T'smom Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Ok- I'm going to order Rightstart A for my 4 1/2 year old tonight....... unless someone convinces me I'd be better off with something else! Anyone have any good reasons to NOT get this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 If your child prefers workbooks to hands-on activities for learning. We LOVE RightStart at our house, so I don't really have much in the way of negative to say about it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 He does like workbooks. But he also likes manipulatives. We've never done anything "formal", so I'm not really sure about his learning style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 RS has been a great fit for my boys so far, including my 5 yo who just finished A a couple of months ago.:001_smile: So if you really want someone to talk you out of it, I guess I'm not the one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 RS has been a great fit for my boys so far, including my 5 yo who just finished A a couple of months ago.:001_smile: So if you really want someone to talk you out of it, I guess I'm not the one! Oh, I don't really want anyone to talk me out of it! I just wanted any negatives pointed out to me. It's hard when you can't really hold it in your hands before you purchase it, y'know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 It didn't take here. It is SO spiral that it rubbed me the wrong way. You could go Miquon too. Or MEP with c rods. And MEP is free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 It's very scripted. That's the main dislike I had for it, but Ariel LOVED RS A at 4.5. She was a die-hard worksheet hater and loved manipulatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I didn't love it either. The jumping around topics irritated me. An expensive mistake. I have no idea what formal program you would choose for a 4 yr old though. I just waited until ds (almost 6) was spontaneously telling me that 3+3=6 etc then we started Math Mammoth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 If you need to homeschool away from the house, it's not a good fit. There are a LOT of manipulatives, so it is not easy to pack up and take with you. If your kid likes worksheets, it's not a good fit. Most is done with manipulatives. That was a bit of an issue for my DH. He wasn't that keen on homeschooling, and he wanted to come home from work and SEE what we had done! We're past that now, but just know that it can look like you aren't doing much to those who aren't there during the lesson! If scripted programs bug you, it's not a good fit. You can easily put it into your own words / do your own thing, but despite that I know the scripting irritates some. (I like it, b/c I can't screw it up!) If you want to focus on one thing at a time, it's not a good fit. RS is spiral, so you will do one thing for 3 minutes, then something completely different (both topic & manipulative) for 3 minutes, then change again. All that changing makes me insane, but it is perfect for my wiggly kids. Keeps them paying attention b/c it is constantly something new. But if your kid would prefer to focus on one thing and master that, then RS is not your program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 If you need to homeschool away from the house, it's not a good fit. There are a LOT of manipulatives, so it is not easy to pack up and take with you. If your kid likes worksheets, it's not a good fit. Most is done with manipulatives. That was a bit of an issue for my DH. He wasn't that keen on homeschooling, and he wanted to come home from work and SEE what we had done! We're past that now, but just know that it can look like you aren't doing much to those who aren't there during the lesson! If scripted programs bug you, it's not a good fit. You can easily put it into your own words / do your own thing, but despite that I know the scripting irritates some. (I like it, b/c I can't screw it up!) If you want to focus on one thing at a time, it's not a good fit. RS is spiral, so you will do one thing for 3 minutes, then something completely different (both topic & manipulative) for 3 minutes, then change again. All that changing makes me insane, but it is perfect for my wiggly kids. Keeps them paying attention b/c it is constantly something new. But if your kid would prefer to focus on one thing and master that, then RS is not your program! Hmmm, this is some food for thought. Topics changing every three minutes?!?!? He's pretty capable of focusing. I don't particularly care for scripted programs- but I don't think it will bug me because I can just put it in my own words. He does like worksheets. My MIL will buy him those little preschool workbooks and he'll sit down and do half the book in one sitting. But we have lots of manipulatives that we just play with, and he enjoys that too. I think that using the manipulatives will help with actual understanding instead of just figuring out how to do the worksheet and then forgetting it, y'know? That was a major issue for me growing up. I aced all my tests but didn't really KNOW anything. As for the packing up to move it around.....it doesn't seem like there's THAT many manips. Or at least they don't take up much space. It seems like it would all fit in a plastic tub that I could just take wherever I wanted. How long does a lesson take in A? How many topics/lesson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hmmm' date=' this is some food for thought. Topics changing every three minutes?!?!? He's pretty capable of focusing. I don't particularly care for scripted programs- but I don't think it will bug me because I can just put it in my own words. He does like worksheets. My MIL will buy him those little preschool workbooks and he'll sit down and do half the book in one sitting. But we have lots of manipulatives that we just play with, and he enjoys that too. I think that using the manipulatives will help with actual understanding instead of just figuring out how to do the worksheet and then forgetting it, y'know? That was a major issue for me growing up. I aced all my tests but didn't really KNOW anything. As for the packing up to move it around.....it doesn't seem like there's THAT many manips. Or at least they don't take up much space. It seems like it would all fit in a plastic tub that I could just take wherever I wanted. How long does a lesson take in A? How many topics/lesson?[/quote'] Maybe it's not every 3 minutes. I'll give you a summary of a lesson in the middle of the book - Lesson 40. Warmup - discuss name of current month & next month - ask child to say days of week & play the Comes After Game with the days - ask the child to enter various quantites on the abacus, such as 23, 46, 51, 80 - play the Comes After Game with numbers up to 10 Activities - review reading quantities on the abacus - review partitioning ten (drawing part-whole circle set) - "the teddy bear problem" (10 teddy bears total, if one kid has x, how many does other kid have - use abacus) - find all combos - handshaking game - showing that 5s are only number not repeated in partitioning 10 - variation on handshaking game using toys - worksheet 12-2 Lessons can be taught over 2 days. I have one of those wicker bins from Target that is maybe 18x12x12 to hold all the manipulatives, so it is a lot, but I do have 4 abacuses, 4 clocks, etc. Maybe it's not so much with just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I don't want to discourage you AT ALL. If we were schooling mostly at home, it would definitely be my first choice. We are actually using mostly Miquon & MEP just b/c we are gone a LOT. But you asked for the drawbacks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hmmm' date=' this is some food for thought. Topics changing every three minutes?!?!? [/quote'] I don't think the topic itself changes that often, but you will be presented with multiple activities/approaches to teach the topic. I think this is actually a huge gem in teacher training. RS has taught me how to approach one topic in multiple ways, and this training has become invaluable when math topics get tough or my preferred approach just isn't getting through. It's not scripted as in telling you what to actually say word-by-word. I view it as a detailed lesson plan that I get to modify as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 We have RightStart A; my son and I both like it. He is 4. I don't mind the "spiral" nature of the lessons. I find it keeps us both interested. If it bothers you, it's easy enough to split one lesson into two (in the introduction, Joan Cotter points out that most lessons have two distinctly different topics, which allows you to split the lessons into two however you see fit--for example, over two days). That would likely alleviate the feeling that you were jumping around from one topic to another. I feel the same way as you re: learning through hands-on vs. worksheet. My son likes workbooks/worksheets, but he also loves the hands-on stuff--and I think he gets more out of our interactive, hands-on learning with manipulatives. So I just let him do workbook pages as "fluff" when he wants to do something on his own or just play around with an activity. If your son really wants to do worksheets, there's no reason why you couldn't let him have a workbook or worksheets to do as extra activities. There are a lot of manipulatives, but if you don't school away from home often, I don't think it would be too much hassle to plan ahead and throw the couple of things you need for a particular lesson into a tub. I don't think I've used more than 2 or so manipulatives per lesson. Like I said, about 2 topics per lesson. We usually don't spend more than 15-20 minutes on a lesson, and we usually do the whole thing in one go. If I feel we need or want to, I'll repeat a lesson (or part of one) two days in a row. It is very scripted, but I also feel that it is very flexible. I don't feel like I'm bound by the script. I find it helpful, and sometimes I do use it almost word for word...and sometimes we really go our own way, KWIM? Anyhow, we like it. I think it's a good program. You might also consider Miquon (I have c-rods and some Miquon stuff, but have yet to seriously dabble into pulling it into our routine) and MEP Reception. I've just started looking into MEP, and it's caught my interest. If your son really likes worksheets, I think MEP has more written work (though it's more like drawing lines and coloring things in Reception), and that may appeal to him. And like a previous poster pointed out, it is also free! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I tried RS A with my middle son when he was 4.5. He did "ok" with it, but wasn't obviously learning anything. I didn't like teaching it. It just seemed scattered. I never knew what we would teach next. And it seemed like we were using a different manipulative everyday. It annoyed me. I finally bought Singapore Essential Math K ($15 for a year - 2 workbooks), and I used Cuisenaire Rods as our ONE manipulative. My son is clearly learning from this combo (and actually taking off with math, which is great to see because he may not be neurotypical). And I LOVE teaching it. It's easy. I pull out one workbook, read the bottom of the page where there is a note to the parent, and we work through the activity together. I add in the C-rods especially for things like "7 is ___ more than 3" (which my son could easily look at the 7 and 3 C-rods next to each other and say "4!" without even thinking - awesome!). This is a child that seems to do better with workbooks rather than manipulatives alone. My oldest son is an abstract thinker, so RS would have been a bad fit for him also. He's very mathy and rarely needs manipulatives. Math Mammoth and Singapore have been better fits for him (MM was great, but he likes the presentation of Singapore better). I've sold RS A. I know I won't use it for DS3. He's acting somewhat like DS1, and I know and love C-rods now. :001_wub: I kept the RS A manipulatives, but I honestly doubt I'll use much of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 I don't want to discourage you AT ALL. If we were schooling mostly at home, it would definitely be my first choice. We are actually using mostly Miquon & MEP just b/c we are gone a LOT. But you asked for the drawbacks! Oh, I'm not discouraged- I really wanted to know what people thought. Thank you so much for sharing. I would say that we're never gone, but I did just post yesterday that we might spend a LOT of time camping this summer. I will add some Miquon in at some point. I bought some C-rods at a garage sale, but I don't have the books. I saw that they're cheap- I just thought I would use Rightstart and OPGTR to start having a little structure and then add some more subjects in the fall. He really likes structure. When I plan little activities to do, he just eats it up. And keeps asking for more- even when I'm *done* for the day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Rightstart Math? Talk me out of it? No way. :001_smile: Have I been frustrated with it at times throughout the years? Yes. But w/ my 4th grader now halfway through level E, I can look back and say I am very thankful that I never ditched it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I am a huge fan of RS B, but I find A to be too spiral. I tried it with my DS (my older DD started with B) and wound up shelving it to do some MEP and then Singapore 1A. I then picked up with B after DS finished Singapore 1A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegirlwhopaintedtrees Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) Maybe it's not every 3 minutes. I'll give you a summary of a lesson in the middle of the book - Lesson 40. Warmup - discuss name of current month & next month - ask child to say days of week & play the Comes After Game with the days - ask the child to enter various quantites on the abacus, such as 23, 46, 51, 80 - play the Comes After Game with numbers up to 10 Activities - review reading quantities on the abacus - review partitioning ten (drawing part-whole circle set) - "the teddy bear problem" (10 teddy bears total, if one kid has x, how many does other kid have - use abacus) - find all combos - handshaking game - showing that 5s are only number not repeated in partitioning 10 - variation on handshaking game using toys - worksheet 12-2 Lessons can be taught over 2 days. I have one of those wicker bins from Target that is maybe 18x12x12 to hold all the manipulatives, so it is a lot, but I do have 4 abacuses, 4 clocks, etc. Maybe it's not so much with just one. For what it's worth - I usually skip a whole bunch of the beginning warm up stuff (especially if I know she knows it down pat) and just go to the main lesson - that keeps it from seeming like the topics change around so much. I bought it because my daughter was despising Singapore and was refusing to do math. She loves the games aspect of RS. We are using level B though, not A. Edited January 12, 2012 by thegirlwhopaintedtrees forgot something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakshmi Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Never used A, started in B, but can't really find anything that I don't like about it! I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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