happy-hs Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 My DD has used Right Start for nearly 2 years- K last year and she will finish C this summer as a 1st grader (we're on a year-round schedule). I LOVED A and B. C has been okay. I find that we are not using the manipulatives as much now. The lessons are usually really short, but we're working through the geometry portion of C so maybe that's why. I also feel like she's ready to start reading through some problems on her own, and RS doesn't really give her that chance. I guess I'm just not as thrilled with C as I was with A and B... I've read that lots of people move on from Right Start, but I've never found any real reasons why. Now I wonder if these are some of the reasons. I'm not sure what to do. We'll finish RS C, but I don't know where to go next fall. Option 1: I could buy Level D and just stick with RS. After all, it has worked well so far! Maybe not being thrilled with this level isn't enough of a reason to jump ship... Option 2: I'm also debating moving her into Teaching Textbooks. I know it has a bad reputation, but my older kids use it and have had great success with it. I know DD would love the computer-based approach. I supplement TT for my older kids so I would supplement for DD as well. If she moved into TT, I'd get Beast Academy for her as well. What a perfect excuse to buy Beast! :lol: Hmmmm.... Melissa :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 You're not crazy or the only one to experience this. I guess my problem here with your jumping idea is that I don't really hear anything about it not WORKING. What you're saying is you want a little something more. Get the Math Olympiad book from AoPS or add in some Zaccaro like Cotter recommends. You switch when it's not working, not when it's working but you want a little something extra, kwim? What would happen if you added Beast? I haven't kept up with it, not at that stage right now. I'm just suggesting you solve the problem, not just go changing things. RS D is a lot like C. The way they approach division is interesting and worthwhile if it has been working for her so far. She could go into TT after D or E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I'll get back to you about this in a few months. We're (as I type) doing lesson 3 of D. I went back and forth for a while, but finally my hubby said to not fix what isn't broken. DS loves math and does it well. The lessons are getting increasingly independent, too. We do Singapore's challenging word problems as desired and multiplication mosaics (and others in that series) when I don't have time to present a lesson. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnG in Arizona Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 About a week ago, I posted a similar post about whether or not to switch after RS Level B. Many posters gave me some very thoughtful input to consider on both sides of the issue (to switch or not to switch). Perhaps you'll find this helpful: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356880 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy-hs Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Thank you for your thoughts and for the link! To clarify, I don't feel the need to fix something that's not broken. I just wonder if we could get more for our time and money. There's so much to consider! :) Melissa :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) My DD has used Right Start for nearly 2 years- K last year and she will finish C this summer as a 1st grader (we're on a year-round schedule). I LOVED A and B. C has been okay. I find that we are not using the manipulatives as much now. The lessons are usually really short, but we're working through the geometry portion of C so maybe that's why. I also feel like she's ready to start reading through some problems on her own, and RS doesn't really give her that chance. I guess I'm just not as thrilled with C as I was with A and B... I've read that lots of people move on from Right Start, but I've never found any real reasons why. Now I wonder if these are some of the reasons. I'm not sure what to do. We'll finish RS C, but I don't know where to go next fall. Option 1: I could buy Level D and just stick with RS. After all, it has worked well so far! Maybe not being thrilled with this level isn't enough of a reason to jump ship... Option 2: I'm also debating moving her into Teaching Textbooks. I know it has a bad reputation, but my older kids use it and have had great success with it. I know DD would love the computer-based approach. I supplement TT for my older kids so I would supplement for DD as well. If she moved into TT, I'd get Beast Academy for her as well. What a perfect excuse to buy Beast! :lol: Hmmmm.... Melissa :) I vote for Option 1. :001_smile: I believe I went through the same dilemma last year when we were doing C. However, where others skipped the drawing halfway through, I, personally, thought the drawing was highly beneficial for my little man, so we stuck with it. That being said, I, too, wasn't necessarily as thrilled with C as I was with A or B. It was almost exactly as OhElizabeth stated, it was working for us but I also wanted a little something more. I knew jumping ship wasn't the answer, so I just added in some Math Mammoth (which I already owned) and we were good to go. Now that being said, feeling the need to supplement with MM only lasted for a short while. We're in Level D this year, currently Lesson 96, and as another pp stated, the lessons are increasingly independent. In short, I'm so glad we stayed with RightStart! Edited March 15, 2012 by CMama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rbsmrter Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 It's been really helpful for me to read everyone's thoughts and opinions on RS. DD started with Earlybird and will be finishing up 1B early this summer. We've supplemented with Miquon and MM as they all had a similar approach. In an effort to slow her down a bit and help her build a strong foundation, I've decided to start RS B when we finish up 1B. We already had most of the manipulatives so it was just a matter of me buying the TM. I figured it would give her yet another way to approach some of the more basic concepts. I'm really curious to see if it will be a good fit for us (even if it is short term). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDages Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I have used RS with 3 out of 4 children so far (4th is just starting) and we have gone through E for everyone. I have had no complaints and the kids transitioned well into other things. My oldest went into Life of Fred with some Keys to and the 2nd went into Keys to with a little piece of Life of Fred. My 3rd is in RS now at level D. I still love RS and would recommend it to anyone. Jennifer in PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy-hs Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Thank you all for the great suggestions! I am still debating, but at least I won't be buying until July. I have plenty of time to consider my options. :) Melissa :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegirlwhopaintedtrees Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 It's been really helpful for me to read everyone's thoughts and opinions on RS. DD started with Earlybird and will be finishing up 1B early this summer. We've supplemented with Miquon and MM as they all had a similar approach. In an effort to slow her down a bit and help her build a strong foundation, I've decided to start RS B when we finish up 1B. We already had most of the manipulatives so it was just a matter of me buying the TM. I figured it would give her yet another way to approach some of the more basic concepts. I'm really curious to see if it will be a good fit for us (even if it is short term). That's the exact reason we purchased it. DD enjoys the lessons, but even more the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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