Rod and Staff math 3, got some questions again.

[lovinmykids]

O.K, I broke down and ordered R&S math 3. My Dd like Saxon 3 but I just don't think it's enough at this point. I was looking to supplement it with more add/sub. problems.

I ordered the whole grade stuff just incase. I started looking it over and I am just wondering....For those of you who use R&S 3 as a stand alone math, do you think it is enough, or meaty???

I would love to just use 1 math program but I'm never fully happy with the one I pick. We've been plugging away with Saxon for a couple weeks or so. I just feel like I'm not doing much with Saxon.

Math is a really tricky one for us, as with most! So, I am just so confused to what exactly a child needs out of a math each year. Every math curriculum is different and how do I know which one is right or what she needs for 3rd grade?

Oh, what is the steps in the TM for R&S. They have numbers on them and there not in order. I can't find anywhere what this means. I believe it was for drill time??

I'm really bad, I also ordered R&S 2 to see if that would be a better start for her. I notice in R&S 3, it takes off with Mult./Div. already in Lesson 40's. Geesh, she hasn't even mastered her mult. facts yet.

Is this normal??

Thanks!

[Ellie]

I ordered the whole grade stuff just incase. I started looking it over and I am just wondering....For those of you who use R&S 3 as a stand alone math, do you think it is enough, or meaty???

Absolutely.

I would love to just use 1 math program but I'm never fully happy with the one I pick. We've been plugging away with Saxon for a couple weeks or so. I just feel like I'm not doing much with Saxon.

I was not interested in the primary levels of Saxon.

Math is a really tricky one for us, as with most! So, I am just so confused to what exactly a child needs out of a math each year. Every math curriculum is different and how do I know which one is right or what she needs for 3rd grade?

It doesn't matter what your dc needs of 3rd grade, or 4th grade, or any other "grade." It matters only that she progresses. I would have loved to have found a publisher for math that I loved and could stick with. That didn't exist when my dc were young. I suspect that R&S would have been it, but it hadn't been revised back then, and I didn't care for the original editions.

Oh, what is the steps in the TM for R&S. They have numbers on them and there not in order. I can't find anywhere what this means. I believe it was for drill time??

I'm not sure what you mean. The lessons are numbered. The oral classtime steps are numbered 1 through whatever. The blackline masters are numbered, and the TM will suggest which one to use with which lesson (not all lessons use them).

I'm really bad, I also ordered R&S 2 to see if that would be a better start for her. I notice in R&S 3, it takes off with Mult./Div. already in Lesson 40's. Geesh, she hasn't even mastered her mult. facts yet.

Is this normal??

Yes, it's normal. What did you use for math last year?

[Jami]

It starts teaching Multiplication/Division around chapter 40, that's the first introduction to multiplication facts. Other than skip counting, R&S 2 didn't do anything with multiplication facts, so your dd should be fine. :)

[lovinmykids]

Thanks Ellie for your response...I'm so glad to hear that R&S would be enough as a stand alone! It seems like a very simple, to the point old fasion math.

I don't mind doing the "meeting" time in Saxon but then when she does her worksheet, she's doing the stuff we did in Meeting time all over again.

I'm sure it's for a good reason, but it's so boring. I think she is loosing everything she learned in CLE last year.

I think the drill, drill, drill was great for her with the flash cards and speed drills but the spiral about killed her. We only got 1/2 way thru CLE 2 by the end of school year. So, she was just starting mult. and she really caught on....and loved it! I used manipulatives to teach her by grouping and it just clicked. I still do flashcards to keep the ones she knows fresh in her head.

Do you think that the way R&S 3 has them start division along with Multiplication is confusing for the child or is it fine?

I just thought they should master all there mult. facts first and then months later, they would learn division.

 

Here's what I ment about the steps. I'm gonna open my book so I can explain it to you visually, cuz it doesn't make any sence to me.

If you turn to page 40 in the TM, under Before class at the bottom, there are steps like you would find in a house to go upstairs or downstairs.

They have numbers on them. What does that mean?

 

Also, under materials is says to do add and sub. 11-18 flash cards.

triplets 11-18 flash cards.

Does that mean every single card for the 11 family-18 family? Plus the triplets? That would be a ton of flash cards.

 

If I can think of more ??, I'll send them your way.

Thanks.

[2_girls_mommy]

I can help you with the steps! I have not gotten to lesson 40 yet, but we had the steps in an earlier lesson. First of all, the stuff it has drawn on there is for you to have on the "board" before you start. I draw mine on a small whiteboard. Then you start the lesson with instruction #1. whatever it is, it may not be related to your drawing of the steps yet. Keep following the numbered instructions, and you will come to the one that relates to your drawing on the board.

 

When it was time to use the steps in our earlier lessons, they would be the +4 steps or the +5 steps or whatever. Basically, if the first number on your drawn step is 11, then she is to answer the problem, 11+4= ?. Then jump to the next step, and say it has a 9 on it. Then she is to add 9+4. It is just another form of drill of the facts.

 

I would actually hold the whiteboard in front of our actual steps in our house, and dd would get to hop up a step as she did each problem just for fun.

 

And I do timed flashcard drill daily. If it says to do the 11-18 cards, then we see how many she can get in a minute or two min. every day, instead of the whole pack. We do practice saying all of the triplets every time it says.

HTH!

[lovinmykids]

2 girls Momm~ Oh my, I would have never figure that out about the steps on my own. How did you figure it out. I didn't see it in the TM.

I like the idea about the flashcards, then they aren't so overloaded.

Your 7 yr. old must be pretty smart to be doing math 3 already! WOW!!

Thanks so much!!

[daybreaking]

 

Here's what I ment about the steps. I'm gonna open my book so I can explain it to you visually, cuz it doesn't make any sence to me.

If you turn to page 40 in the TM, under Before class at the bottom, there are steps like you would find in a house to go upstairs or downstairs.

They have numbers on them. What does that mean?

 

 

Look on p. 41 of the TM, under #4. That's what you're doing with the steps.

 

Also, under materials is says to do add and sub. 11-18 flash cards.

triplets 11-18 flash cards.

Does that mean every single card for the 11 family-18 family? Plus the triplets? That would be a ton of flash cards.

 

Look on p. 41 of the TM, under #6. You flash the cards for 1 min., doing as many as your are able in that minute.

 

For the triplets, that's covered in Drill time. There are 20 triplet cards, so they don't take as long.

 

FWIW, we use R&S 2, but supplement with Saxon 2. Is it necessary? I'm not so sure, but it's what's working for us right now and DS loves it. Basically, DS does all of R&S and then select problems on Saxon that are not covered in R&S. It takes him no more than 1/2 hour to do both. Right now, I'm leaning on only supplementing through Saxon 3, but I'll see when we near the end of 3.

[lovinmykids]

Wow, another person who supplements with Saxon, YEAH!!

I was thinking of doing this since they seem to do different things, they may compliment each other nicely.

Were doing Saxon 3 now and it only takes like 45 minutes, but that's with doing all there flashcards, speed drills, and worksheet, everything.

I would just use Saxon for the "meeting time" or at least until my Dd has stuff down good enough.

Thanks for the tips on R&S math, that will really help me.

[daybreaking]

The 1/2 hour I mentioned doesn't include my working with DS. I actually allocate 1 hour a day to math. Half of that is when I work with DS, going through the R&S lesson, doing flash cards, going over Saxon "meeting" type questions, etc.

[lovinmykids]

That makes sence and that is what I am going to do as well.

I think Saxon is a good supplement to add in. The more and more I look at my R&S TM, I really like it. It's just taking me some time to figure out a new curriculum and how they do things. Not sure tho if I'll start in R&S 2 or start in 3. She could do the 3 now but it gets hard pretty fast. I don't know if she'll be ready for division when it's thrown in. I'm still waiting for R&S 2 to come so I can look at it and decide where is a better place for her to start. I wouldn't do all of 2, just maybe 1/2 of it and then go on to 3.

Hopefully it will come tomarrow!

THanks again.