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Sarah M
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| Posted: Feb 17 2009 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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I know this has been discussed before...I'm just thinking about next year (I know....already!) and was wondering what you prefer: Math-U-See or RightStart Math? I hear that RS is more teacher-intensive, but it looks a lot more colorful and "interesting" to me than MUS. I've heard so much good about MUS, though...
Your opinion?
(and don't worry, Suzanne, I'm *not* adding this in right now- you don't have to "whop me upside the head if I start talking about adding in more curriculum" like I requested  - these are just thoughts for next year.... honest!!  )
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SuzanneG
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Did you know that Joan Cotter is going to be at the NW conference in May?? That may help you discern the differences.
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Suzanne in ID
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Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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JuliaT
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I have used RS for almost 5 years now. My dd will be finishing up the last level in the fall then I plan on moving her to MUS. I have never seen MUS so I can't compare the two for you. I did want to address the teacher intensiveness, though. It is my understanding that the parent needs to teach the lesson to the child in MUS as well. The parent is to watch the DVD then present the lesson to the child. So either way, there is parent participation.
I know that RS has always been dubbed teacher-intensive and that always amused me. It takes me about 20 min. to do a lesson with my child. I don't consider that intensive.
There are negatives with RS just as there are negatives with any math program. What one person deems negative would be considered a positive with another person. For ex. the black and white pages of RS is a positive for my kids -- too much colour and busyness distracts them.
Have you seen the online samples of both programs? That might help you make a decision.
Blessings,
Julia
mom of 3 (9,8,6)
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Feb 17 2009 at 8:31pm | IP Logged
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JuliaT wrote:
It takes me about 20 min. to do a lesson with my child. I don't consider that intensive.
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No, neither do I, Julia. And if that is what you average, then I feel much better about it. Thanks for your insight!
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KackyK
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 6:39am | IP Logged
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I'd say I average 20 minutes as well. Plus you can go quickly when it is a concept your kid has down. I do Shurley English too with my sons, so we take I'd say 30 min. to get both math and grammar done for both.
I need to look at MUS as one of my ds's is finishing RS this year. I'm not sure where we go next?
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
Beginning With the Assumption
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Betsy
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I have been using RS for two years and I really like it. I don't think it's teacher intensive. I never pre-read the lessons, we just sit down and do them---as they are fairly well scripted.
The pros of this program is that it gives great foundational math. I read Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics before I started teaching my children. The author compares American teachers methods to Chinese Teachers methods. RS math (I can't comment on any other math programs) really seems to get to the heart of the problem that this book brings to light. Also, my boys have a great command of mental math. Which is really the kind of math that they average person will do in real life.
I think that cons would be that it is a comprehensive(rigiours, maybe) program. If you are a person that wants to complete a lesson every day or complete a level/year, this program might be difficult. Somedays we need to split a lesson in half in order to get the most out of the material. I think that level placement can be difficult too. Again, this depends on the child...but I decided to place my first son a level behind what he is doing in other subjects. This is based on his temperament. If he can't get things quickly he tends to get very frustrated! By doing what I did he grasps things very quickly and we can move at a steady pace without him getting frustrated. On the flip side, my younger son is very, very good at math and he is working a level ahead for his age. It is perfectly challenging for him, and he is able to take the foundational work and extract it into his own interests.
In almost every instance I would skip level A. It's not necessary and it's all covered again in level B. Do "mommy math" for that year and peak the child's interest before you jump into formal math.
Another random thing that I like are the Math Games. It's hard to get to them as often as I should. But, it's a fun way to practice facts. Often, my dh does this with the boys too. You can purchase this separately to use with any math program!
With that said, I have seen enough people say that RS was NOT for them. So, although I think it's a great program, it really is a personal decision that only you can make, while understand how you like to teach, how your children learn, budget, etc.
If there are other specific questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Betsy
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Maryan
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I've been using RS (because of KackyK's recommendation). I have never used MUS. I absolutely love everything about it except one thing:
If you are having a year where 20 minutes for math are hard to find (and you feel like all your minutes need to go to reading stories and religion) and you needed a workbook for your child to get practice... this isn't the program.
However, since this was a bad year for us -- I ordered an Abeka workbook to cover those months where I couldn't find the 20 minutes.
We're back to Right Start now and loving it again. But just wanted to add that because I have so many littles when we were in "crisis mode" Right Start was hard to do. I don't know if MUS with a DVD would be easier in crisis mode. I don't want to switch because we really enjoy RS just wanted to put a caveat.
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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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Rachel May
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JuliaT wrote:
| It is my understanding that the parent needs to teach the lesson to the child in MUS as well. The parent is to watch the DVD then present the lesson to the child. So either way, there is parent participation. |
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This is how they suggest teaching Math U See, but from the very beginning the kids watched the movies with me. Now the older kids watch it alone and come to me with questions. On the DVD Steve Demme is teaching the lesson to a class that you can not see or hear.
I almost never teach lessons unless the kids are having difficulty with his method. My kids love the program, and it has very little to do with the blocks which they rarely use anymore. They all love Mr. Demme and ask if they can meet him. 
I've never seen RS so I can't compare.
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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SuzanneG
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I don't have any experience with RS. We use MUS.
My two oldest watch the video while I nurse the baby on the couch, or clean up in the kitchen, so I still hear it, so I'm "overseeing" them and can answer questions, etc. Sometimes they pop in a video to watch it AGAin, just for fun, and they don't need me around to do that. About 1/month, I quickly go through the teacher's manuel for the upcoming lessons....it takes me about 15 minutes.
They hardly ever have questions or have trouble with stuff, but we're pretty laid back about it. And, they're only doing Beta...so it's still basic stuff.
My girls love "Mr. Steve" too and want to know if they're EVER going to meet him too!
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Suzanne in ID
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Bookswithtea
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I haven't used RS, but I'll chime in for MUS. I put one child on it when he was getting very behind at the middle school level. I was so impressed I put everyone else on it and that's all we've been using (along with Flashmaster for math facts) ever since (4 yrs now).
Steve Demme knows that most moms have the child watch the lessons directly. He talks directly to the child. You don't have to feel guilty if you use this method. I let my kids (12, 9, 6) watch their dvd alone, and if they don't understand, I watch with them and we go over practice problems together until they get it. That said, I almost *never* have to do this because Steve Demme does such a great job explaining things.
I have one on primer, one on beta, one on epsilon and except for the one on Epsilon, math is done within 20 minutes, including the dvd time. The Epsilon student is probably done in about 40 minutes, and that's mostly because the type of math she is studying just requires more time to compute. No one wails anymore over how hard math is (which was a common occurence at my house before...we've used A LOT of math curriculum  ). My girls have already said that they don't want to switch to Teaching Textbooks for high school (my oldest made that choice because Steve Demme bugged him for some reason  ). They love it and I don't even look at new math curricula anymore.
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~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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Mary Chris
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I agree with Maryan's comments on RS. I feel like we were in a few years of perpetual crisis (or maybe I just made everything a crisis) so RS was always overwhelming to me. I did like it when I did it, but I hardly ever got it done. I also had one child who just hated the program.
We switched back to MUS, which I had purchased eight years ago, last year. I don't always watch the video with my kids, though with fractions I kinda need to, since Steve Demme does it a bit differently than I did. It seems to be working here. If you have a struggling reader, than you have to sit with them and do the word problems....or if you have an easily distractable boy that needs to be constantly reminded to focus...it is not any less parent intensive than RS.
We also use Teaching Textbooks, Key To series and Life of Fred.
As far as math go, I think the key is being consistent. In our home, we can be loosey-goosey with every subject except math. Math must be done everyday, no matter what.
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Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Feb 18 2009 at 3:11pm | IP Logged
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Mary Chris wrote:
| If you have a struggling reader, than you have to sit with them and do the word problems.... |
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Yes, that's true. I had holy amnesia about that. A year ago, it was more time for me, because of this. But now that they are reading, they are really independent.
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Suzanne in ID
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LeeAnn
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Another MUS family. My three girls are in Primer, Gamma and Epsilon. We watched the dvd's faithfully last year but this year they've got the groove and have watched them maybe twice. For my oldest (doing fractions) we usually read the one or two pages of teacher's manual together and do a couple examples. We didn't buy the fraction overlays either and it has worked out just fine. Only my K student uses the blocks, although they are a useful tool in the dvd's the older kids don't really feel the need to use them. We only did MCP before, not RS, so I can't compare, although I looked at it at the convention. Personally, I get fidgety with idea of all the manipulatives and thingies that go with RS.
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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Feb 19 2009 at 11:12pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, ladies, for all your insight. I've still got lots of time to ponder this, and I think I'll take a look at both at upcoming curriculum fairs (thanks for the heads up, Suzanne). It sounds like overall, both programs are well received. That's great- we'll probably be happy either way. I'm leaning toward MUS because I do like the idea of popping in a DVD and letting someone else do the main "teaching"- math is not my strong subject. Then I can just watch with them and help them along with any rough spots. That really appeals to me. I'd rather free up time and mental energy to plan liturgical feasts and crafts-- you know, the fun stuff  . But I'm not ordering yet...(goodness knows I'll change my mind 5 times before next fall comes around!!!
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mom3aut1not
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Betsy,
Yay! Another person who has read Liping Ma's book. It won't surprise you to know that I use RS also.
In Christ,
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Deborah
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Feb 20 2009 at 8:52pm | IP Logged
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A coupe of years ago I ordered the free DVD from MUS to see what it was like. That was very helpful for me in deciding. I'll never forget the enthusiasm my ds had for watching a "math show" with me... and then his disappointment while watching it. He kept asking me when the fun part would come on.
So, we went with RS. My ds LOVES the math games. He has mixed feelings about the abacus. I keep the lessons very short- we're in no hurry. I like Rs's "layered" approach. There is a lot of review in the warm-up for each lesson, plus a lot of concepts are introduced (parallel lines, money, calendar work) which keeps things interesting.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Feb 20 2009 at 9:33pm | IP Logged
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Melinda- great idea. I didn't even think of ordering the free DVD and giving it a test run. I'm going to do that.
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KackyK
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| Posted: Feb 21 2009 at 6:16am | IP Logged
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I didn't know they had it...need to look over that website more...thanks!
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
Beginning With the Assumption
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: RS or MUS
