MirandaTeaLover Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 We just received Right Start C, and surprisingly, after two pretty good years, we are hating it. I would never have said that Right Start was my dream program (I often didn't think we needed to play a card game after a lengthy lesson), but it seemed thorough and thoughtfully made. I liked that it lacked the cutesy, "busy" work that I thought I was seeing in some of the more workbook-based curricula I browsed before settling on Right Start A (and then B). Though a spiral approach was also present in B, it is only with C that I am seeing how very deeply "spiral-y" Right Start is. We were ready to learn something new, and were disappointed to see a return to the beginning of A in the first lessons of C. We took just what we needed from those first few lessons, trying to move on to where we had left off in B. Even with the new, relevant-seeming stuff, though, I think I am wanting a more streamlined approach. Fewer manipulatives would be nice, and I would like shorter lessons, though I know I can just shorten the lessons on my own. I might modify C for my own purposes, in fact, but I can't imagine buying D. Can anyone put a name to the streamlined, mastery-based, no/low-manipulative curriculum I have described? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Math Mammoth Math U See Ray's We switched from Right Start to Gattegno. It uses one set of manipulatives (c-rods), is mastery, and the lessons are as short or as long as you'd like. Much of the work is oral/blocks, with sections that I copy into a graph paper notebook for my kid to do written work. It's not a popular program, though: - the books are free online but are available printed only through one company. - it's older and the language reflects that. I found it odd until I saw the videos on youtube and it made sense. - material is presented "out of order", meaning that book one is ALL operations with numbers 1-20 (except decimals) and book 2 does multiplication of higher numbers before introducing vertical notation and the clock. I would suggest taking the math selector quiz and seeing if anything matches up to your ideals. It would probably help narrow your search considerably. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 We switched to Singapore from Right Start. SIngapore is mastery, and I find the format easy to teach. The lessons are streamlined. You basically walk the child through the pictures in the textbook, discussing concepts and doing the sample problems together. There is a home instructor's guide if you need added support in teaching the concepts. If you already own the Right Start manipulatives, I don't think you'll need to purchase any additional manipulatives for Singapore. Some people have said that Singapore does not have enough practice. For my children, in addition to using the workbook, we used either Challenging Word Problems or Intensive Practice to help review and solidify concepts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Math Mammoth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 BJU was an easy next step after RightStart for us. It will be very similar as far as focusing on understanding and has basic lessons that you expand with extras on the cds for kids who need that. Might be about right for your situation. Beyond that, yeah go through Cathy Duffy and try everything because math is very individual, lol. Fwiw, I would stick with RightStart at least through the lessons where they get through 4 digit subtraction. Their method of starting from the left for the trades works well and isn't something I've seen elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 We skipped the first four weeks of every RightStart book - it was all review for kids who had taken the summer off of math and forgotten everything. Then, if the kid was getting everything, we skipped the weekly reviews. Also, we stopped playing card games around C because we just didn't need the extra review. Around then, my kid started doing a workbook of Singapore Challenging Word problems one year behind independently. I tried Singapore with two kids and just COULD NOT deal with the teacher's manual. It was laid out, IMO, so poorly and disjointedly. I was constantly flipping to different parts for answers for the various types of problems. We did some Math Mammoth but I felt like there were too many problems per lesson. In retrospect, we should have just cut some out. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Math Mammoth We don't do all the problems, and if they are easily getting a concept we do some of it orally. But it's mastery, straightforward, easy to teach, and I love how incrementally she teaches the concepts so that long division and multi digit multiplication become easy and intuitive. I don't love the geometry chapters after about grade 3, but it's worth it for the rest of the program. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 We went to Singapore from RightStart B. It worked great, though you will probably find that all arithmetic programs start to seem repetitive after a while. If you read the book Elementary Mathematics for Teachers before starting, you won't need to rely on the HIG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 13 hours ago, PeterPan said: Fwiw, I would stick with RightStart at least through the lessons where they get through 4 digit subtraction. Their method of starting from the left for the trades works well and isn't something I've seen elsewhere. I hadn't either before my youngest, but MEP teaches similar and Gattegno teaches 'strikes', starting from the left and taking away the same amount from top and bottom before starting. 435 -362 would have 3 hundreds taken away from each, 3 tens taken away, and 2 units, so the problem becomes 103 - 30 It was actually easier to see with Gattegno and simpler to understand. DS about blew up at the 4 different subtraction methods Right Start taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 6 minutes ago, HomeAgain said: I hadn't either before my youngest, but MEP teaches similar and Gattegno teaches 'strikes', starting from the left and taking away the same amount from top and bottom before starting. Singapore teaches starting from the left for both addition and subtraction as a mental technique. So in the example above, 435 - 362, the student would do 435 - 300 --> 135 - 60 --> 75 - 2 = 73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 5 minutes ago, EKS said: Singapore teaches starting from the left for both addition and subtraction as a mental technique. So in the example above, 435 - 362, the student would do 435 - 300 --> 135 - 60 --> 75 - 2 = 73 MEP was heavy on that mental math, too. Gattegno wants students to visualize more. Ds tends to use both, but when faced with a written problem he'll do it the Gattegno way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Singapore or Math Mammoth. We also started with RS, and just couldn't anymore with the games based practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandramarie Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 We have used Right Start twice now and I always go back to Rod and Staff... I don't do everything in the lesson. My son is about to enter fourth grade and most of the teaching instruction is in the student book. We do skip counting recitations as a family. I hand my kids manipulatives and an abacus to figure out concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Singapore Math, Primary series, would fit the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MirandaTeaLover Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 I appreciate all the answers, everyone! I will be referring back to this thread frequently as I download samples for my daughter to try. The quiz HomeAgain mentioned indicates that I would do best with either Singapore or Beast Academy. Math Mammoth was just a little lower, but it looks like it is worth downloading samples to try. I'm already trying to sell Right Start C, but if no one will buy it, we will see what we can get out of it. My heart just isn't in RS anymore, and my daughter is happy with anything as long as I make it short. She enjoyed doing the Beast Academy sample today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunsForSanity Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Don't be a slave to the curriculum. It's just a tool. We skip about the first 20 lessons of each book then skip any lesson that feels too "review-y" to me. And we sometimes skip the games if they seem to "busy-work" for me too. RS is such a solid program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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