Rightstart is not getting done...

[Honey Bee]

I have been using Rightstart math A and B for my kiddos who are K and 1st. Well, next year I will be adding another child in and then every 2 years adding another. I spend a lot of face time with my kids, which I don't mind, but RS math is not getting done.

 

I LOVE the way RS works, but I need other suggestions.

 

What do you use and how much time does it take with you and without you? I don't mind worksheets, I think my kids would dig them.

 

Thanks hive...

[plain jane]

Mine don't all do the same math program. I have one using RS and the other is doing Singapore Math. I find that they are both quite similar in the way they approach math vs. going to something more "traditional" (hmm, I'm not sure if that's the right word there) like Horizons.

 

Singapore is workbook based so it is a bit easier to implement and get done. Definitely less teaching intensive than RS. That said, *I* love using both because I really like both of these programs and as a mom, I get to do them both. :D

 

ETA: Whoops forgot to answer your question on how long it takes. I usually spend 10-15 min teaching/introducing the lesson before independent work can begin.- This depends greatly on how hard the concept is to teach and how fast they can learn it. Depending on how much dawdling occurs ;) a complete "lesson" (one lesson in Workbook, any written work from Textbook, and half of a mental math page) takes no more than 45 min. altogether (approx 10-15 of my time). Sometimes, if no new concept is introduced I only spend about 5 min doing a few review problems or answering questions.

Edited January 6, 2010 by plain jane

[LoveBaby]

We really like MUS.

 

We watch the DVD together, make sure that everyone understands what is going on and then they work on the worksheet. Everyone is understanding math *and* it gets done consistently because it's easy for me to teach.

 

I have 3 students I'm working with now and will keep adding students as well. I only have so much face time available, so MUS is good for us.

[siloam]

I have been using Rightstart math A and B for my kiddos who are K and 1st. Well, next year I will be adding another child in and then every 2 years adding another. I spend a lot of face time with my kids, which I don't mind, but RS math is not getting done.

 

I LOVE the way RS works, but I need other suggestions.

 

What do you use and how much time does it take with you and without you? I don't mind worksheets, I think my kids would dig them.

 

Thanks hive...

 

Melissa,

 

I want to challenge you to stick with RS anyway. You can break the lessons down into smaller pieces, doing the warm up on one day, the lesson and 2nd day, and the worksheet or game (if any) on the third.

 

Right now my 2nd two don't do RS daily. They play the games daily, because those I can schedule them to play with each other. But for now the actual lessons only get done twice a week, at least until something else drops off my plate (learning to read programs being the most likely candidate). With my older two they get done daily.

 

Same with spelling. My oldest I am pushing through AAS, trying to get her through all the books as quickly as possible and into Mega words because it is more independent. Then I will push my 2nd dd through. In the mean time it only gets done a couple times a week for the younger kids.

 

Am I worried about them being behind in math? Yes, it would be dishonest to say otherwise. I am more worried about them not understanding the why of math. In my mind it would be better to only get through Algebra II done and really understand and own it than get through Calculus and have to start all over in college because it really didn't stick (which is common). I have the added benefit of not having doing RS with my oldest from the beginning. I used to have to sit with her for long periods of time and walk her through the math step by step because it didn't just click. At time it would take up to a month for her to feel comfortable with a topic and take over and do it independently. Once more she hated math. Since adding RS (she was in 3rd grade, and I started her in level B, but had her go at double pace all the way till level E, where she is now at a normal pace) she feels more comfortable in math. To borrow a math term she has fluency now that she did not have when she did Singapore alone. Now she doesn't love math, but she doesn't hate it either, and she knows she is good at what she does know. That is priceless, and worth the delay in math to have the mastery.

 

On a related side note I notice that a lot of children had problems with fractions in Singapore, but my oldest breezed through them. Again I think that is because of RS.

 

If I can do this you can. Just keep swimming....

 

Heather (12yo 6th grader in level E, 10yo 4th grader in level D, 8yo 3rd grader in level C and 7yo 1st grader in level B)

 

Edited January 6, 2010 by siloam

[plain jane]

Melissa,

 

I want to challenge you to stick with RS anyway. You can break the lessons down into smaller pieces, doing the warm up on one day, the lesson and 2nd day, and the worksheet or game (if any) on the third.

 

Right now my 2nd two don't do RS daily. They play the games daily, because those I can schedule them to play with each other. But for now the actually lessons only get done twice a week, at least until something else drops off my plate (learning to programs being the most likely candidate). With my older two they get done daily.

 

Same with spelling. My oldest I am pushing through AAS, trying to get her through all the books as quickly as possible and into Mega words because it is more independent. Then I will push my 2nd dd through. In the mean time it only gets done a couple times a week for the younger kids.

 

Am I worried about them being behind in math? Yes, it would be dishonest to say otherwise. I am more worried about them not understanding the why of math. In my mind it would be better to only get through Algebra II done and really understand and own it than get through Calculus and have to start all over in college because it really didn't stick (which is common). I have the added benefit of not having doing RS with my oldest from the beginning. I used to have to sit with her for long periods of time and walk her through the math step by step because it didn't just click. At time it would take up to a month for her to feel comfortable with a topic and take over and do it independently. Once more she hated math. Since adding RS (she was in 3rd grade, and I started her in level B, but had her go at double pace all the way till level E, where she is now at a normal pace) she feels more comfortable in math. To borrow a math term she has fluency now that she did not have when she did Singapore alone. Now she doesn't love math, but she doesn't hate it either, and she knows she is good at what she does know. That is priceless, and worth the delay in math to have the mastery.

 

On a related side note I notice that a lot of children had problems with fractions in Singapore, but my oldest breezed through them. Again I think that is because of RS.

 

If I can do this you can. Just keep swimming....

 

Heather (12yo 6th grader in level E, 10yo 4th grader in level D, 8yo 3rd grader in level C and 7yo 1st grader in level B)

 

 

Great post, Siloam!!

 

You've made me want to switch to all RS here ;):w00t:

[PeterPan]

I'd put your time into RS A and B, go through where they teach 4 digit subtraction in level C (which I think is awesome), then jump over to something more workbooky. You could go into BJU, Singapore, Horizons, CLE, whatever you want. I think you'll be glad for the time you spend building that foundation in A and B, and it's at an age where you'd be spending time anyway.

 

Don't guilt-trip yourself over this.

[Honey Bee]

Well, I think the evidence is clear: Rightstart builds a great math foundation.

 

Ladies thank you for your suggestions and words of encouragement. You are such a gift.

 

Heather, thank you for your encouragement. I think you are right. I'm glad you challenged me. I have been planning on adding in Singapore IP next year to my son who will be in 2nd. I think I may order 1a now and let him start a semester behind RS. This will give me something more meaty to break things up with. We have been using Horizons K, but is has become very easy for him.

 

Now I have to decide what to use:

 

standards or US?

textbook and/or workbooks and/or IP, etc?

[April in NC]

I'd put your time into RS A and B, go through where they teach 4 digit subtraction in level C (which I think is awesome), then jump over to something more workbooky. You could go into BJU, Singapore, Horizons, CLE, whatever you want. I think you'll be glad for the time you spend building that foundation in A and B, and it's at an age where you'd be spending time anyway.

 

Don't guilt-trip yourself over this.

 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but :iagree:.

 

Oh Elizabeth, I've seen you recommend this over the years, and I've been such a big fan of RS that I totally discounted your advice. Yet, what happened after I got done with four digit subtraction in C? I looked ahead in the program and decided that it was time to switch! :svengo:

 

I am RS's biggest fan for building a bullet-proof foundation, but once we got through the four digit subtraction in C, I felt like we needed a change. I was starting to feel like RS was overemphasizing things that they already had a good handle on, and underemphasizing things that they still didn't understand. Something about it was just off, in a way that it hadn't quite been before.

 

So, I got MOTL and we had fun playing around with basic multiplication and division for the first semester this year. Then I started them in Teaching Textbooks 5, which is where we are now. (They are about 4th grade level, and TT seems to run about a year behind) It is quite a different sort of program, but the fact that it reads all the lessons and questions aloud is WONDERFUL for my dyslexic-leaning twins. They can have it repeat the question over and over until they understand it. I just wish there was a way to turn the grading off, though. I think they would feel freer to try to figure out problems without my help if they weren't being graded on it. I still have the RS fraction manipulatives, and plan to use them when we get to fractions in TT.

 

I definitely would recommend getting through mid C with RS and then if you need to switching to another, less intensive, program at that time. I cannot overemphasize how awesome that foundation of basic number sense is. We started with B, took two years to get through that, and then about six months or so in C. If you are pressed for time, I'm not sure I'd bother with Level A - just take your time with Level B, instead.

 

When I needed to add something more independent to MOTL, I was tied between TT and Singapore, and because of the dyslexia factor TT has won out for now. I'm not sure if we'll continue with it in the higher math or switch to something else.

 

Oh, and we are adding in Times Tales now that we understand how multiplication works. Once you get the concept of multiplication down, this resource can quickly help you memorize the tricky products. This is our first week, and we are half done!

Edited January 6, 2010 by April in NC

[siloam]

Well, I think the evidence is clear: Rightstart builds a great math foundation.

 

Ladies thank you for your suggestions and words of encouragement. You are such a gift.

 

Heather, thank you for your encouragement. I think you are right. I'm glad you challenged me. I have been planning on adding in Singapore IP next year to my son who will be in 2nd. I think I may order 1a now and let him start a semester behind RS. This will give me something more meaty to break things up with. We have been using Horizons K, but is has become very easy for him.

 

Now I have to decide what to use:

 

standards or US?

textbook and/or workbooks and/or IP, etc?

 

Melissa,

 

I think Singapore would be a great way to fill in the days when you can't get to RS. Another way to help keep one's sanity.

 

If I was starting new I would go with Standards edition. Only because she wrote the Standards HIG years after the US Edition HIG's, so she has had a lot of feed back and was able to improve them.

 

The minimum I would use is the Textbook, Workbook and HIG. At first you probably won't use the HIG much, but it is a nice fall back. By level 3 where you have the bar graphs, well it isn't that you can't do them without the HIG's, but why not make your life easier? :D

 

I do the IP books as well, but they do create a lot of extra work, because I have to help my kids with that one a lot more. I am OK with that, but now and then I wonder....

 

Then there are the times like last night when the problem says to add three numbers and round to one decimal point. My dd rounded to the whole number (172). I double underlined the 1 decimal point in the instructions, so what does she do? She only puts down the 1 decimal point: .8 instead of 171.8. :blink: You gotta laugh or else you cry....

 

Heather

[PeterPan]

April-I've never had anyone fall flat in agreement with me. That's hilarious, lol. Truly though, your experience is what happened to us, except we kept going through D. If I had it to do over, I definitely would have jumped sooner. I tried combining programs, and it didn't go well. But you know, I'm not the combiner type; it always drives me batty. I'd rather do one program and do it well. The TT stuff for lower grades wasn't around when my dd was that age, so we went to BJU, which is quite similar to RS conceptually and gave me all the components (drill, practice, challenging problems, etc.) in one place. Like I said, I didn't want to blend programs. But TT for those grades is SO adorable in its presentation! It's great to hear how well it's working out for you.

[siloam]

Great post, Siloam!!

 

You've made me want to switch to all RS here ;):w00t:

 

Jane,

 

:smilielol5: I am dangerous now aren't I? :smilielol5:

 

Heather