Right Start or Math-U-See?

[comama]

What are your experiences with these two programs for Kindergarten?

 

I thought I was all set with Math-U-See..but I haven't ordered anything and I am drawn to Right Start.

 

My son will be 5 when we start. He often blows me away with math concepts that he seems to understand. Today he told me that when he turns six (not 5 yet), Daddy will be 32. He was correct! And he does this type of thing on a regular basis. He also seems to understand addition concepts "in his head". We were talking about two weeks time and he figured out that he should add the 7 days in the first week to the 7 days in the second week to come up with the number of days in two weeks. Then proceeded to add it up. He recognizes double digit numbers and can count well up into double digits. He seems to be somewhat of an auditory learner.

 

What would you choose?

 

Thanks!

[kristin0713]

RightStart all the way!

[HappyCamper]

Math-U-See is working well for us. I think my daughter is also an auditory learner. Being able to listen/watch the video has been helpful. I have no experience with Right Start tho!

[Satori]

We've done both, but much preferred RightStart. I learned so much myself once we started RightStart, I love the way they introduce and teach math.

[Sunshine State Sue]

We used MUS from K through Algebra. Right Start was not yet available (or was unknown to me) when we started in 2001.

 

From reviews that I have read over the years, if I were starting all over again, I would give Right Start serious consideration. I tend to shy away from teacher-intensive materials if they are not necessary (and they are not necessary in math at our house), but if you are not averse to teacher-intensive materials, I think Right Start is a great choice. I get the impression that it is more "fun" than many math programs available.

 

Good luck!

[comama]

thanks for all these thoughts.

 

How much time is generally needed to spend on math each day with Right Start? I would like to keep things to 20-30min. intervals in general.

 

As apposed to mus?

 

Thanks.

[LolaT]

I haven't used MUS but looked into it. We use RightStart. I don't think it need be as time intensive as some might think. I spend 30-60 min/day. I just don't think math is one of those lessons you can or should try to get done in 15-20 min. I would plan on 45 min. But if your son is pretty bright with numbers it would probably only take 30 min/day. You could start right at Level B (that's what we did at age 5, close to 6) and the beginning would go quite fast for you but it gets more challenging in the second half.

Edited March 16, 2011 by LolaT
included more info

[EmilyGF]

For RS A you're supposed to do half a lesson per day. The point is to learn it, so set a timer for 20 minutes (or 15, as I did with my son) and stop when it goes off. It isn't a race.

 

Emily

[Sunshine State Sue]

As apposed to mus?

 

MUS never took more than 30min in the early grades. In fact, we completed the K book working 2x per week max 30min per day in 5 months.

[mhornby56]

I love Rightstart. We do it 5 or 6 times a week for 15- 20 minutes. Usually just 15. My daughter doesn't have much of an attention span for math. Anyways, my experience is limited, but I think it's a great program to start out with. You can make the lessons as long or short as you like.

[baybedaul]

We've been doing RightStart for K. I love it (and so does my son)! I'm so impressed with what/how we're learning. The only thing that bothers me about the program is that I don't feel like there's a clear path going up through the grade levels (past 4th or 5th grade). I'm planning to move into Singapore next year, but I'm so thankful for the RightStart year we've had and think it's been perfect for K. I hope to continue the math games and abacus activities no matter what curriculum we end up settling into.

 

Our lessons used to take less than 30 minutes, but now that we're further I usually allow for an hour for math. But this is mostly because of the extra games we're playing.

 

I used to just take the lessons day by day, but I would get frustrated and skip math for a day or two because I didn't always have the appendix pages that I needed. So I finally (duh!) just sat down one afternoon and made sure I had everything copied, printed, put together, and stuck in a folder so that I can just pull out what I need for the day's lesson. Much better!

[jewel7123]

We use RightStart, after switching from Singapore Earlybird math, and we couldn't be happier! We spend about 30 min a day on math....as someone else said we divide up each lesson into two parts, but you could stop anywhere you wanted to. Good luck with your choice! :001_smile:

[EKS]

I have used MUS Alpha-Zeta and RightStart B. Given a choice, I would use RightStart.

[kim.4dogs]

I used MUS with my older dd, and I like RS so much better! I'm using RS A with my DS this year. We spend about 20 minutes on math each day. We do 2 lessons per week, and play games the rest of the week.

[razorbackmama]

If you are planning to stick with whatever math program you choose now, I would recommend RS over MUS any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[Terabith]

I love Right Start, but for the first semester or so of first grade we supplemented with MUS Alpha, just because I thought it provided really good reinforcement of math facts, as well as teaching subtraction earlier than RS. I just wasn't comfortable waiting as long for subtraction as RS does. I thought the way Demme taught really reinforced the strategies well, and having a video was just another way to cover it. We would have been fine without it, but I liked the combination. RS was definitely our main program. It helped me feel better about not playing the games as frequently as we probably shoudl have. We still played them, but I wasn't seeing mastery/ memory coming as fast as I liked. The strategies were definitely the most important thing for us, however.

[jennynd]

if he has good number sense like u describe. I don't see either rightstart or MUS will fit. I will do singapore math. my boy is that way. His concept is around number more than manipulative and Singapore work well. My girl still developing number sense and rightstart is great for her

[jewel7123]

if he has good number sense like u describe. I don't see either rightstart or MUS will fit. I will do singapore math. my boy is that way. His concept is around number more than manipulative and Singapore work well. My girl still developing number sense and rightstart is great for her

 

Or do RightStart for the first couple of years, then switch to Singapore. That is most likely what I will do, since most people seem to switch from RightStart halfway through level C or after they've completed C. It does depend on the child though. My dd is doing much better with the manipulative based RightStart than she was with the worksheet Singapore EB.

[Satori]

That's what I would suggest as well. At first I figured she specifically asked for Kindergarten year (he's just turning 5), and RightStart is great for that. Then switch to Singapore Primary Math after a year or two of RS.

[SnMomof7]

We like MUS, it's pretty open and go for us, with less 'stuff' to manage than RS!

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

I love Right Start!!!

 

Any program you use you should only use for how many min. a day you want to. Sometimes you'll finish half a lesson; other times you'll do two. I think that is a really subjective question, because all children are different.

 

I don't find RS to be teacher intensive at all. I find it to be the opposite. I never even look at the lessons before I do them. You have to keep your games and manipulatives organized. My DS1 catches on to all subjects quickly, so I didn't need to worry about playing the games a lot. We love the games, but this is not a year I can devote time to that. Luckily, he doesn't NEED them. That may be what some people find teacher intensive.

 

My DS1 wanted more book work in addition to RS, so we added Singapore.