eternallytired Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I have a K-er and a PK4 this year. Both kids have been working through RS-B, but as the year goes on I'm realizing more and more that it's the perfect pace for DD (PK4) but DS (K) could be moving through it a lot faster. For example, while DD did exactly as the text expected on all those lessons leading up to adding large numbers on paper (relying on the abacus to develop understanding), DS looked at the first written problem on his whiteboard, solved it in his head, wrote down the answer and his trades, and finally moved beads on the abacus to match his numbers. I'm thinking of separating them for math after we finish B in another month. I think for DD-newly-5 I will just continue on to RS-C exactly as written, perhaps with a sprinkling of Miquon, which she finds exciting. (She's very visual.) What would you recommend for DS6 (headed for 1st grade)? Would you recommend just moving him through RS-C at a bit faster pace, adding something to create challenge, or doing something entirely separate? For reference, he loves learning and will do almost any task gladly but his ADHD makes everything take longer--partly I love RS for the interaction and light worksheet load. He's also an intuitive learner. He's always been annoyed by the abacus and he actively hates the Miquon C-rods except for making patterns and building. He enjoys the RS card games, but they take him forever because he goes running around the room after each turn or spends 20 minutes explaining each move he makes. He loves Mind Benders and logic puzzles and spends all his free time building (train tracks indoors, bricks and wood scraps out back) and drawing road maps of imaginary towns. He's not a mathematical genius or anything, but he seems to pick up the concepts with ease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 He sounds a bit like my DS7, who did RS B in K, starting C in the spring of that year. We opted to move thru RS C at a brisk pace. When he finished C I initially wanted to start D right away (this would have been about a year ago), but I had loaned my D teacher manual to a friend and wasn't able to get it back right away. We decided to try a book of Beast Acdemy, and it turned out to be a great fit. The lowest level currently available is 3A, so you would have to fill in most likely with something between RS B and BA3a, but if he is able to learn the concepts easily you might be able to do it with another program that is more streamlined than RS. On the other hand, RS isn't too hard to accelerate if you double up lessons. In RS for my DS7, I would often only do one example problem, then he would do some on the worksheet (and maybe not even the whole thing), then we would move on to another lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 He sounds a bit like my DS7, who did RS B in K, starting C in the spring of that year. We opted to move thru RS C at a brisk pace. When he finished C I initially wanted to start D right away (this would have been about a year ago), but I had loaned my D teacher manual to a friend and wasn't able to get it back right away. We decided to try a book of Beast Acdemy, and it turned out to be a great fit. The lowest level currently available is 3A, so you would have to fill in most likely with something between RS B and BA3a, but if he is able to learn the concepts easily you might be able to do it with another program that is more streamlined than RS. On the other hand, RS isn't too hard to accelerate if you double up lessons. In RS for my DS7, I would often only do one example problem, then he would do some on the worksheet (and maybe not even the whole thing), then we would move on to another lesson. I did a similar progression with my son. He worked briskly through the first half of RS C during K and the first half of first grade. We stopped after multi-digit subtraction and used Singapore 2A and 2B (and a little of 3A, if I'm remembering correctly) and then moved right into Beast 3A. In retrospect, the Singapore doesn't feel like it was necessary. With my younger daughter, I expect I'll finish out Rightstart C and then move straight into Beast. Besides, Singapore doesn't sound like it would be a great fir for your son, since it's definitely a sit-down-and-do-your -workbook kind of program. Beast is really wonderful, and it sounds like it could be a good fit for your son. There are lots of opportunities to figure things out and make intuitive leaps, and problems that really make kids think. The key thing concept that is missing between Beast and Rightstart B is multi-digit subtraction and an intro to multiplication, so RS C fills that gap well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 If RS is working and you are happy with it, I'd stick with it but move at a faster pace. Early elementary, I have always done Singapore math and Miquon. I agree with others that Beast Academy might be a good fit when a little older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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