LOVE RightStart math but DD needing review...

[lindsrae]

My DD is in K this year, and we are really enjoying RS A. I have found some holes in her thinking (because her mother doesn't know what she is doing!)...such as confusion about teens and others. We are working through that, and slowing down a bit. I was doing a lesson a day until I realized we were almost done with the book! So we are slowing down a bit and trying to cover concepts that she is struggling with.

 

I love that RS uses mental math and builds on an understanding of concepts, and I also love that there are not a ton of worksheets. The script does not bother me...I like to be told what to do, and I don't have to read it word-for-word! I already have RS B to start in the fall, but I want to keep doing some things over the summer so we don't lose momentum. What program would work well with RS? I don't want something that will undermine the strong "mental math" aspect of RS, but I realize that pretty much every other program I've looked at will include worksheets.

 

I hear great things about MM and Singapore and Horizons...I've looked at MM samples, and the beginning of Grade 1 scared me a little because it looked like they were counting objects in order to solve addition problems (which is exactly what I am trying to avoid! I don't want her to start counting on her fingers...ack!). I haven't looked at Singapore or Horizons since the last home school convention when I wandered around the convention center with a dazed look all day!

 

Is there another program that will mesh well with RS that is a little more mastery? (From reading the board, I am assuming RS is spiral, but I'm still very new at this!) Sorry for rambling so much; it is late. Thanks for your help!

[Snowfall]

If you like RS so much, why not just continue on with B, once you finish A? Is there some reason you want to wait until the fall? The first 20 or so lessons are review of A anyway, so why not just jump on in? We liked MEP with RS for K, if you want something else. Almost everything else will have them counting, though, including MEP.

[FairProspects]

If you are going on to RS B, I honestly wouldn't work about any gaps at all. As I understand it, RS A is an introduction to the various math topics and RS B is more of the practice/mastery of the concepts. We are literally flying through B because the topics are so similar or are just more in-depth than A.

 

Truly, I had the same worry coming out of A and after working in B for several months, it was totally unfounded. Oh, and my 6.5 y.o. still struggles with the teens (Dr. Cotter even notes that is a particularly difficult concept for American kids) so I think it is mostly developmental.

[boscopup]

I hear great things about MM and Singapore and Horizons...I've looked at MM samples, and the beginning of Grade 1 scared me a little because it looked like they were counting objects in order to solve addition problems (which is exactly what I am trying to avoid! I don't want her to start counting on her fingers...ack!).

 

Keep in mind that MM assumes no prior formal math instruction, so yes, addition/subtraction concepts are initially shown via counting objects (not fingers - objects). It then uses a number line for counting larger amounts. Then eventually it teaches the mental math of changing a number to a 10 (so for example, 8 + 4 = (8 + 2) + 2 = 10 + 2 = 12). That last step is done in chapter 7 of 1B. Prior to that, a problem like 8 + 4 would be done on a number line.

 

If your child is not already counting on her fingers, I don't think she'd start because of MM. My son had already been introduced to addition/subtraction prior to doing MM, and he does not count on his fingers at all. He has his facts mostly memorized (still working on quicker recall for a few of them, but he's in a developmentally appropriate spot for a 6 year old, and the facts will be cemented as we work through MM 2). A big part of MM 1A is working on facts, learning why 3 + 2 = 5 (because you can visually see that 3 balls and 2 balls together make 5 balls if you count them), and practicing with all the numbers that add up to 5. Each section in the beginning is math facts with a particular sum in mind. You do a lot of 3 + __ = 5, and you have to figure out the blank. Review is thrown in. At the end of sums with 5 section, there might be a few problems with sums with 4 to review.

 

Anyway, all that said, if you like RS, I think sticking with RS B is fine. Go ahead and start it now. RS B is supposed to include a review of pretty much everything taught in A.

[Aurelia]

You could do MEP, look at Reception Year and Year One and see where your DD would fit and you could print those lessons for free. It's not as scripted as RS, but Ariel, who LOVED RS, does very well with MEP, as long as we do the lessons and not only the worksheet.

[waa510]

I'm in this scenario as well, as we kind of flew through level A as dd was just 'getting it" but now I see some of her retention waning since we just finished the book, I think she needs more review. We played the memory card game for facts to 10 over and over and overrrr with dd before it finally sunk in! She has those down cold. But the adding 20 + 20 loses her (though i have no idea why). She needs the abacus for those problems. She gets the place value concepts though so adding 20 + 4 makes sense to her b/c she can 'see' the 4 needing to go on the 0's spot. She can have a sheet of those problems and not need the cards or abacus to do them. Do you think she could move to B?

 

I guess it's just that the spiral method makes me nervous. :tongue_smilie:Iif we continue, will the things she teeters on understanding of cement themselves, or will it just make her frustrated and confused?? i guess I'm wondering (and I suspect the OP is as well) how much 'mastery' of A material we're really going for if B is so much of a review and then solidifying of A, kwim?

 

My plans are to go thru Level A again and really camp out when needed. I think a lot of it can be hard as my DD is still young and in the pre-operational stage..so she can't make some of the leaps without my guiding her to them. I've also considered adding in MM1 and seeing if that helps but have the same worries about counting on fingers.

 

I'm :bigear: for more suggestions on how to proceed!!

[grace'smom]

:lurk5: We're in the same spot. Almost done with A and wondering what to do now... To answer some of your questions, I have Grace doing Math Mammoth 1A and she's not counting any fingers or anything along those lines. She actually does it very well, and gets out her abacus when she needs it. She was just introduced to the number line and took to it very easily.

 

I think her concept of place value is a little shaky. She struggles with things like 26 + 2 (sometimes she might answer that it's ten b/c she adds 2+6+2). Oddly, using the abacus doesn't help her much with place value, but if I get out our little blocks that click together into sets of ten (base 10 blocks?) then it will click right away. She totally understands when we use the blocks as our tool. I guess different kids respond to different things.

 

My plan for now was to slow down and play some games to stretch things out, and possibly to do some Math Mammoth for a while before moving on to B.... Or perhaps do MM and RS on alternating days.

 

Needless to say, I will be watching this thread.:D

[Snowfall]

I'm in this scenario as well, as we kind of flew through level A as dd was just 'getting it" but now I see some of her retention waning since we just finished the book, I think she needs more review. We played the memory card game for facts to 10 over and over and overrrr with dd before it finally sunk in! She has those down cold. But the adding 20 + 20 loses her (though i have no idea why). She needs the abacus for those problems. She gets the place value concepts though so adding 20 + 4 makes sense to her b/c she can 'see' the 4 needing to go on the 0's spot. She can have a sheet of those problems and not need the cards or abacus to do them. Do you think she could move to B?

 

I guess it's just that the spiral method makes me nervous. :tongue_smilie:Iif we continue, will the things she teeters on understanding of cement themselves, or will it just make her frustrated and confused?? i guess I'm wondering (and I suspect the OP is as well) how much 'mastery' of A material we're really going for if B is so much of a review and then solidifying of A, kwim?

 

My plans are to go thru Level A again and really camp out when needed. I think a lot of it can be hard as my DD is still young and in the pre-operational stage..so she can't make some of the leaps without my guiding her to them. I've also considered adding in MM1 and seeing if that helps but have the same worries about counting on fingers.

 

I'm :bigear: for more suggestions on how to proceed!!

 

You don't need to master A at all to move to B. In fact, originally B was the first level, and B is where we started. I'm not sure how old you DD is, but unless she's only 4, I wouldn't do A over again. I just don't see the need. Something like the first 20 lessons in B is a review of A. We did MEP with RS and it didn't cause a problem at all. In MEP sometimes you have to count, because things aren't grouped into fives, but really, it's not a problem.

 

Editing because I see her age now. lol Well, will she be five soon? I can see where a kid who was only 4 would have trouble with the concept of place value, unless they're advanced in math. It's just an issue with a little mental maturation, I think. :) It really depends on whether or not you think she can understand place value. It sounds like she's doing very well, IMO. I would move on. If you get to something she doesn't understand, just camp out there for a while. There's no law that says you have to do a lesson every day. We've camped out on different topics for up to 3 weeks before. We just did a review of things she already understood, then we'd try one or two problems that she was having trouble with. If she still didn't get it, we'd try again the next day. We just didn't move on until she really understood it. It was no big deal.

Edited February 5, 2011 by Snowfall

[waa510]

Wow, I am seriously hijacking this thread. Sorry, OP!

 

Yes, my oldest is 4, she turned 4 this past Sep. She's always been huge into books and language in general..LA stuff is definitely more her thing and comes much more easily to her than math. She gets the place value in some cases, and then not in others. Maybe if I used some base ten blocks like a pp, it would help her visualize the 20 + 20 type problems better. She gets a lot of the place value concepts, but putting it into action with equations doesn't always work. I really think she needs time to grow developmentally as I think maybe doing B at a little more than 5 yrs will help.

 

Maybe work thru the spring and summer on concepts in A that aren't making sense and start B in the fall?? I just keep hearing over and over on the Rightstart group and here about how meaty B is and it makes me nervous putting a 4 yr old in it. I'm glad you think she's doing OK. I worry so much about Math b/c I don't want her to struggle like I did with it as a kid. Thanks so much. :001_smile:

[Snowfall]

Yes, my oldest is 4, she turned 4 this past Sep. She's always been huge into books and language in general..LA stuff is definitely more her thing and comes much more easily to her than math. She gets the place value in some cases, and then not in others. Maybe if I used some base ten blocks like a pp, it would help her visualize the 20 + 20 type problems better. She gets a lot of the place value concepts, but putting it into action with equations doesn't always work. I really think she needs time to grow developmentally as I think maybe doing B at a little more than 5 yrs will help.

 

Maybe work thru the spring and summer on concepts in A that aren't making sense and start B in the fall?? I just keep hearing over and over on the Rightstart group and here about how meaty B is and it makes me nervous putting a 4 yr old in it. I'm glad you think she's doing OK. I worry so much about Math b/c I don't want her to struggle like I did with it as a kid. Thanks so much. :001_smile:

 

I know just how you feel! I think she's doing GREAT for her age!!! We won't be finishing B until DD is 7. We started it when she was barely 5, but we set it aside for a loooong time because she HATED it. It wasn't too hard for her - she just didn't like it. I think B is very meaty, but the beginning moves very slowly, IMO. MEP is fun if you want to do something else for a while, and the first half of year 1 deals only with 0-10. I know lots of people love Reception, but we didn't use it, so I can't comment on it.

[Homemama2]

My ds was needing more review w/ RS too (we were finishing level C at the time) and I got MM to go along w/ both my now 3rd and 1st grader. There are a couple things, (like the counting) that don't mesh well w/ RS. Also for first grade they introduce subtraction right after addition, and in RS it is introduced much later in the year. I'm finding it is very simple to rearrange chapters (I have the light blue series...it would be even easier if you had the blue series which is just by topics) and to skip over things that teach in a slightly different way. I REALLY love how these two work together. And for my first grader, I don't make him do all the writing. We can do problems orally or I write them if it is too much writing (after all, part of what I like about RS is that there aren't a ton of worksheets, lol).

[waa510]

Thanks. I'll have to look at MM again. I'm hoping I can get in on the sale in March. :001_smile: