Right Start Math for advanced 3 year old??

[ballardlm]

For the record, I am not ready for this or pushing my kid lol. If I don't do "school" with him every day he gets bored and starts misbehaving. So far "school" has consisted of reading books, playing games, and 1 Kumon worksheet per day. He loves playing "school games" and asks for them all day. I'm kinda getting to the point where I don't know what to do anymore. I'm not the type of person who can just come up with fun educational stuff or adapt stuff I find online. I need stuff spelled out for me. So would Right Start be a good math fit? It's mostly games isn't it? He's ready to start simple addition I think but he can't write yet. Thoughts? And do you really need to buy everything that goes with it?

[serendipitous journey]

I don't know about Right Start, though from what I've heard it would be a good bet.  I did try Saxon K with a 3yo and for some reason he just detests it; and I used MUS Primer well with A. when he was three, but he did not like games and he required very "clean", spare pages. 

 

If you want to try something with less of a $$ investment for a bit, you could try MEP Reception or Year 1. 

[EKS]

I found RightStart B to be a more child friendly introduction to math concepts than Singapore 1A/B.  But I used it with a 5yo.  When this same child was 3yo, we used Saxon K (which was too easy), Singapore EB (which I don't like), and messed around with MUS blocks.

[AimeeM]

Miquon? I'm using it with my 4 year old (very active) boy.

[Jackie]

I bought RightStart A around my daughter's second birthday. I wanted to have the manipulatives, so I figured I might as well buy the whole thing and use the curric as a guide for me to figure out how to break down some of the concepts. DD is now 3.5 and we just bought level B.

 

I used version 1 of level A, so this may not apply to version 2. Though A used lots of manipulatives, I could have done the vast majority of the program with the abacus, tally sticks (any craft sticks will do), colored tiles (could have subbed in another small manipulative), geoboard, and the deck of standard number cards for games (could make your own).

 

It does work primarily through games. Even the lessons that don't explicitly use games are taught fully hands-on, so DD thought of all of it as games. There is very little writing in it and we were able to adjust all the program to do it with no writing at all. Though I didn't necessarily follow the script, what to do is all laid out very clearly in the manual.

[ballardlm]

Thanks everyone! I thought about Miquon but it said 1st grade was the lowest it went so I was concerned it would be too hard. And especially thank you for that description Jackie. I think Right Start is a good bet because he loves playing games so much that I can just teach with games. I really want everything school related to be really fun at this point. I don't like the investment but on the bright side maybe I can re use it with little sister in a few years. Any other insights would be appreciated. Thanks again!

[T'smom]

I started RS A when my ds was 4. It is all activities but they do teach to make the numbers. You could skip that part. I do think it's really good for little kids!

[Kerileanne99]

I actually think that RS is the absolute best! for very young kids because it has such a hands-on, game feel. As Jackie said, that is what it feels like, and very little of it requires writing.

I bought RS-A for my dd when she was 2 as well, and we went through about 3/4 of it before switching over to RS-B. We then went all the way through B quite quickly as much of A and B are the same with a more rapid pace and deeper understanding.

 

I love how well it teaches place value, how visual and hands-on it is. We play a LOT of math games here, and RS was a huge part of not only my daughters success in math but her love of all things math! At this age I think that is the most important aspect.

 

The other thing I love about RS: my dd is about to turn 4 now and has worked her way through Singapore 1A/B and 2A/B. I know some SM users worry about what seem to be big conceptual leaps in those books but we have not found that to be the case. I honestly think that is because of how well RS works to provide deep number sense, understanding of place value, and works on math facts as relationships.

 

I also think RS simply lends itself to adaptation for the early years! There are lots of things you can do to help. We did sooo many different things...in particular I think the AL abacus is a bit flimsy for the very young. If you happen to have one of the Melissa and Doug versions, it is VERY simple to take it apart and re-paint it in the RS yellow/blue colors. This works really, really well for almost all of RS A and B. We used number stamps for a lot of work as well, which was a bit hit and helped with fine motor, lining up columns, etc. I even made a set of bowling pins (10 of them, five blue/5 yellow) very early on when she was practicing math facts and 'making tens'.

 

I will say that I also have Miquon and played quite a bit with it. It is the only other program that I think can be very successful with very little ones...mine seemed to like it more as a supplement, but I have friends who have used it for young kids with much success and fun.

[CrunchyGirl]

I understand. ArtsyGirl is the same way. I really need to prioritize "school" time with her. We are using RS now. I love the idea of RS but doing it drives me absolutely insane. I would prefer to just put her in SM and supplement with RS games and techniques but I'm trying to power through.

[Uff Da!]

nm 

 

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

jenbrdsly on her Teaching My Baby to Read blog has some posts and pictures showing using Right Start with her 3 year old. It's definitely doable, as long as you go at the child's pace and don't get stress about not "finishing" lessons. :) We love Right Start and I'm using it with my 4 year old.

[Korrale]

Yup! I would highly recommend RS for a 2, 3 or 4 year old as a great start to math.

[Sarah0000]

I used RS methods to teach my son, currently 24 months, the numbers 1-10. We are now working on 11-20. There are sample pages and the table of contents for each of the levels on the RS website. They will give you an idea of the method and a starting point without the investment. Since my son is so very young, I am not following the actual lessons at all with any of the RS manipulatives, but instead I am following the sequence and methods during normal play with whatever manipulatives we happen to be playing with at the time.

[mmpmelmack]

I used RS A with ds at 3, he loved it, and I think he learned a lot. It went great! Just take it slow.