Right Start Math

[Guest AUlib7]

This is my first year homeschooling. I am using Right Start math but my daughter seems to not get half the things I teach her. She was at a Montessori school where she was doing fine in math. I thought Right Start would work for her since it has some Montessori approaches, but she doesn't seem to understand. I don't know if she is just weak in math or the program is not right for her. Is RS advance? Some of the things seem to be quite advance, such as the questions. I'm thinking about Shiller Math since it is Montessori based and that is what she is used to (RS has Montessori, too, so I don't know) or Math U See. I borrowed a video from a friend and Math U See seems like it would be a better fit for her? Does anyone have an opinion? I was never good at math. I don't know if it is the way I was taught or what. I am thinking that my daugher is probably like me and it is not her strength. Is there a math program that will give her a strong foundation for higher math but developmentally appropriate for her age?

[yslek]

How old is your dd and what level of RS are you using?

[Guest AUlib7]

My daughter is six years old and she is doing level B Right Start.

[StephanieF]

Which lesson are you on? We sometimes break a lesson up or go back to review it the next day and I don't go forward unless ds5 understands. The partioning took a few goes to understand and I went over it with a white board several times more than they did in the book. Where have you got stuck?

Stephanie

[buddhabelly]

We have done Right Start since my son was a young 6yo. We also started with "B". I do think Right Start is one of the more advanced math programs out there, and that there are a lot of very challenging questions in there. Don't sweat every single question, particularly if YOU don't get it! The program really promotes mastery, and they use a lot of different ways to "get there." So IMO, you don't need to be proficient in every single "way" to "get there."

 

My son is now 9 and in RS "E." Very challenging! Just as a comparison, he can whip through Singapore Math but RS makes him really think.

 

Hope that helps a bit. There are a few spots in RS "B" that you might want to stop and play the suggested games for a while. A lot of folks take 12 or 15 months to get through "B." We did!

 

Have fun,

 

Julie

[partyof5]

We have done Right Start since my son was a young 6yo. We also started with "B". I do think Right Start is one of the more advanced math programs out there, and that there are a lot of very challenging questions in there. Don't sweat every single question, particularly if YOU don't get it! The program really promotes mastery, and they use a lot of different ways to "get there." So IMO, you don't need to be proficient in every single "way" to "get there."

 

My son is now 9 and in RS "E." Very challenging! Just as a comparison, he can whip through Singapore Math but RS makes him really think.

 

Hope that helps a bit. There are a few spots in RS "B" that you might want to stop and play the suggested games for a while. A lot of folks take 12 or 15 months to get through "B." We did!

 

Have fun,

 

Julie

 

 

I agree with this, and it has been our experience as well. My kids have all come out of a Montessori preschool/kindergarten and RS was a natural fit, right down to some of the manipulatives having a familiar look.

 

Play the games and don't worry too much about "getting" everything that is introduced the first time. I found myself reading ahead when I did level B the first time so I could catch the vision that was being cast in the curriculum and have a better understanding of how lessons progressed.

 

I have a level E "graduate" and we found it very challenging, moreso than what her age-mates are facing in public school, and in some cases, even other hs'ers using other programs.

 

The bottom line though must be what works for you. I just hate to see you toss out RS so early in your first year with it.

[Ummto4]

I used RSA for my then Kindy-boy (6 yo) and he had difficulty with # bond and the more challenging questions in RS. He was also slow in grasping the concept of place value. Now, he's a 6 years 10 months old first grader and is doing RS B. He grasps the concepts he was stuck on 6 months ago. He can count up and down, doing two and ten skip counting, understand # bond and understand place value better (i.e. can answer things like: 20 + 5 =25, 5+ 30 = 35, etc).

 

It may be that it's due to brain maturation. RS is pretty advanced, so don't sweat it if your dc does not grasp the concept at the moment. Having said that, during my son's first grade (i.e. NOW), I am also supplementing RS B with Math Mammoth grade I which I think contribute to his understanding. Different presentation, you know ... (a bit more like S-pore, but with more practice and cheaper price). So far, the RS B and Math Mammoth grade 1 combo have been working for us.

 

So my advice:

- your dc is still young, so don't sweat it.

- if you're unsure about RS vs brain maturation, you may want to try other K curriculum, like S-pore B (standard edition) to see whehter S-pore methods click with your dc. NOTE: for a K-er, buy S-pore B as S-pore A is for pre-K and is too easy for a K-er.

 

HTH

[PeterPan]

You should call the 1-800 number for RS and talk it through with them. We took lots of breaks in level B to tread water, spend longer on a lesson (a week, not just a day), etc. It's probably just a maturity thing. Don't make the newbie mistake and buy thing after thing, hehe. You've got a good program, so just slow it down and play the games till things click in her mind. The scripted lessons of RS are going to make you a good math teacher so you don't have to feel confident about it going in. Just tread water for a while, reviewing the lessons, working through more problems, playing the games. It will come! And yes, RS is advanced. Level B covers all the state standards for 1st, a lot of 2nd, and even a bit of 3rd. You could take longer than a year on it and be fine, perfectly fine. Kids are all different for when things click and when they're ready. Just take it at her pace and you'll be fine!

[Crimson Wife]

Don't be afraid to "sit" on a concept in B that your DS is having trouble with for a while before moving on. There's no rush to get through B in a single academic year.

 

If you don't already have the Math Card Games book, I *HIGHLY* recommend getting it as it has lots of games covering concepts in B. I wish I had gotten it when I started my DD in B rather than 2/3 of the way through.

[Penny]

Would you please comment on which concepts she is not getting? Some concepts are somewhat optional at her age, and some would be greatly beneficial if she mastered now. I remember doing RS with my Ker and going over and over counting backwards and showing on the abacus the base 10 system. I didn't give up until she got it. All concepts related to learning the base 10 system I stuck with no matter how long it took.

 

The problem with some other programs is that one will never know if their child understands the base 10 system or not. If the child does not, she faces problems throughout math for all time until she gets it. I believe that it can be understood early to avoid such problems, and RS is the absolute best program to teach it.

 

That said, some concepts (like multiple ways to subtract) were not necessary at the young age at which they were presented. My son needed only ONE way to subtract until he could master it. All those different strategies scrambled his brain.

 

Blessings,

 

Penny

[prairiegirl]

Just as a word of encouragement, it took us 20 months to get through B with our oldest. We took lots of breaks and did living math in between as well as playing games.

 

Level B is a hefty level. There is alot of heavy duty concepts to master. It's okay if it takes you a while to go through it.

[cillakat]

I can see how rightstart would be confusing. The focus on multiple strategies is more than some kids can master at once.....and for my child, it was stressful to try to figure out the concept before being presented with the skill....so i usually reversed that.

 

Consider going with Shiller in your situation. RS uses montessori ideas, but presents them in very non-montessori ways. While RS math did work for my child in level C, we eventually had to move on from it.

 

Alternatively, you may want to spend more time preparing for the lessons. Keeping the parts that are more 'directly' instructional. Leaving the parts behind that want her figuring out her own strategies (that was very stressful for my child)

 

We also had trouble with the word problems.....they were often a level above the skill being taught. FE, if the skill was subtraction....the word problem would have 2 steps....one requiring addition, one subtraction. That was brual for my kiddo. The word problems in Singapore are more appropriately aligned ime.

 

I guess I finally just had to give up the idea that one math curriculum would fit the bill. We did all of rightstart C, and it did what it needed to at the time.....get her fluent in addition/subtraction facts. Then we were starting D and it was awful.....so we switched to Math Mammoth until Singapore came.

 

I like a lot of Math Mammoth....I like a lot of Singapore. But I'm still keeping RightStart D b/c I like the explanations better for some topics v. Singapore/MM. AHHHHHHHHH!

 

:)

All the best to you,

Katherine