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Righstart Math Users....


jmjs4
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I ordered Rightstart the other day because so many people that use LOE recommended it.  Since then I have read some reviews of people whose children struggled with it, or just didn't get it.  I am getting really worried now if I made the wrong choice.  Can I please hear some good reviews from people who have used it, and it has worked for your children?  I ordered level A for both children so that they can both get a solid math base (and my 7.5 year old has been a little slower learning, and has had some learning difficulties).

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Mine have both done RS B and we loved it. They got a strong number sense and mental math skills from it. We did not ever use level A. My youngest is in level C and I still like it. Not as much as B though. He'll move on to Beast Academy next year like his brother did.

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We're on Level E and Level C.  I think my kids are doing great with math.  Certainly my older scored well above average on the standardized test he took this year.  It does give a very solid math base.  Both my kids have a strong sense of how numbers are put together and how they work.  I really think that a child who doesn't get math with Rightstart may have some underlying difficulties.  And I know a lot of moms chose RS for their kids *because* they have math difficulties, and RS works well for that (it just may take longer and not be at "grade level", of course.)

 

There are some kids who prefer the instruction to be more streamlined and they might not enjoy RS, maybe that's what some of those reviews were encountering?

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My kindergartener is excelling in math thanks to RS B. We skipped A because B reviewed the A content pretty well and he hasn't had any trouble at all. The best part is that he loves math and begs to do it. It is so simple to execute once you get the hang of how the lessons are structured. I am using two different math programs with my other two kids and have considered moving all of them over because I believe it is a superior way to teach math. So far we haven't run into any issue with not understanding it. I did pull out some of my Montessori golden beads to do some place value supplementing at the very beginning just to give a strong decimal system base but it was probably overkill.

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I have two currently using level A. It is a perfect fit for my son. I honestly don't think I could find a better match for him. The games, the manipulatives- all of it. We are going very gently through the program- these two are 4 & 5 so I'm not rushing- and thanks to the math balance he can already compose most of the numbers up to 10. I will continue him with Level B in the fall. He is leaps ahead of my friends' children in PS K as far as number sense, and we aren't finished with the program. Because of the spiral if there's a topic they just aren't into/clicking with at this age (say like hexagon worksheet) I skip it and know it will reappear again later, and then again in B. 

 

I will say, it did take a while for me to get used to the program as a whole. It's just a LOT of parts in my opinion, and isn't ideally suited for my personality type as a Mom. (I'm more of a CLE workbook and a whiteboard type Mom when it comes to math.) But ds is the important one here,  so I have ground through it for his sake and I've definitely seen the benefit. No question.  

 

I will probably use CLE or Singapore for my 4 year old next fall, as RS just has too many moving parts for her. She prefers one thing and to stick to it- BUT, that being said- just sitting in on the lessons and leaving when she wants this year, she has also picked up an immense amount and if I wanted to continue her in RS, I feel I could plop her into B in the fall without issue. They both love the songs, which have been helpful with things like months and days of the week, which are honestly pretty abstract concepts at this age.  

 

It's a solid program. With a solid resale value. I wouldn't stress about it until you've tried it. For some kids, it's as amazing fit. Like all math programs, no program is perfect for anyone, but I don't think you can wrong with trying RightStart. Even if it isn't everything you dream of, I guarantee you there are elements you will pull from it and continue to use in the future regardless of what program you end up with. If you don't like it, sell it next Spring. You won't really be out much. But I think you'll be glad you tried it. 

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE RightStart. Don't worry about the negative reviews, unless they speak directly to your own situation and you personally resonate with the experience of the reviewer. RightStart is a fantastic program and many, many children thrive with it. Mine certainly have, and they have different personalities and innate math abilities. Level A is not my fave - wait until you get to Level B - it's wonderful for getting kids to understand how numbers work and it lays an excellent foundation for conceptual math. In fact, with the ages of your children, you might consider starting directly in Level B instead of A. I've only used the first edition of Levels A and B, but as far as I know, Level A is still an optional K-level book for those who want to do K math versus waiting to start until they're a year older (which I did with my second child). If your kids are beyond K age (which it looks like yours are), I'm not sure that doing Level A before B is really going to be all that valuable anyway.

 

But since you have Level A, you could at least do the lessons or portions of lessons that focus on familiarity with the abacus and adding within 10. And place value, if Level A covers that, which I can't remember right now. All of the Level A material will be taught again in Level B (unless that has changed with the 2nd edition - someone correct me if I'm wrong about that).

 

You've got an excellent program in your hands. Go for it, and stick it out long enough to form your own opinion of how it works for you and your kids.

 

 

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My mental math skills improved a lot from teaching the strategies in level B.

Mine too!

 

We use both LoE Foundations and RightStart first edition. I'm on my third student and I love it. They're totally prepared and solid in their concepts and moving onto other programs once completed we have found no holes or issues.

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I hope it's ok if I add my questions. This is on my potential list for next year.

 

I'm concerned that a program that focuses on concepts and problem solving for early years would fall short in skills mastery. Does this program have a lot of math drills so that you memorize basic facts and learn to do arithmetic quickly?

 

Is there a personality type of mother or child that is especially well-suited or ill-suited to this program?

 

 

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I hope it's ok if I add my questions. This is on my potential list for next year.

 

I'm concerned that a program that focuses on concepts and problem solving for early years would fall short in skills mastery. Does this program have a lot of math drills so that you memorize basic facts and learn to do arithmetic quickly?

 

Is there a personality type of mother or child that is especially well-suited or ill-suited to this program?

 

No, no math drills at all.

So before you panic about that... ;)

First of all, there are two schools of thought about fact mastery.  One school of thought, obviously, believes fast recall of facts is critically important.  The other school of thought believes that being able to figure out the fact is far more important, since if it gets forgotten you can figure it out again.  The two schools don't always agree with each other, but I think it is important to recognize that there are two different perspectives on the matter.

 

Second, there aren't drills, but there are card games.  The idea is that you play the games for practice, as much or as little as the child requires.  It's not pages and pages of worksheet problems to get through.  It's not flash cards.  It's a game, so many kids are much happier about doing it.  And the facts get learned through repeated use, rather than cold memorization.

 

So if fast recall of skills matters deeply to you, then whether the program falls short or not depends entirely on how much time you put in to playing the card games with your child.  Yikes, right?   ;)

 

Personality types...well, I haven't figured it out by Myers-Briggs type or anything.  ;)  For parents, I think people who want a very clean, simple program find it a bit overwhelming, using the different manipulatives.  For children, those who grasp it easily the first time may find it to be overkill, unless the parent is comfortable condensing the material.

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No, no math drills at all.

So before you panic about that... ;)

First of all, there are two schools of thought about fact mastery. One school of thought, obviously, believes fast recall of facts is critically important. The other school of thought believes that being able to figure out the fact is far more important, since if it gets forgotten you can figure it out again. The two schools don't always agree with each other, but I think it is important to recognize that there are two different perspectives on the matter.

 

Second, there aren't drills, but there are card games. The idea is that you play the games for practice, as much or as little as the child requires. It's not pages and pages of worksheet problems to get through. It's not flash cards. It's a game, so many kids are much happier about doing it. And the facts get learned through repeated use, rather than cold memorization.

 

So if fast recall of skills matters deeply to you, then whether the program falls short or not depends entirely on how much time you put in to playing the card games with your child. Yikes, right? ;)

 

Personality types...well, I haven't figured it out by Myers-Briggs type or anything. ;) For parents, I think people who want a very clean, simple program find it a bit overwhelming, using the different manipulatives. For children, those who grasp it easily the first time may find it to be overkill, unless the parent is comfortable condensing the material.

Thanks! That's very informative.

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Yes, don't worry about mastery or math facts. There is a lot of review and playing, but it's a whole lot more important to emphasize thinking mathematically than recitation of facts, and RS absolutely shines on getting the kids to really grasp and internalize subitization, place value, various number manipulation and algorithms, and even things like time, with the most gentle progression I've ever seen. It makes your child feel *successful* and clever. That is worth ten piles of math facts flash cards.

 

I actually believe they do a fantastic job of teaching the basic number families and multiplication/division facts too, but that's not the focus in A and B so much. And that's GOOD, because the child needs number sense and confidence more than rote memorization at those earliest stages anyway.

 

My third graders move on to Saxon 5/4 and have done fantastically. They were totally ready and solid because RS rocks. We did well with Beast Academy too, for what it's worth. But my point is that it's in no way light on teaching even though it feels like the student isn't doing much in the way of book work.

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Mine have both done RS B and we loved it. They got a strong number sense and mental math skills from it. We did not ever use level A. My youngest is in level C and I still like it. Not as much as B though. He'll move on to Beast Academy next year like his brother did.

 

I've decided to try it and am debating on whether to start on level B or C.  Does C have a lot of review from B?  Because I feel like we're so close and it would be expensive get books when we've covered most of what's in it, and just need a few things.

 

And I was curious why you liked B more than C...what was different?

 

I wish they just had the index page you could look at so I could get a clearer picture of what was covered in each book.

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I hope it's ok if I add my questions. This is on my potential list for next year.

 

I'm concerned that a program that focuses on concepts and problem solving for early years would fall short in skills mastery. Does this program have a lot of math drills so that you memorize basic facts and learn to do arithmetic quickly?

 

Is there a personality type of mother or child that is especially well-suited or ill-suited to this program?

 

 

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I only have a total n of 3 on this to comment, but I will say I am a fairly laid back Mom who is not naturally organized and therefore the first six weeks of this program drove me absolutely insane. Lessons learned: get your manipulatives organized in a convenient location; get your cards, games, appendix materials cut out and organized and print off your worksheets (if you are teaching more than one child at a time) in advance. People say it's open and go. It only is IF you do all of that in advance. Putting the manipulatives in a tackle box or big tub isn't enough- that's what I did initially and it wasn't enough. You need to know what is what and where it is. Otherwise you will be digging things out of a box while the children wander away from the table.

 

I do find the scripts handy as I don't have to read the lesson ahead of time, making that aspect more what I consider open and go that works well with my personality type. The multiple manipulatives per lesson diminished as we have worked through the book, which has also helped. But at one point, had it not been for people here pushing me through, I would've thrown in the towel. I also had to let go of another game/moving part curriculum I had been using for phonics. It was just TOO much, along with dealing with a high school kid who was adapting to a heavier work load and needed more input than previously. Personally, I can only handle one manipulative heavy program at a time, and RS won out that fight. I just can't stand all of the clutter. So take that however it reflects personality type. :) 

 

From a kid's personality, just from my kids so far- my very hands on, outgoing son adores it. Moving from thing to thing helps keep him engaged. My daughter is the opposite. She wants to buckle down on one topic and stick with it until she gets it. It frustrates her to cover two or three things in one lesson, so for her I do not think it's a good fit at this time. But as I mentioned in an earlier post, she's only 4 and she's still getting it (she seems to be very mathy and I don't make her participate- she chooses to), but I can tell she sort of shuts down when the topics switch, so I just let her stick with whatever she was happy working with (patterns, addition, or whatever the case is) and move on with ds. 

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If you're in doubt start with B. You can do the assessment test and drop in at various points in the book. The website has the assessment, if I recall.

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Isn't the whole thing with the classical (e.g. WTM) education that the early years focus on rote memorization and skills - reading writing arithmetic - and the logic of it all comes later? I just always thought that in 2nd grade you memorize multiplication tables and in 5th grade you comprehend what multiplication is more deeply. Am I misunderstanding this education theory, or has the theory changed? (I'm not trying to argue here, I'm trying to learn from people with experience.) Is it really not ever important to memorize the times tables?

 

 

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RS taught me how to teach math.  I am so glad that we started with it.  We switched to Singapore when my DD was in 2nd/3rd grade because I needed workbooks for her; personally I hate playing games and she would rather do a workbook page than play a game anyway.  RS is very similar in philosophy to Singapore so we had a seamless switch. 

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Isn't the whole thing with the classical (e.g. WTM) education that the early years focus on rote memorization and skills - reading writing arithmetic - and the logic of it all comes later? I just always thought that in 2nd grade you memorize multiplication tables and in 5th grade you comprehend what multiplication is more deeply. Am I misunderstanding this education theory, or has the theory changed? (I'm not trying to argue here, I'm trying to learn from people with experience.) Is it really not ever important to memorize the times tables?

 

Hmmm...

I see your point, but here are some of my thoughts about it.

 

Yes, classical education focuses on facts.  But they are facts about concrete things.  You're not asking a 7-year-old child to explain the roots of the fall of Rome.  You might ask them to remember when it was.

 

But math is a bit different.  You're asking them to see that five cubes put together with five cubes is ten cubes.  I cannot imagine even the most rigid of classical educators asking you to have the child memorize that 5+5=10 without showing them that five, and five more, makes ten.

 

And then from that, you can show them that five, and another five, and another five, makes fifteen.  And you could write that as 5+5+5=15, or you could write it as 5x3=15 (or 3x5=15, depending on your perspective on multiplication order.  ;) )  I just don't see the benefit trying to get a child to memorize that 5x3 = 15 without showing them what it means.

 

How can they manipulate numbers well at an early age if they only memorize, and don't have concrete experience with what those numbers *are*?

 

"Traditional" math schooling, at least when I was there, had us learning multiplication in grade 3 by skip counting and groups of things, and then memorizing facts.  I don't recall that they addressed the theory of multiplication in more depth later.

 

Is it never important to memorize facts?  Like I said, there are two perspectives on that.  I think it is important for ease and speed later, for most kids, but also that the reality is that memorizing through familiar use is more effective than learning it as a rote list.  And there are some children who find it *incredibly* difficult to memorize those facts and they may wind up using a table to look up the answers when they're trying to work on other skills like word problems or algebra.

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Isn't the whole thing with the classical (e.g. WTM) education that the early years focus on rote memorization and skills - reading writing arithmetic - and the logic of it all comes later? I just always thought that in 2nd grade you memorize multiplication tables and in 5th grade you comprehend what multiplication is more deeply. Am I misunderstanding this education theory, or has the theory changed? (I'm not trying to argue here, I'm trying to learn from people with experience.) Is it really not ever important to memorize the times tables?

 

 

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It's not that simple, and the blanket advice is usually reserved for depth of learning in the language arts and social studies, more than math. The most basic level of math is conceptual more than quantitative - i.e.: understanding how to manipulate three or four objects and the properties inherent to those, not knowing some abstract number named 3 is comprised of a 1 + 2. That becomes self evident when the actual objects are grasped and moved. Concrete to abstract and deepening in complexity and relationships would be a better summarization of the math sequence of learning. The facts are tools to speed up use of the algorithm, they aren't an end in and of themselves.

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So do you think it could be a both-and? Memorize all of those facts and understand what they actually mean? Just doing a little searching, it seems like it's hard to even find a curriculum that focuses on facts and speed drills these days, because of common core. I guess it's easy enough to supplement with printed worksheets. I was a Kumon child, and did infinity speed arithmetic packets, and ended up very good at math, so it's hard for me not to want to teach my kids in a similar way.

 

 

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So do you think it could be a both-and? Memorize all of those facts and understand what they actually mean? Just doing a little searching, it seems like it's hard to even find a curriculum that focuses on facts and speed drills these days, because of common core. I guess it's easy enough to supplement with printed worksheets. I was a Kumon child, and did infinity speed arithmetic packets, and ended up very good at math, so it's hard for me not to want to teach my kids in a similar way.

 

Yes, it can be both-and, although I'd recommend understanding *first*, and memorizing second.  Like I said, memorization comes very well from repeated use, so that takes care of a bunch of it for you without even "memorizing."

 

And you ended up good at math.  Yes, Kumon works.  I'm curious though, did you end up loving math?  I did, and I certainly never got subjected to drill-and-kill.  The thought gives me hives.  If your child winds up needing it, fine, but...for every student?  Well, I didn't need it. Many students never got through anything like Kumon, and know their facts and excel and maybe even like math.  I'd hesitate to do a bunch of rote material over and over unless the student seemed to need the extra help.

 

I'm not sure what age you started those worksheets.  It's also important to keep in mind the developmental capabilities of the student.  For a small child, writing more and more answers on worksheets isn't a great use of their resources.

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Isn't the whole thing with the classical (e.g. WTM) education that the early years focus on rote memorization and skills - reading writing arithmetic - and the logic of it all comes later? I just always thought that in 2nd grade you memorize multiplication tables and in 5th grade you comprehend what multiplication is more deeply. Am I misunderstanding this education theory, or has the theory changed? (I'm not trying to argue here, I'm trying to learn from people with experience.) Is it really not ever important to memorize the times tables?

 

 

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I graduated magna cum laude from a highly selective engineering college without ever having memorized the multiplication tables.  So, no, I would say that a person most definitely does NOT need to have the math facts memorized in order to succeed, as long as they have a solid understanding of the concepts behind the numbers and operations and modestly efficient strategies for figuring them out quickly.  

 

Unfortunately, after teaching two and a half kids multiplication and checking all their work, I have now mostly memorized the times tables, lol.

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I love RightStart.  As other posters said, RS taught me how to teach math and improved my own mental math abilities.  My oldest did the entire elementary series before moving over to Beast Academy and it gave him a seriously solid math foundation.  My second son used RS A through the 1st half of D before moving into PS, and my third guy will have done A-C before he switches to Beast.  

 

I think kids that RS does a good job teaching to all learning styles, but kids with deficits in auditory processing or low working memory might have a difficult time grasping/retaining if the parent doesn't adjust the program to be less verbal.  Kids who love worksheets or who would rather look at flash cards than play a card game might clash with RS's worksheet-light, game-heavy approach.  RS seems to work well for most others though.

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I've decided to try it and am debating on whether to start on level B or C. Does C have a lot of review from B? Because I feel like we're so close and it would be expensive get books when we've covered most of what's in it, and just need a few things.

 

And I was curious why you liked B more than C...what was different?

 

I wish they just had the index page you could look at so I could get a clearer picture of what was covered in each book.

They have samples on the site including table of contents and some lessons...

 

 

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You already have a lot of comments, and I didn't read all of them. But I want to say that we love Right Start Math! It's definitely not the boring worksheet method. My son has loved all the different manipulatives and games. I think someone previously said that it's not completely open and go. I suppose there may be a bit of truth to that for level A, because there are things to cut and a song to listen to. But really those are not too bad to still get ready, and you can easily prepare it the night before or even 5 minutes before. We will complete level B tomorrow (yay!) and I absolutely love it. Over the summer, we will play the different games he has learned to keep his memory up. Next year we will do level C, and then my daughter will start level A.

 

I hope you love it as much as we do. It's a really solid program!

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RS taught me how to teach math.  I am so glad that we started with it.  We switched to Singapore when my DD was in 2nd/3rd grade because I needed workbooks for her; personally I hate playing games and she would rather do a workbook page than play a game anyway.  RS is very similar in philosophy to Singapore so we had a seamless switch. 

 

Yes, exactly this.  I am a MUCH better math teacher after working through RS B with my first kid.  I probably won't use it again, I just teach K math and 1st (using a SM workbook) using RS methods (because I can't stand scripted curriculum generally).  

 

 

 

I graduated magna cum laude from a highly selective engineering college without ever having memorized the multiplication tables.  So, no, I would say that a person most definitely does NOT need to have the math facts memorized in order to succeed, as long as they have a solid understanding of the concepts behind the numbers and operations and modestly efficient strategies for figuring them out quickly.  

 

Unfortunately, after teaching two and a half kids multiplication and checking all their work, I have now mostly memorized the times tables, lol.

 

 

Ditto.  Degree in physics from a top 10 university.  Never memorized my times table.  I am a lightning fast calculator, but it is, each and every time, a calculation and not a recall.  

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Add me to the  "RightStart taught me how to teach math" list.

 

We tried RightStart after using some other popular programs which left dd feeling like she was bad at math.  RightStart helped me realize that she looks at math a different way than I do.  Which, I mean, duh, seems so obvious now.  Lots of basic arithmetic seems intuitively obvious to me, but  RightStart really emphasized actually breaking down the steps that I had apparently always skipped over.

 

After we went through the various levels available at the time (Geometry was being tested at the time -- the pages being released a few at a time, as I recall) dd asked to do more work on fractions and decimals because she thought RS was weak in those areas, at least for her.  We got the Key to ... series, and she went through all of those.  Then we launched into other math, made it through dual enrollment Calc 2 by the time she graduated high school, and on to higher levels in college.  She's turned out to be quite good at math.  I like to think RIghtStart was one thing (among many) that gave her confidence.

 

Just the other day younger dd was commenting that she thought someone was wrong to say a certain way of solving a problem was the only viable way -- it was totally a throwback to something she'd learned from RightStart years ago.  She was also musing about how people learn math WITHOUT the RighStart abacus, which sort of makes it sound like she's been indoctrinated into a cult, now that I think about it.

 

I happened to like the scripted part of it.  But I didn't actually follow the script.  I just like having a script as a suggestion.  (For the record, I don't like cooking without a recipe, but I rarely actually follow recipes as written; and I always use a pattern when sewing, but rarely actually use their lines and directions.)

 

Edited to add:  I also love BIG PUFFY HEART !LOVE! math manipulatives.  And RightStart has almost enough of them to satisfy me, although I bought even more than the program calls for because everyone needs a various sets of geometric solids -- both in really nice wood, and those empty ones you can fill with stuff to explore volume .  I'm pretty sure life would've been better for all of us if I'd gotten a Binomial Cube and Trinomial Cube, so that's a regret.  

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They have samples on the site including table of contents and some lessons...

 

 

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I'll look again...I was searching for something like that but couldn't find it.

 

I always look at CBD and Rainbow Resources for samples in addition to the author's and/or company's site. 

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I am still pondering using Rightstart.  I have level A sitting here while we have still been working through Math Lessons for a Living Education.  I see a lot of old posts on TWTM where people switch after B or halfway through C.  This was before the second edition though.  Do you think the second edition addressed some people's previous concerns?  I just don't know if I want to use RS for A & B and then have to switch to something else.  

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I am still pondering using Rightstart. I have level A sitting here while we have still been working through Math Lessons for a Living Education. I see a lot of old posts on TWTM where people switch after B or halfway through C. This was before the second edition though. Do you think the second edition addressed some people's previous concerns? I just don't know if I want to use RS for A & B and then have to switch to something else.

Some people use it through but I am going to switch after C. I will probably move from RS into Saxon at that point. I am curious though what other people have to say about whether they stuck with it or not and the why behind it.

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I am still pondering using Rightstart.  I have level A sitting here while we have still been working through Math Lessons for a Living Education.  I see a lot of old posts on TWTM where people switch after B or halfway through C.  This was before the second edition though.  Do you think the second edition addressed some people's previous concerns?  I just don't know if I want to use RS for A & B and then have to switch to something else.  

I've heard that the second edition has addressed a lot of concerns from the first edition, but I wouldn't know from experience because I haven't used both editions of the same level.

 

I used first edition A and B, and then second edition starting with C. I liked Level C just fine, and I think Level D is fantastic (we're almost at the end of it now). I like D almost as much as B, and that's really saying something! 

 

One of the reasons people switch after Level B because they want more independence, which RS doesn't really give at that point. I almost switched about halfway through C for that reason but decided to stick it out, and I'm glad I did. The time investment in RS has been well worth it for our family. No one ever complains about doing math, and I enjoy teaching it.

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I've heard that the second edition has addressed a lot of concerns from the first edition, but I wouldn't know from experience because I haven't used both editions of the same level.

 

I used first edition A and B, and then second edition starting with C. I liked Level C just fine, and I think Level D is fantastic (we're almost at the end of it now). I like D almost as much as B, and that's really saying something!

 

One of the reasons people switch after Level B because they want more independence, which RS doesn't really give at that point. I almost switched about halfway through C for that reason but decided to stick it out, and I'm glad I did. The time investment in RS has been well worth it for our family. No one ever complains about doing math, and I enjoy teaching it.

This is really encouraging! I may need to rethink my plan to switch after C. Is D more independent or as teacher intensive as B and C?

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This is really encouraging! I may need to rethink my plan to switch after C. Is D more independent or as teacher intensive as B and C?

I have found Level D to be less teacher intensive. Pretty much every lesson has a worksheet, and often I'm able to teach for just a few minutes and then let DD complete the worksheet on her own. Other days I'm teaching for a lot longer, and/or I have to sit with her for the whole worksheet. It varies by the day/lesson, but there was a noticeable shift in this level with my teaching time in general.

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I am using Right Start with two kids (DD in A and DS in B) we love it. 

I would have to sit with my DS no matter what curriculum we used, so it doesn't seem particularly teacher intensive. DD probably would do fine with a more independent workbook-type program, but we enjoy the one-on-one math time together.  Playing games with the three of us is probably my favorite part of the school day.

It did take a while to get my grove with manipulatives, and there were some that didn't work at all for us (I'm looking at you Math Balance and Stupid Base Ten Cards). But overall Right Start has been a success for our family.  

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I am thinking of doing this.  I have always wanted to, but we did oak meadow. 

 

Has anyone switched an older kid to this? 

 

I will have a 6th grader and 4th grader next year.  Could they switch to this.  6th grader has been in Saxon this year.  Or would MUS be better for that kid? 

 

Could a 4th grader do this, without having done it before? 

 

 

 

 

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Edition 1 level C was LONG. Few families could do it in a year (all my kids took 1.5 years). It felt like a bit of a slog. I am trying to decice to do it with child 4 next year, and I just am not looking forward to it and may pick something else. Level D was a joy after C! Yes, edition 2 has fixed the length of C, and I think some of the concepts might be taught slightly differently.

 

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So far we are going strong with RightStart - 1st edition.  I started when my oldest (who is 10 now) was Kindergarten, and now I'm using A with my Kindergarten son, C with my 2nd grader, and E with my 10yo.  My oldest did struggle with C, in particular the drawing of geometric shapes and using the drawing tools.  I slowed down and did a lesson over one week instead of one lesson a day.  Coming out of C, despite the struggle, she learned a lot and has such a great grasp of angles and fractions because of it.

 

RightStart is very hands on which is a deterrent for some homeschoolers, but I really wanted a hands-on approach.  I'm fairly decent at math and enjoy it, but even I have learned and gained a deeper understanding of math just teaching RightStart.

 

It is not a good fit for every kid or parent, but in my opinion, the math games with level A and/or B give a solid math foundation and understanding.

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You all almost have me convinced to move my rising 3rd grader back to RightStart B alongside my rising 1st grader!!  My dd does okay with math but still struggles with recall of basic math facts and uses her fingers (or merely counts in her head) WAAAAYY more than I'd prefer.  I'm thinking that spending some time with the games will help... 

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Some people use it through but I am going to switch after C. I will probably move from RS into Saxon at that point. I am curious though what other people have to say about whether they stuck with it or not and the why behind it.

We switched after C because my girls were getting very fast but I didn't have time for such a teacher intensive curriculum anymore. They got the basic fact concepts but with so many students I needed them to be a little more independent. We always wanted to do saxon but they need the base skills to support 5/4, and RightStart did that. There was nothing inherently wrong with the program that the other levels weren't a good idea - far from it! They were fantastic. But long term we wanted them in Saxon instead - it's the program my husband used with great success and we like how much in emphasizes problem solving, mixed review, and independent learning all at once.

 

I will use no other program for k-3 than RightStart. It does what it does better than anything else. And it isn't deficient in the higher levels, just not what we could work into our lives at this point in time. My third grader and fourth grader went into 5/4 comfortably and easily. If we had done D then they could hard started in 6/5. It's just a time and preference thing for us.

Edited by Arctic Mama
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We switched after C because my girls were getting very fast but I didn't have time for such a teacher intensive curriculum anymore. They got the basic fact concepts but with so many students I needed them to be a little more independent. We always wanted to do saxon but they need the base skills to support 5/4, and RightStart did that. There was nothing inherently wrong with the program that the other levels weren't a good idea - far from it! They were fantastic. But long term we wanted them in Saxon instead - it's the program my husband used with great success and we like how much in emphasizes problem solving, mixed review, and independent learning all at once.

 

I will use no other program for k-3 than RightStart. It does what it does better than anything else. And it isn't deficient in the higher levels, just not what we could work into our lives at this point in time. My third grader and fourth grader went into 5/4 comfortably and easily. If we had done D then they could hard started in 6/5. It's just a time and preference thing for us.

Thank you! This is helpful because this was always my plan for 2 out of 3 kids. I don't love Saxon 1-3 but wanted to move them into 5/4 post rightstart. Hearing that your kids transitioned in well is great information.

 

I only have one child doing rightstart. Hands down the best math IMHO. My daughter is stubborn and likes workbooks. She just doesn't want to do RS but I do the games with her and pull concepts from RS into her program (she is doing both Horizon and Singapore alternating books).

 

My other son has ASD and has a challenge switching between the materials. I put him in math u see and it was the magical answer. So I absolutely get needing independent math programs. Juggling so many is making my head spin a bit :)

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I used Rightstart A-E with my oldest and I am working through the levels with my younger children.  I kept reading here that a lot of people switch after level B or C, but we just loved it and never felt the need to switch even though I considered it every year.  We have also used Math Mammoth and Singapore, but I love Rightstart the best. My oldest is now in 6th grade and she was just talking about how much is loved her years in RS and what a strong foundation it gave her.  RS is definitely one of the best curriculum decisions I have ever made.    

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