jens2sons Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 i just received my shipment of Rightstart Math level b in the mail today. I'm already overwhelmed - what a huge box! As I have been looking through the level b materials it seems to me that the subject matter is too young for my son. I used the "WHERE DO WE START ?" placement test at convention but this seems off. I'm wondering if it would be better to start with level c and fill in the gaps. Does anyone have any experience with this? If this isn't going to work because of where my son is at, I may go over to Saxon. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaT Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 What age/grade? I just wrapped up RSM Level C for my young 2nd grader. (Started with Level B in K but didn't finish it till end of 1st grade). If you skip Level A and B, I think there are some getting acquainted with the abacus exercises you can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 The first 20 or so lessons of B are major review. So definitely look past those. The later part does multi digit addition and subtraction. I had one child doing B in second and my son did B in first. So it does depend on the child. But you'd need to post your child's age and what they've already covered in math for me to know more. But it is possible to start the program with C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens2sons Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 What age/grade? I just wrapped up RSM Level C for my young 2nd grader. (Started with Level B in K but didn't finish it till end of 1st grade). If you skip Level A and B, I think there are some getting acquainted with the abacus exercises you can do. The first 20 or so lessons of B are major review. So definitely look past those. The later part does multi digit addition and subtraction. I had one child doing B in second and my son did B in first. So it does depend on the child. But you'd need to post your child's age and what they've already covered in math for me to know more. But it is possible to start the program with C. My son is 8 and a homeschooler of 2nd grade. He's covered multi-digit addition without carrying, some single digit subtraction, telling time to the quarter hour, some basic fractions, measuring with a ruler in cm, etc. He's coming from Horizons math 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaT Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I would probably go with Level C then and get the Transition Lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Some kids are still in b in second. Others c. If you have b, you could have him take the tests in the back of the lesson book (at least I think that's where they are? The first quarter test, year end test.) If he can easily do all that move to c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens2sons Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 I would probably go with Level C then and get the Transition Lessons. I checked out the transition lessons, but it says it's for the 1st edition. I have the 2nd edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaT Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I checked out the transition lessons, but it says it's for the 1st edition. I have the 2nd edition. While I haven't used the Transition Lessons, I don't think the edition you're about to use will matter. I think it's more about introducing the methodology used in RSM and going over the abacus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens2sons Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 While I haven't used the Transition Lessons, I don't think the edition you're about to use will matter. I think it's more about introducing the methodology used in RSM and going over the abacus. This is frustrating to me since I have already paid so much for the entire set. :banghead: Just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaT Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Yup, that's pricey. You might try to sell it. I thought I might try to sell my 1st ed books to re-purchase 2nd ed for my next two kids going through RSM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 This is frustrating to me since I have already paid so much for the entire set. :banghead: Just sayin'. All the manipulatives will be identical. You would only need to buy the new Level C teacher's manual and worksheets. You might be able to return the Level B ones? Or sell them locally for a good amount. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutingmom Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 The manipulatives are the same. Call RightStart and discuss it with them, they have great customer service. If level C is the right level for you, you can probably return the level B books and get the level C ones. Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens2sons Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 The manipulatives are the same. Call RightStart and discuss it with them, they have great customer service. If level C is the right level for you, you can probably return the level B books and get the level C ones. Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk All the manipulatives will be identical. You would only need to buy the new Level C teacher's manual and worksheets. You might be able to return the Level B ones? Or sell them locally for a good amount. Yup, that's pricey. You might try to sell it. I thought I might try to sell my 1st ed books to re-purchase 2nd ed for my next two kids going through RSM. I just purchased the set and got it in the mail today, so the only option would be to return it so I can get my money back. I am waiting for RS to contact me as I emailed them after they had closed seeing that I am in Oregon and they are ND(?) I can't believe how much "stuff" came in the box. I'm nervous about how much it would actually cost me to ship it all back. I realize that I don't have to ship all of it back, but at this point I'm not sold that this is the right set for us. We will be doing Classical Conversations this next school year and the math games and drill will already be taken care of. I'm thinking of finding something a lot more affordable and with less manipulatives. Don't get me wrong, I like manipulatives but this is too much. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so overwhelmed and don't know how I'm going to have time to do this if I stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Well, I love Righstart, and maybe it's not your cup of tea. But I'd encourage you not to decide right away that you're done with it. The manipulatives look like a lot, but they do make sense. They're really great. Since you have them, why not spend a day or two going through a couple of the lessons and using some of the stuff, and see how you like it? Any worksheet page you need, you could write out by hand and try it that way. If I recall correctly, the abacus doesn't come in a sealed package so you could at least try exploring it for a bit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I love RightStart--and I wrote a review about why I think it's the best curriculum for the first few years--but I agree that the amount of "stuff" the RS requires feels overwhelming. A couple thoughts: -RightStart B may repeat some of the same material as Horizons 1, but it also spends a lot of time on adding with regrouping. It also builds place-value skills and mental math skills (for example, learning how to add 87+65 or 56 + 6 mentally). You might not need to spend a full year on B, but if your son hasn't mastered those topics, they're well worth some time investment since they're so foundational to later math. You might have to condense some of the early lessons, though, if they're too easy. -The teacher's guide does lay out exactly what to do with all those manipulatives and will guide you through it. It's okay to just stick them on a shelf and not worry about them until the TM tells you to get them out. Many of them are used for only a few lessons, so fortunately you don't need all of them out for every single lesson. -Unless your CC campus does something totally different than the standard work, CC will only cover memorizing the skip-counting songs, conversions, and laws, with no hands-on games or activities. (Those are part of Essentials, but not Foundations...unless your son is doing Essentials early?) So there's not really much overlap between Foundations and RSB. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 In case it is useful, here's a blog post I did on organizing the manipulatives. I find having them organized decently makes it not overwhelming to me. http://everchangingchild.blogspot.com/2014/11/rightstart-math-manipulatives.html Level C has a lot of review. In version 2, the first six lessons of C go over subitizing and some of the manipulatives and would serve as a transition into the program. You don't need the separate Transition Lessons that went with version 1. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squawky Acres Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I think there are some really foundational, important things taught in RS B. The coverage of place value, multi-digit addition and mental math is outstanding. That said, the beginning of B does seem a little young for an 8-year-old. I would suggest leaving out the songs, for example (I learned that the hard way -- there is another thread with my DC's lyrics to Yellow is the Sun), and condensing lessons to leave out topics your child has already mastered. I just got a medium-sized plastic bin and dumped all of the manipulatives into it (except for the large things that would not fit). The manipulatives are really fabulous, but you don't need to bring all of them out every times -- just check the instructor's guide to see what you need for each lesson. They start out using just a few. I would suggest first trying out some of the RS B lessons at an accelerated pace (perhaps writing out any worksheets or doing them orally so that you can return the books if needed). If you feel that RS B is really not working, I would call RightStart to talk about exchanging your books. The customer service is excellent, and I am sure they would help you out. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens2sons Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 I thought more about this all last night after making my last post and although this seems frustrating, I'm probably going to have the same problem with any curriculum. He's just in a funny place in math. I have R&S arithmetic 2 but I really want to sell it to someone that will enjoy it more - we don't, even though it's a solid program. I'm so grateful for all the encouragement. I contacted "Hunny" on the Sonlight forum (she had been the original suggester of RS to me) and she suggested to go through the package as if it was "box day" and so we did this morning. He is so excited and I'm shocked. What a confidence booster! The manipulatives don't look so intimidating to me this morning. Maybe I was just having a bad day, I don't know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Take a deep breath and find some time to just sit and figure it out. The manipulatives are excellent. It is really no big deal to keep them in a plastic bin. We call ours the math box. I reorganize it at the beginning of each year. I would probably go with B and accelerate if needed. If you have questions, I would call them rather than email. There are videos on You Tube for loys of the RS games. My boy loves the games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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