore best for my math/science child who picks up concepts quickly and easily and could do basic math before she could speak.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck.:001_smile:

[Sara R]

We love Rod and Staff here! My daughter needs a slow and steady approach with a logical, orderly presentation, and lots of review until the processes become automatic, which is what we appreciate about Rod and Staff. She was doing Saxon at school, which does offer lots of review, but not very much practice on the new concept, and it jumped from topic to topic. We also do Singapore, but they introduce concepts too quickly for her. We started her at the beginning of the grade 4 math book (when we pulled her out of public school math in the middle of grade 5) and the review has been very effective.

 

My mathy son uses it for fraction practice as well. Singapore introduces fractions super fast, without very much review at all. So he's going through R&S 4 as well, skipping the lessons that he already has mastered. He still does the review problems so he can practice paying attention to each step and avoiding careless mistakes.

 

My youngest daughter is doing R&S 1. I like it for her because she's always wanting to do math while the others are doing math, and she can do it fairly independently (important because I'm mainly working with my learning disabled older daughter). Singapore 1 was moving too quickly and I felt that she wasn't understanding the concepts.

[fiddledeedee]

R&S works very well for my daughter that isn't strong in math. We started out with MUS, but by 2nd grade she was really struggling with it. I switched to R&S at that point, and it was a perfect fit for us. She needs the repetition and now does very well in math. She'll be a 4th grader next year, and it will be our third year with R&S.

 

Not only is it a solid program, it's fairly inexpensive. I like that!

[skaterbabs]

We also use CLE and I honestly think it's almost perfect. It's not colorful, but it's very throrough, and the lessons literally begin with "This is 1. Here is ONE popsicle stick. This is how you write a 1." So it's a very gentle introduction to math that still teaches the material at a reasonable pace.

 

When we started the 100 level with Dot, I seriously considered skipping the first two lightunits. She's been adding and subtracting to ten, using the words adding, subtracting, plus and minus, able to tell time to the hour and identify the four common US coins and their value (although not total the value of multiple coins) for almost a year now. I felt like the first few lightunits would be a waste of time and money, and I admit, easily 95% of the material has been review for her.

 

However, the 101 lightunit introduces place value in lesson ten; by the end of the LU, Dot could count by tens to 100, and understood that five dimes and two pennies was 52 cents and not seven cents. :tongue_smilie:The 102 lightunit has been about 85% review. Her new skills are counting by five (she still struggles with 15 when doing so lol) and understanding congruent shapes, and the definition of the word congruent. She also follows directions better now as well, partly because that is how I presented the review lessons to her. "I know you know this, we're going to do it anyway to practice following directions."

 

She has progressed through the material VERY quickly, often doing several lessons at one sitting. In the four weeks since we started, she has finished LU 101, and will finish LU 102 possibly as soon as tomorrow, although I'm trying to stretch her out until Friday. :p

 

A few things I've found helpful: a whiteboard w/ several different colors of markers, counters, a snack cup with a lid, popsicle sticks. I would like to get a base ten set. You'll need a ruler, I suggest having both a 12" and one of those small 6" ones available.

Edited July 14, 2009 by skaterbabs