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Maryan
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While overall I love Right Start, we do occasionally hit spots that are hard for my kids -- which I tweak to make easier for them -- or hit spots that are too easy and we just do those faster. But for some reason RS C seems to give us he most hard spots. Not sure if it's RS, mom's fault or my kids learning style, but we are now 2/2 in having the most trouble with sections of Right Start C. I don't know if it's because subtraction in general is a harder concept?? So far the child that had trouble with subtraction before has done perfectly well with RS D and RS E.
Just C.
Anyone else have trouble with C? And suggestions for tweaking? The word problems that they give are giving him fits. So far I just use easier numbers for him to solve the problem??
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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Betsy
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I hadn't really though about it, but as I am finished up level E with two of my kids I think that you are right about Level C.
Looking back, I think I attributed a lot of the "difficulties" with the fact that she expected the kids to be able to read and write better than my boys could at that age. I also think that level C takes the first jump into deep critical thinking. She wants them to start to be able to apply information they have learned. This is a difficult concept to grasp but I also think that it's one of RS strengths in gently helping kids to think mathematically and logically and being able to apply learned concepts to new situation.
With that being said, I think subtraction is harder than addition, and division is harder than multiplication. And, level C is almost all new information...where as level D and E delves deeper into know information as well as new information.
When my boys were going through it we only did math 3-4 times per week, which helped. I also remember getting to a huge wall where we were all frustrated. It happened to coincided with a difficult pregnancy and Lent. Because of Life we ended up taking six weeks off of math. I was very worried when we returned to it, but it turned out perfect. THey were refreshed and we breezed through the last 10 weeks of it! I do think that sometimes with RS it's necessary to let up on the lessons a bit and just play games in order for their minds to grow and absorb all the new information.
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Maryan
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Thanks Betsy! it's helpful to hear other people's experiences to figure out how to work through it!!
I think my boys have a harder time thinking in subtraction and as soon as we go to larger numbers... their mind freezes up.
For example, if I told them there are 7 days of the week and three of those days are for play. How many days are for school work? He would have no problem because he can "add up" easily and can also subtract 7 -3 easily. But his first instinct is to add up.
If I use their example, "there are 365 days in the year, and 177 are for school work, how many other days are there?" He would freeze up. The numbers are too big for him to remember what to do. He can't see how to add up and he can't remember to "take away" because he's just frozen by the large numbers in the example. If I switch it to the simpler numbers (as above), he can get it.
Somehow she made a jump to larger numbers when both of my kids weren't ready at this age. Obviously, not every day is like this, but there are lots of days like this. She suggests giving them several minutes to think about it. But on days like this our lessons get loooong. And that makes it frustrating for them.
Taking a break is a good idea, but we just came off a break from me having sweet Marion.  But going to three times a week might be a good idea. Although C is by far the longest book too. I just don't know how to finish it in one year either!!
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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Aagot
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Maryan,
I won't worry too much about finishing C in one year. D is much easier and will probably go faster. And if you continue with Geometric Approach after E you will have a lot of wiggle room to "make up time" if need be. (as there are 165 lessons and you could take 2-3 years if you wanted to). C does have some steep curves in it and I would slow down to 2-3 days a week and add more games until you are through the rough parts.
Best wishes,
Aagot
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 19 2011 at 8:39pm | IP Logged
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Maryan wrote:
Thanks Betsy! it's helpful to hear other people's experiences to figure out how to work through it!!
I think my boys have a harder time thinking in subtraction and as soon as we go to larger numbers... their mind freezes up.
For example, if I told them there are 7 days of the week and three of those days are for play. How many days are for school work? He would have no problem because he can "add up" easily and can also subtract 7 -3 easily. But his first instinct is to add up.
If I use their example, "there are 365 days in the year, and 177 are for school work, how many other days are there?" He would freeze up. The numbers are too big for him to remember what to do. He can't see how to add up and he can't remember to "take away" because he's just frozen by the large numbers in the example. If I switch it to the simpler numbers (as above), he can get it.
Somehow she made a jump to larger numbers when both of my kids weren't ready at this age. Obviously, not every day is like this, but there are lots of days like this. She suggests giving them several minutes to think about it. But on days like this our lessons get loooong. And that makes it frustrating for them.
Taking a break is a good idea, but we just came off a break from me having sweet Marion. But going to three times a week might be a good idea. Although C is by far the longest book too. I just don't know how to finish it in one year either!! |
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This is too funny! We just did that lesson today about the days in the year and how many are for school. Actually, I split the lesson over two days, and I told my son going in that this lesson was for thinking about how to solve problems, and I didn't expect him to just "know" how to solve them.
He also just froze up at first. We did a couple of problems the first day and talked about how he could "add up" with big numbers.... first we just thought about how we could add up to get to a hundred or the first big number on our way to the answer. Today went better. He was not as frozen.  We did the problem about the miles and the days of the year, and I could see wheels slowly spinning in his head. He was able to solve the leap year question and the question about making the number of days equal on his own (I don't know how he did this... but I was glad he did).
If I preview a lesson and can tell it will push his frustration button (meaning it is a new concept that he might not understand at first), I always plan to take 2-3 days for the lesson. On those days, I also include something he *can* do and likes to do, such as a practice sheet he can whiz through and a game he likes. That somehow softens the blow for him.
I often think we could sit there for hours and he would still not come up with the solutions on his own, and, honestly, I don't expect him to do that. Sheesh- he's not Einstein . So we talk through possible solutions. I have let go of trying to finish the books on a set schedule. If he knows the material well by the end, that is all I want. We took two years to go through Level B.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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MNMommy
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Oh, my. We are just getting past this HUGE bump in the road. Subtraction has been very difficult for my dd. I'm not sure why. We are finally ready to move on, but this is what we have been doing for a few weeks to help her get subtraction:
1) We focused on counting up until she got it and could do it on her own.
2) We/she worked through subtraction using the Math Mammoth 2B.
3) I added extra review with Singapore 2B and Challenging Word Problems 2. I used the problems from Singapore to practice counting up until she was comfortable subtracting.
We are going to continue using the Singapore materials since I think they helpful additional practice and I do like exposing her to more word problems.
ETA: We are still using RightStart as our main program. I am just going to add a little so my dd sees problems stated a few different ways.
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Jennifer
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Maryan
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He loves doing RS's practice sheets and games, so supplementing a lot of these is great. But the big number word problems take so long for him to see the light. And time is definitely a wanted commodity around here!!
Thanks for the commiserating and suggestions or how to work around the "road blocks." All great ideas. 
Extra practice and games are definitely things that he enjoys.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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Maryan
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SeaStar wrote:
| He also just froze up at first. We did a couple of problems the first day and talked about how he could "add up" with big numbers.... first we just thought about how we could add up to get to a hundred or the first big number on our way to the answer. Today went better. He was not as frozen. We did the problem about the miles and the days of the year, and I could see wheels slowly spinning in his head. He was able to solve the leap year question and the question about making the number of days equal on his own (I don't know how he did this... but I was glad he did). |
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We definitely need to take more time and review adding up with smaller numbers before he would be comfortable with doing it with larger numbers. We just left the rest of the problems undone and maybe I'll return to this when he's more comfortable with the concept... because the poor thing was just really frustrated with these problems! Thanks Jennifer and Melinda about pointing out how adding up helped your children.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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JennGM
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You ladies are scaring me. We're not as far as you are. So far it's been okay, but I'm taking notes just in case.
I've been wondering on the warm-up exercises when it has a large number addition equation, write the answer in the journal if he's supposed to do it mentally, or can I write it on the board or paper for him to visualize and then write the answer in his journal.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Maryan
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JennGM wrote:
You ladies are scaring me. We're not as far as you are. So far it's been okay, but I'm taking notes just in case.
I've been wondering on the warm-up exercises when it has a large number addition equation, write the answer in the journal if he's supposed to do it mentally, or can I write it on the board or paper for him to visualize and then write the answer in his journal. |
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Actually, I find it less scary that others have struggled?? If that makes any sense. So not meaning to scare you. And for some weird reason, it's just this year that has the most problems? I thought with John Paul it was because Dan's Dad had died and I was distracted. But I've been much more consistent this year (even with the baby) and Bobby has the exact same struggles when she jumps.
Jenn, for the large number warm-ups I have done several things: written it for him in his journal, written it on a white board and had him copy,... pretty soon, I'll read it aloud and have him write it. We have yet to do it mentally. I'm not sure what she intends, but there's no way Bobby can do all those numbers mentally yet... and I'm not sure when it would be. Anyway, that's just what we do.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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Betsy
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JennGM wrote:
You ladies are scaring me. We're not as far as you are. So far it's been okay, but I'm taking notes just in case.
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Don't be scared! I think the big thing is to not get caught up in I must finish each level or even each lesson in X amount of time and work at your child's own pace. The foundation is so great with this program that it's worth a little struggle.
FWIW, in most learned activities there are challenging points and then plateaus. I think level C is just one of those challenging points. The same thing has occurred in my children's piano playing and sports. However, when the plateau comes it is SOOO rewarding!
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SeaStar
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One other thing.... My ds has a November birthday, so he was almost 6 before we started K. He did Level B when he was 6 and 7. Now he is 8 and working on Level C.
I think doing all this with him a year younger would have been so much harder. Math readiness varies so much!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Maryan
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| Posted: Jan 20 2011 at 10:22am | IP Logged
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Aagot wrote:
| I won't worry too much about finishing C in one year. D is much easier and will probably go faster. |
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SeaStar wrote:
| He did level B when he was 6 and 7 |
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Hmm.. that's interesting. I've never considered doing a level into another year. I guess mainly because we aren't able to keep up with our math over the summer except for practice wkbks that they take to their dad's basketball camps. Do you do math over the summer... or if you don't, how do you jump back into a year without major backtrackign and reviewing?
I have been thinking it's easier just to leave the one year and move onto the next because she reviews for me? But perhaps I'm wrong. It's totally based on the fact that when I was in school we never finished a book, so... no stress to finish in homeschooling?
ETA: the quotes
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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MNMommy
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Maryan wrote:
Do you do math over the summer... or if you don't, how do you jump back into a year without major backtrackign and reviewing?
I have been thinking it's easier just to leave the one year and move onto the next because she reviews for me? But perhaps I'm wrong. It's totally based on the fact that when I was in school we never finished a book, so... no stress to finish in homeschooling?
ETA: the quotes |
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I don't know about others, but I don't try to finish the books in one year. I think math shouldn't be rushed or pushed through. I start Level B in the fall of 1st grade and spend 20 min/day on it (a la Ms. Mason). My dd finished it late in 2nd grade without working over the summer. We backtracked a few lessons after the summer break, but she was just a little rusty after the summer. She didn't loose any knowledge.
I wouldn't not finish a level of RS. The program isn't set-up like public school texts with a lot of review at the beginning of the books. I don't think the program is truly one year of work per level. Some levels seem to be more than a year and some seem to be less.
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Jennifer
Tired mom to - 10yo dd, 7yo ds, 6yo ds, 4yo dd, 2yo ds
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Aagot
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Maryan,
I've done both, work through the summer or pick up where we left off. When we will take a larger break, I try to stop at a Review. That way, if I think he forgot too much we can just do the Review again. As far as leaving the last book and starting the new one, I think it depends how much you had left to do. She does review in the beginning of each book but I wouldn't want to rely on that if there was a big chunk not completed in the previous level. Psychologically though, it is nice to start with a new book.
Aagot
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MNMommy
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Maryan wrote:
| Thanks Jennifer and Melinda about pointing out how adding up helped your children. |
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Adding up was very helpful for my dd. The Math Mammoth worksheets were helpful for me. They helped me to present the same information in a slightly different way. They were slightly more incremental than RS, and they slowed the entire subtraction process down enough for my dd to get it. I highly recommend them if you run into a rough spot. They use the same base methodology as RS;, it is very similar in look and feel. At only $5ish/electronic book, they are pretty cheap. I printed out less than 10 pages from the book and it was just enough to help us over the road block.
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Jennifer
Tired mom to - 10yo dd, 7yo ds, 6yo ds, 4yo dd, 2yo ds
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SeaStar
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Huh- I would never have thought of not finishing a level before moving on.
I guess because I struggled so much in math in school that I want to be sure my own dc have all the time they need. Also, I think this program is genius, and I totally trust Dr. Cotter to lead us through!
My dd is six, and we started level B last spring. I predict it will take the rest of this year and all of next year to finish it. A friend of mine, whose son turned nine in October, just started level C at the beginning of the school year. He and my son are a year apart and doing the same work.
Kids learn so differently, and sometimes they seem to go in spurts. My dd is not much interested in math, so 10-15 minutes a day is all we do right now. We play a lot of games, which she likes, and I try to incorporate her beanie babies into it (they hold the cards or point out the right card, etc).
With ds, I ALWAYS change the word problems to be about someone he knows or something he thinks will be funny. IE, instead of: 561 voters and 679 voters, we have: 561 doughnuts and 679 bagels for dad at breakfast. Won't he get a stomach ache when he eats all those!
We don't do math in the summer- we usually have 6-8 weeks off- and I find that starting up again goes pretty smoothly.
I guess we are the tortoises, not the hares, of the math world, but they are learning, which is my main goal.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: Trouble with Right Start C
