timetoteach Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 (edited) We are new to homeschooling, having just started with my first grader in the fall last year. We have completed level B of Right Start Math in about 4 months. I spent literally hours upon hours searching for math curriculum here on these boards and choose Right Start based on its philosophy and use of manipulatives. We have been pleased with the overall results of level B in the time we have used it, but I don't feel it is a complete 1st grade curriculum b/c the spiral approach leaves gaps. I know it is a highly rated curriculum so I am hesitant to just drop it, but I am wondering if something like Singapore or Japanese (global resources) math might be a better fit for us. I am reading Liping Ma's book, and thus far, it reinforces what I would like to see in a math curriculum. Pros of Right Start: Self-teaching, lots of manipulatives and real world examples No counting, very strong in teaching of basic addition facts without memorization. Good mental math strategies for 2 digit addition. Abacus is spectacular for teaching regrouping and place value. Games are priceless...we will continue to use games and abacus regardless of what curriculum we opt for. Cons Jumps around and this can impair retention with the math strategies. No visual stimulation (kinesthetic not quite the same as visual). Some worksheet examples would have been nice, particularly for the geometry lessons. Subtraction is covered very sparsely in level B and I read the problem persists in level C, whereas from what I understand, all traditional as well as Asian Math programs will have introduced addition and subtraction in 1st grade. Right Start is supposedly more advanced b/c it introduces addition of numbers up to a million and place value up to 1000...but does this make up for lack of subtraction? Plus, there is very little review of multidigit addition that would require regrouping. While RS did a good job of getting my daughter to do two digit addition only in her head, she still makes mistakes when adding 3+ digit numbers with regrouping (and she makes some mistakes with the 2 digit mental math too). Playing games wouldn't help us with this, as the games in B are solely for teaching basic math facts. Cost As you can see, there are aspects I like and dislike in Right Start math, and since I'm sure there is no perfect math curriculum out there, I wanted to get some thoughts from more experienced homeschoolers! Edited April 19, 2011 by timetoteach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhappyjoyjoy Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 We are using RSC and supplementing w/ Singapore. Singapore is very visually stimulating. The supplementing keeps things fresh and reviewed. We are only to 30 in RS C. We started right after we finished B. It starts with a lot of review of addition in B, so we breezed through that. We're on a little break from school right now, so he's just doing the Singapore IP book at the moment. My son is one of those that naturally understood subtraction as the opposite of addition and division as the opposite of multiplication. Thus RS has worked well for him. Today I asked him if each Kipper episode is 5 minutes long how many episodes are there in a 45 minute movie. He first said 10, and I replied with that would be how many there are in a 50 minute movie. He then knew it was 9. He is also very artistic, and I know he'll enjoy the drawing and geometry in C when we get to it. I've heard D is a lot like B and does not include all the drawing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I'm not sure what you meant by calling RS "self-teaching" as it's one of the most parent-intensive options out there. Did you perhaps mean "scripted"? FWIW, I love RS B and liked the first part of C. Multi-digit addition is reviewed in C. I started getting dissatisfied with RS partway through C and decided to switch my oldest to Singapore after she finished. The biggest issue we had was that RS C wasn't nearly as challenging as B was and D & E appeared to have about a single year's worth of material between the two books. Singapore is much easier to accelerate because the lessons aren't scripted and also the Intensive Practice books take the material to a much deeper level. My DS is actually doing MEP Yr. 1 right now but I do incorporate many of the RS techniques into MEP. I will probably give RS A another shot in the fall (he wasn't ready for it back at the beginning of this school year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timetoteach Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Scripted is the word I wanted to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim.4dogs Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I switched my dd7 about halfway through RS C to Math Mammoth 3A. It has worked very well for us! You might look at MM 2A or 2B after RS B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osaubi Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I am 1/2 way through C right now. My ds hates all the drawing so much I considered another program. I decided to cut the drawing and just do the other things. I have him doing MM right now instead of RS for the next couple of weeks. I also bought TT4 because he really likes working with the computer and I thought it would be good review. He thinks TT is fun and easy which is what I need after struggling with the drawing this year. I do plan on sticking with RS but I will supplement the rest of the program when I think it is needed. As far as subtraction my doesn't have a hard time with it at all because of the way addition was taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I switched my kids to MM 2A and MM 3B after finishing RS B and RS C, respectively. I LOVED RS A and B. I was lukewarm on RS C, as it wasn't very challenging. I looked at D and about fainted ... division wasn't introduced until about 100 lessons in. We're all very happy with MM, but the foundation from RS can't be beat. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I'm not sure what you meant by calling RS "self-teaching" as it's one of the most parent-intensive options out there. Did you perhaps mean "scripted"? :iagree: I loved RS A and B, but started to become a little disenchanted in C. Luckily, we're doing CLE 200 at the same time and I feel like that's filled in the gaps for her. We'll finish C, but in the fall we'll use TT 3/4 and CLE 300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Kirkwood Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I am 1/2 way through C right now. My ds hates all the drawing so much I considered another program. I decided to cut the drawing and just do the other things. I have him doing MM right now instead of RS for the next couple of weeks. I also bought TT4 because he really likes working with the computer and I thought it would be good review. He thinks TT is fun and easy which is what I need after struggling with the drawing this year. I do plan on sticking with RS but I will supplement the rest of the program when I think it is needed. As far as subtraction my doesn't have a hard time with it at all because of the way addition was taught. What is TT? Can't find it on the abbreviations sticky. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timetoteach Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 TT is Teaching Textbooks (I think). Thank you for the responses. What levels of Singapore did you choose after B. It almost seems like I have to start from 1A b/c of the limited subtraction skills of Right Start. I just don't understand why Rightstart is marketed as a yearly curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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