3/4 through Rightstart B... then summer happened

[smarson]

So...

I'm thinking about the fall and preparing for those first few weeks of frustration that occur in my household where the children have forgotten everything they ever previously learned.  Time to pull your hair out, right?  Obviously nobody loves that scenario and I'm doing my best this summer to help prevent this from happening.  However, one must be practical, right?

At any rate, I'm thinking about what to do with DS 7 in the fall with regard to math.  Do I start back up with RS B where we left off?  Do we start C?  Do we jump ship to Beast 2A?  Do we just join in with DD 9 and fill in gaps as we find them? (this was one suggestion I have received but this seems like a poor choice to me).  Do we move to MM like he sometimes asks?  There are so many options and I'm getting stuck with analysis paralysis, not wanting to leave him with gaps

To provide a bit more detail:

I feel like DS 7 has done well with RS B and he's learned quite a bit but I'm wondering if he's not challenged enough.  He's incredibly smart and his brain is always going.  He doesn't love math (or school for that matter) but maybe that's because of the lack of challenge?? I don't feel like he's breezing through RS B, it seems to challenge him appropriately but he's not enjoying it.  It didn't help that sister has moved into Beast and I think maybe he sees her doing something shiny and new and he wants to do something shiny and new as well.  We have dabbled a little with MM and he sometimes asks to do the MM workbooks.  I'm guessing he only wants to do the MM workbook simply because it's NOT RS.  I don't feel like we have any challenges with math other than attitude issues (for now).  I have previously used Horizons with DD 9 and I didn't use it with him because I thought he'd prefer to do the hands-on and conceptual math that RS provides.  Perhaps Horizons would have been an okay choice for him.  Ugh.  Now I'm all befuddled on where to go with him.

[Sarah0000]

Since he's asking for MM and it's cheap I would go with that. If you don't want to jump ship completely you could get a blue series for something fun, like measurement or fractions, and alternate with RS. We use MM blue for a change of pace from BA.

[Jackie]

You’re right: so many options! The great news is that you have several good options, and lots to work with. RightStart, Math Mammoth, and Beast Academy are all good programs. I tend to give my kid a lot of choice, so I’d probably lean toward whichever the kid seems most excited by.

as for the “shiny new” aspect of things, that’s a part of why we use math supplements.when the math feels like it’s dragging, we pull out a supplement for a while and then go back to our main curric. Or we simply mix in supplements along the way so nothing has a chance to really drag. Just another option if you, or your kid, get bored easily.

[PeterPan]

21 hours ago, smarson said:

I think maybe he sees her doing something shiny and new and he wants to do something shiny and new as well

Or possibly he wants something efficient that can get done consistently. I would pick something you can get done consistently and not worry about what it is. If he was doing well with RS B, I would back up slightly, review, and begin moving forward in a consistent way, and that will probably take care of it. If you can't give it enough consistency, then give him the workbook math he's asking for and just do RS lessons with him 1-2 days a week.

[smarson]

Oh, we do math consistently during the school year.  Daily.  Just not during the summer.