Mommie_Jen Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Rightstart wasn't something that I seriously looked at until I noticed that everyone on here recommends it. (or so it seems!). It's quite expensive, but we would be willing to pay the price ifit was really that good. Does it tend to ot click with any kids? Any kids just NOT get it using RS? Mathnis my weakest point, so I need to be able to teach it and have DS get a good foundation. Every other math program it seems there are people who love it and hate it, but I haven't even anything like that for RS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I think, especially in retrospect, it might have worked really well for one of my ds, but I knew from the moment I laid hands on it that it wouldn't work for me as a teacher because it was too scripted and required too much prep in ways that I don't like to prep. All the bits and pieces, especially popsicle sticks wrapped up specially in little baggies, rubbed me the wrong way immediately. But it was really just a personality clash between me and RS... not a comment on whether it's a good program - just style stuff. We do have the games and we really like them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsdrcook Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 There are things about the program that annoy us, like any curriculum. Some stuff they teach are not included in traditional programs. Most recently I've chosen not to review a topic ("check numbers") because it is not include on the final. The games are good and keep the child's interest level up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I think, especially in retrospect, it might have worked really well for one of my ds, but I knew from the moment I laid hands on it that it wouldn't work for me as a teacher because it was too scripted and required too much prep in ways that I don't like to prep. All the bits and pieces, especially popsicle sticks wrapped up specially in little baggies, rubbed me the wrong way immediately. But it was really just a personality clash between me and RS... not a comment on whether it's a good program - just style stuff. We do have the games and we really like them though. :iagree: I tried RS A with my middle son (totally would have been a BAD fit for my oldest - he doesn't need manipulatives and would have been horribly slowed down by being forced to use them). He did ok, but I didn't care for what they were teaching in the beginning. Rather than teaching typical counting, they were teaching that "8 is 5 and 3", learning to visualize that. Now I agree with learning to visualize it, but I don't agree with doing that BEFORE learning to count to 8, kwim? My son knew how to count to 8 already, so it wasn't a huge deal, but it honestly felt like just memorizing math facts without truly understanding them. We weren't proving that 5 and 3 were 8 by counting to 8 and finding that yes, indeed, that was the correct answer. We were just being told that 5 and 3 are 8, so memorize that. We got through 10 lessons, and looking ahead, it just seemed so all over the place. I never knew what they were going to teach. It just seemed random. And of course each day you needed different manipulatives, which was a royal pain. I switched that child to Singapore EM K, and not only was I much happier, but my son started showing signs of actually learning something! I think with RS A, he didn't see the point, and it didn't feel like we were even learning math. Singapore just fits the way I think, and I throw in C-rods for this child (who is not like his big brother), and those are awesome. Even amongst the people that love RS, most bail after B or partway through C. It becomes too teacher intensive, and most people don't like the upper levels as much as they liked B. My question to you would be... Is what you're using right now working for you and your child? If so, don't switch to RS. Stick with what's working. If it's not working, what type of curriculum do you do best with, and what type does your child do best with? RS may be a good choice. RS is an excellent program, but like all programs, it's not a good fit for every single family. There is no such thing as a program that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I don't love teaching it, but I love what my kids are getting out of it, if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I really feel that RS has been a huge benefit to both my kids - my 2nd grader did RSA and is almost done with B, and my 1st grader is almost done with A. I have RS C ready for next year already. I have found that all the extra items (cards, clocks, fraction board, tiles, baggies of random number-related items, etc) actually work out well - they are intensive in A (when my kids have been younger and more interested in what "new stuff" we're bringing out anyway, and what games we'll play) and taper off to very little in B (when we've kind of been-there-done-that and just want to buckle down and learn). While I know we are not moving in the same order as a a normal ps system, I know we are progressing nicely and moving forward. They really get it!!! As a teacher, I have found that I really like most of my curriculum scripted. I usually veer away from the scripting after a month or two, but I like to have it to "fall back on" as needed. I also like all of my stuff pick up and go - no pre-planning, pre-printing, pre-anything!!! :D RS fits well into my needs as a teacher, and also is a great fit for the needs of my kids. It is a hit, here! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 My first time through Level A and the first part of B did seem haphazard since I couldn't see where the program was taking us. I almost bailed, but I am so glad I stuck with it. When we got about 1/2 way through B, I started to see how it all came together. Now in my first pass through Level D, I can see where and how RS is leading us. My oldest will be in Level E next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anabelneri Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I liked RS and I think it did a great job for my daughter. My daughter hated RightStart. Passionately. She liked it a little better when I started turning every lesson into a worksheet. That's when we switched to MEP. But as the PP said, don't fix what isn't broken. RS is great, but it's a lot of money for something that might not work, especially if what you already have IS working. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowfall Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Okay, so your oldest is 4 and you aren't using a curriculum right now, right? (That's what I'm guessing based on your sig.) I think what you'll find in the grand homeschooling adventure is that you WILL try a curriculum at some point that isn't a good fit for your kid. There's no way to avoid it, unless you just happen to luck out, lol. The best you can do is read reviews, know your kid, and then try your best to buy what will fit him. There are lots of people who despise Rightstart, so don't let the glowing reviews convince you otherwise. Some days I love it, some days I hate it, but it definitely works for my kid. I think I would probably like it a lot less if I hadn't used it with other things or if I had started with level A. I started in B, my dd was already counting, and I was using worksheets from other sources to fill in for what I thought RS was skipping (like facts practice, because my dd hated the games). It worked beautifully for us that way, although I do agree wholeheartedly with the statement that it seems to be sort of all over the place. The spiral seems haphazard and poorly planned, which forces me to supplement material from other sources. Still, the way it teaches the concepts is amazing, and has done wonders for my dd. I can't write a glowing review for it, because it drives me crazy sometimes, but I can't deny that I love the way it teaches new concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyoflearning Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Okay, so your oldest is 4 and you aren't using a curriculum right now, right? (That's what I'm guessing based on your sig.) I think what you'll find in the grand homeschooling adventure is that you WILL try a curriculum at some point that isn't a good fit for your kid. There's no way to avoid it, unless you just happen to luck out, lol. The best you can do is read reviews, know your kid, and then try your best to buy what will fit him. There are lots of people who despise Rightstart, so don't let the glowing reviews convince you otherwise. Some days I love it, some days I hate it, but it definitely works for my kid. .... I do agree wholeheartedly with the statement that it seems to be sort of all over the place. The spiral seems haphazard and poorly planned, which forces me to supplement material from other sources. Still, the way it teaches the concepts is amazing, and has done wonders for my dd. I can't write a glowing review for it, because it drives me crazy sometimes, but I can't deny that I love the way it teaches new concepts. :iagree: We're almost done with RS A. My DD doesn't love it as she prefers workbooks but it works very well for her. She is very LA oriented but I used to think she was also Mathy being able to naturally solve mathematical story problems at an early age:confused:. RS has opened my eyes to areas I would not have known she needed to work on more and I feel confident she will have a great Math foundation. The spiral is good review, but I wish I had a guide to show me where it was taking me so I could know if I could skip something. Scripting (or going off the script) works well for me. The lessons take way longer than I would like, but probably because I have a 1 year old who tries to take my manipulatives. The manipulatives are not confusing and I keep them organized in a 3 drawer container. The top one holds books/ abacus, middle holds all card games, and the bottom holds the tlles, popsicle sticks, etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I love, love, love B, but I don't like A (too spiral for my tastes) and C is just okay (I liked the first part but don't really care much for the later part). Looking ahead to D and E with my oldest, I felt it had too much review and not enough new material. I wound up switching my oldest to Singapore 3A instead. My 2nd is doing a combo of RS B and Singapore 1B (text and IP only). He prefers Singapore but I feel RS B is a stronger program. So we're doing both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I got it for my language delayed ds. He is a strong visual learner and loves playing around with the manipulatives but as soon as I try to follow a lesson he gets that rabbit in the head-lights look. I think he needs more of a discovery based math. As for me, I don't like RSA. I also tried it with my almost 6yr old at one point. The prep bugs me. The random topics bug me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trlt Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 We tried RS Level A and it just wasn't a good fit for my dd. She was frustrated and my dh and I just couldn't get where it was headed. We both have engineering backgrounds and we picked out RS because we thought it would be a great foundation for dd but it just wasn't what we expected. After weeks of frustration we switched to Singapore and she loves it. I'm really happy with the choice to switch because it just wasn't worth the frustration my dd was feeling. I know that other people love RS and I really wanted to love it but it just wasn't for dd!! Good luck with your decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I used A - C with my dd and A - B with my ds. I loved RS A and thought it was a fabulous introduction to number theory. Unlike a prior poster who felt that they were being told to memorize "8 is 5 and 3" with no explanation of why, I feel that the entire level A is an extended explanation of how numbers can be broken down to their component parts and reassembled, providing the base from which all arithmetic can be done. The abacus, the tiles, the popsicle sticks ... all of them are used specifically to explain why 8 is 5 and 3. There is a dumb little song that you are supposed to memorize (I think it's called Yellow is the Sun, and my kids hated it, as did I), but that's certainly not the thrust of the program. RS B was not as completely fantastic as A, but it still did a lot to cement my kids' understanding of how numbers work and how/why addition and subtraction work. I did C with my dd, and looking back on it, it was time wasted. The pace of C deceases to nearly zero forward progress. My dd was extremely frustrated with the continual revisiting of previous topics and had moved far beyond what RS was teaching. Dd was doing multiplication and division on her own and asking me to print off worksheets so she could do multiplication and division problems. When I looked ahead to RS D and saw that they didn't introduce division until over 100 lessons in, I knew RS had outlived its usefulness for us. I didn't even bother with RS C for my son, who would have totally bombed out on the (weird, unnecessary) drawing lessons that dominate the first 1/4 - 1/3 of C. I switched both kids to Math Mammoth. Dd went into 3B and ds went into 2A. However, I can't say enough good things about RS A and B. I'm really glad that we did them. It's also my impression that most people who don't like RS or whose kids struggle with it are those who skipped A and went straight into B. I feel that A really sets up the methodology of RS, and although B does a quick review of what's covered in A, if you skip A you're missing the main concepts of the program. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Glad for this thread as we are thinking about starting RS A with ds but have yet to order the last of the manipulatives I need. I think it is a good sign when the negatives I am hearing (jumping around, spiral, scripted, lots of hands on) should serve my wiggly ds very well. ;) Interested to hear more . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandty Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I didn't like it. :tongue_smilie: I think it is a wonderful program for some, but it was a complete fail for us. I could have copied most of the replies and hit :iagree:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I think it is a good sign when the negatives I am hearing (jumping around, spiral, scripted, lots of hands on) should serve my wiggly ds very well. ;) Interested to hear more . . . :iagree: I never thought I would like something so spiral-y but it was perfect for my wiggly 4 year-old. Moving from addition to geoboard to games to coin counting, etc. kept his interest really high and each lesson has a lot of built-in review so he was getting tons of practice and reinforcement without weeks of working on the same thing straight. I also didn't think I would like something so scripted but its nice to have something that is open-and-go. It gets done, and we expand on things or do little side diversions when we feel like it. We're wrapping up A and getting ready to start B next month and I'm really, really impressed with the results. Maybe this isn't a big deal but I love the fact that we can sit down and play something like Sum Swamp and he answers immediately without ever having to count on fingers. He has 10 number bonds down pat without having to do drill-and-kill memorization. RS is giving him a great number sense and we really enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegirlwhopaintedtrees Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Like everyone stated, it depends on the child. My daughter despises worksheets and was refusing to do Singapore (1) because of it. I got the games kit from RS and she loved it, so I bought level B. We're flying through it because she already knows to count and already knows her numbers to 10 as 5+ a number. I don't find it as teacher intensive as everyone said. I like the script, but am not afraid to deviate. I like having everything done for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 As everyone else has said, the relative "fitness" of a program is dependent on the student and the teacher. A student (or teacher) who hates manipulatives might well be put off by how much they dominate RS, just as a student who hates worksheets might be put off of SM or MM. I do think that if a student hates manipulatives that their use should be minimized, but not avoided entirely, just as a student who hates worksheets should not be allowed to avoid worksheets entirely. We loved RS A and B. I like the spiral approach for those levels, though starting with C I reorganized the book entirely to make it a mastery approach. I don't shrink from going off-script, and almost always do, actually. The script is there to give you an idea of what points to cover, and a dialogue to use if you need one, not as a sacred chant that must never be altered. One poster said she felt that the early emphasis on number bonds seemed like memorization of math facts instead of an explanation of why they're the case, but I find that hard to fathom. I don't know how the relationships between the numbers could be more thoroughly explored than they are in A and B. :confused: In any case, we were supremely satisfied with A and B. With C I've begun to supplement with SM and don't plan to continue to D, but I do prefer to introduce topics with C (and the manipulatives), for the most thorough foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I didn't even bother with RS C for my son, who would have totally bombed out on the (weird, unnecessary) drawing lessons that dominate the first 1/4 - 1/3 of C. I switched both kids to Math Mammoth. Dd went into 3B and ds went into 2A. I chose C *because* of the drawing lessons. I knew DS would love them (he also loves origami and making paper airplanes). That said, I'm not sure about whether we'll do D. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I think it's amazing. I don't love teaching it, but it's really giving my kids a solid foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I chose C *because* of the drawing lessons. I knew DS would love them My dd loved them, too, but I don't think they did a darn thing to further her math skills, and looking back I think it was time wasted. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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