Is Righstart really worth it..

[charcat13]

Or would it be just as good to do the games with Singapore (which we are already using). My two oldest have trouble memorizing math facts and I think the games would be a fun way to work on that. I like the idea of RS but the price is hard to swallow when we already own SM.

[EmilyGF]

I think RightStart pricing has changed since I bought it (I began buying it when my now-9-year-old was 4.5), but I wondered that, too.

 

I think RightStart is really well designed. It teaches the teacher to teach. It involves mom in a way that encourages kids (just like I practice piano with my kids instead of telling them to sit down and practice). Everything is taught from multiple angles so that you really understand it.

 

When I priced out all the components of SM, I realized it wasn't really much cheaper, and that I preferred RS. I did buy the digital download of all the levels of worksheets so that I don't have to rebuy them for all my kids, but then again, I did that after deciding I was in for the long haul.

 

That said, I believe you shouldn't fix what isn't broken. If your kids are understanding Singapore, just play some games. War was our main game - addition war, multiplication war, subtraction war, etc. I started letting my kids play xtramath on my smart phone when we are driving around town to get more directed practice in.

[Momofeat]

I love RS and have never regretted spending money on it. However, I bought everything used.

[sbgrace]

It was worth it here. We used RS through 1/2 of C. I actually didn't like teaching RS, but it provided such a great foundation that I would do it again if I had another child.

 

Why not try just the games, though? If Singapore is working over-all, I probably wouldn't switch.

 

 

[PagesandFields]

After a year trying to decide whether to spend the money I recently bought Rightstart...  I haven't started teaching with it yet but I've looked through everything and read much of the manual.... For me it was completely worth it.  (It was also most of my budget at least for right now).  It was really important to me that the manipulatives and "real stuff" math be concrete and come before the abstract.  When I looked through all the manipulatives... truthfully it's all stuff I think I would have tried to find, buy or make at some point anyway.  

 

Plus - kinda another way to look at it is that I feel like I invested a chunk of money up front that I won't have to pay later.  I'm pretty sure we'll stick with RS for at least a few levels, for both kiddos, and once the manipulatives are bought they're bought...  So I invested money now to free up the budget later for some other things... But also to free up my time... Instead of spending who knows how long scrounging up what I wanted in order to give my kids this kind of math experience I bought it all together - done...  I'm pretty sure had I stuck with SM (which was my original plan) I would have been struggling the whole way through the first year or two trying to find and play more math games, and get concrete manipulatives, to support the program.  

 

As of now my plan is to switch to SM around level 3 or so... but we'll see.  

[boscopup]

It wasn't worth it to me. I thought it jumped around from topic to topic too much. I never knew what I would be teaching until I opened it up. It used different manipulatives for each lesson, and that drove me nuts as well. I also didn't like that it had them memorizing facts before learning the numbers (a song about 5 and 3 make 8, without showing the kid first how to count to 8 and verify that those were equivalent).

 

My middle son is the one I used it with, and he really didn't get anything out of it. I later realized he needed a concrete AND pictorial presentation. Singapore was a better fit.

 

I sold RS A but kept the games book and the manipulatives. I really haven't used either since then. The kids sometimes play with the abacus for fun, but we mostly use C-rods for math... or sometimes base-ten blocks. My kids do better with one consistent manipulative instead of twenty different ones.

[athomeontheprairie]

When I priced out all the components of SM, I realized it wasn't really much cheaper, and that I preferred RS. I did buy the digital download of all the levels of worksheets so that I don't have to rebuy them for all my kids, but then again, I did that after deciding I was in for the long haul.

 

That said, I believe you shouldn't fix what isn't broken. If your kids are understanding Singapore, just play some games. War was our main game - addition war, multiplication war, subtraction war, etc. I started letting my kids play xtramath on my smart phone when we are driving around town to get more directed practice in.

This us me. Once I really priced it out, it wasn't *that* much more expensive. And by being diligent and patient I was able to buy used at a good price. not much more than had I bought another program. For me it was worth it.

 

BUT if what you are using isn't broken. Don't try to fix it.

[HappyClassical]

We switched from SM with MUS, for my math advanced DD, to RS and I have to say completely worth it at this point. Areas where things weren't sinking before are a breeze. We love the abacus. I love the format of the 2nd edition materials. I recorded everything in HSTonline ahead of time, so I prep quickly. We supplement with MM worksheets for mastery or review and Splashmath online. My daughter likes worksheets and extra work (I know), but I don't think you need to supplement RS at all.

[blondchen]

It wasn't worth it to me. I thought it jumped around from topic to topic too much. I never knew what I would be teaching until I opened it up. It used different manipulatives for each lesson, and that drove me nuts as well. I also didn't like that it had them memorizing facts before learning the numbers (a song about 5 and 3 make 8, without showing the kid first how to count to 8 and verify that those were equivalent).

 

My middle son is the one I used it with, and he really didn't get anything out of it. I later realized he needed a concrete AND pictorial presentation. Singapore was a better fit.

 

I sold RS A but kept the games book and the manipulatives. I really haven't used either since then. The kids sometimes play with the abacus for fun, but we mostly use C-rods for math... or sometimes base-ten blocks. My kids do better with one consistent manipulative instead of twenty different ones.

If your only experience with RS is level A (which I'm not sure about from your post) then no wonder you ditched it! The jumping around in A drove me nuts, but B is not like that. Of course it may not have been a good fit for you anyway, but it's too bad that the first level of RS is so poorly organized, because we have found level B to be much better, and we are loving it. DD5 is about to start math, and I'll either just start her in B and go slowly through the beginning, or do my own skipping around in A in order to make it more coherent.

 

And also, this is a minor point, but regarding learning numbers 6-10, I remember DD7 learning to see groups of 5 or less with the various visual methods, and then doing them with the abacus, and then learning to see numbers 6-10 as 5+x, and then the song (we did it as a poem, not a song). In RS, they never learn to "count to 8" - it is always seen as 5+3, and there is NO rote memorization for anything that I recall. The understanding comes first, then the memorization.

 

RS does use A LOT of manipulatives. I'm sure it is overkill for many students, but for some kids (like my DD) it makes math more fun and interesting and seeing the concepts in different ways has really helped her understanding. It is gratifying to see her choosing which specific method to use in solving a problem, since RS gives her choices, and I am surprised at times to see her prefer something I had considered skipping teaching because I thought it was superfluous.

 

That said, OP, I wouldn't ditch a program that is working for you. The RS games may be a good investment if what your DC need is cementing the facts - my DD loves the games.

[Walking-Iris]

I can't say because I didn't bother to try it after researching. I did not like the scripting, or the expensive kits. However, I do feel the RightStart Math Games book with all the extras for that was definitely worth it. 

 

It has a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to get around in the book and play the games, but we enjoy them.

[bluedarling]

I loved RS, but it was expensive.  RS became too teacher intensive for me once I had to teach 3-4 kids, and it looks like you'll have 3 soon.  If Singapore is working for you, I would just do that, and add the math games.    Save your sanity and some money.  RS is a great program, but there are other great programs that require less time and money.

[charcat13]

Thanks everyone!

 

Yes, Singapore is working for us. They just need extra help cementing the facts. I bought the games and will try that as a supplement. I watched a video describing the games on YouTube last night and I think we will enjoy them.

[Guest Lovemylovebugs]

We love rightstart!! Definitely worth it. But if what you are doing is working I wouldn't change it!

[Teneo]

The one thing I wish would be specified in each post is whether people are referring to 1st or 2nd edition RS since some big changes were made.

 

That said yes I do if you are interested in having the instruction being through hands-on discovery with less emphasis on worksheets than most, and concepts being taught through multiple manipulative means (for one idea you might show it three ways in one lesson!), then yes it is worth the money. The new 2nd edition also holds your hand as the teacher which for a non mathy person may be helpful. Seeing the same concept from different angles and feeling them move helps me enjoy math for the first time in my entire life as it is finally making sense, not just something you accept, and I think all the manipulative make it feel more concrete. I'm also now a huge fan of the abacus. Wow, knowing that thing is probably going to be worth the extra time alone.

[cagirlintexas]

Totally worth it IMO.  My son is doing awesome at math and I credit it all to rightstart.  He had such a hard time with math to begin with too.  We tried A when he was 4 and it was a complete bust.  Then at 5 we tried again and it worked.  When we started I was really worried about his math skills.  He didn't even know his numbers to 10 and he was 5 years old.  Math just was hard for him.  Now 2 years later he has been through A-C and is working in D.  He does math in his head with out issue and is really good at math.

[kiwik]

You would be surprised at how little many 5 year olds know.

[cagirlintexas]

You would be surprised at how little many 5 year olds know.

 

LOL I agree!  We were all just a little worried because my mom had spent time with over the summer trying to get him to learn to recognize basic numbers and nothing would work.  Then we started Rightstart that fall and all of a sudden he got it.  I think it helped the way they teach numbers the mathy way like two ten instead of twenty.  Also lots of emphasis on the abacus. 

[fourisenough]

RightStart is SOOOO not my kind of program (too much stuff to keep track of), but I'm only 12 lessons in to RS2A and I see the beauty. My 5-year old begs to do it each morning. It is so darn smart. She is #4 and has been plopped in front of a few too many Letter Factory vids, so it is time she got her mama-intensive instruction! Easy for me to say as she is my baby.... If I had a house full of little ones, I'm not sure I could do it though.

[Ewe Mama]

It wasn't a good fit for Faith. I had specifically bought it for her, but she proved to be a " just give me a workbook and let me get it done" kind of a girl. She could not have been less impressed. Sigh.