Right start??

We have used Rightstart for almost three years now (we sort of took a couple of years to finish Level A…) and I really like it a lot, and I feel my daughter is learning a lot with it.  My husband was always told he was horrible at math growing up and he ended up with a degree in Math, so when we were picking a math curriculum, I asked him to do it 🙂  He chose Rightstart above all the others because he said that the way they have you visualize quantities will serve one well progressing through and even into higher level math.  While I can’t attest to that yet, I will say that I love how my daughter really gets what we have done, no rote memorization to be forgotten.  I think it is great for visual and tactile learners, and it is enjoyable to do, with all the manipulatives and games.  The only downside is that it definitely requires my time, very little for her at this stage to do independently, but to me it is worth it.  There are a lot of different manipulatives, but we just have a big bin with everything in it for easy access, and it is much more interesting than a workbook page! I love that she can apply what she has learned in real world situations (like when we had two vines in the yard that had swallowtail caterpillars and she was telling her dad about them saying “We have 11 caterpillars out there! I think there were 3 on one vine and 7 on the other…no, wait, it would be 8 on the other one, because 8 + 3 = 11.” I was pleased 🙂  So at least for now, that’s what we are sticking with!

We used it some.  It wasn’t a good fit for my three. It is still an option for my youngest.

My kids love the manipulative kit and still use it.  They prefer workbook based programs though.  My ds6 likes the book and songs.

Level B is the best.

When I had two in Rightstart, we didn’t always do the entire lesson.

I like it in theory, but my kids don’t like the lessons.

Sorry I didn’t see this sooner.  We are no longer using Right Start.  It did serve its purpose well for us for a season though.  We used 1st edition levels B and half of C.  I probably should have kept using it through E, but at a slower pace.  Since my oldest struggled with math, I always felt pressured to do more instead of going at his pace.  I should have used a timer because too often the lessons got too long.  When they go too long, it was no longer enjoyable and became less productive.  But I thought I had to keep up the pace so we wouldn’t fall further behind.  I ended up switching to a more independent math.

Since January 2017, I learned more about CM math lessons from the book and DVD set sold here, by Richele.  I highly recommend this set.  By adding oral stories with the number problems, math is more enjoyable and my children see the use of it better. I won’t switch curriculum until Algebra I.  But, adding the stories to our current math curriculum and adding oral mental story problems from older texts like Strayer Upton has helped.  We also learned how to use a timer for our lessons and be satisfied with what progress we made. 🙂

https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/mathematics-book-and-dvd-bundle/

One benefit of the CM method is when I ask “why?” (narration).  Then I know their math strategy.  This is where I think Right Start helped.  They taught mental math strategies well, like adding the tens and then the ones.  Or rounding 58 up to 60 and then subtract 2.

However, I am not at all familiar with Abeka math.  I don’t like switching between math curriculum though.  Please let me know if I can be of any further help.