RightStart Vs. Singapore/Miquon combination

[LuxPerpetua]

Has anyone used RightStart math or Singapore with Miquon?

What did you like or dislike?  Was it a good fit for your child, and why?

I really want to do a combination of Waldorf "story" type math with something a little more meaty on the side.  I've heard Singapore and Miquon work well together, so I thought we'd do that, but dd has a photographic memory so I'm wondering if RightStart with its abacus-style math would be a better fit.  I don't know, and would love BTDT advice.

Thanks!

[Jazzmin]

I am interested to know, too. Rightstart just look more fun, but I have read great things about both.

[Greenmama2]

We use SM/M. DD doesn't like most manipulatives so we only get the cuisenaire rods out occasionally. She does however like her abacus so we often use that with SM. What has happened for us since we only do workbook type stuff when DD wants to is that she has flown through SM quite quickly and tends to work "behind" in Miquon. This is fine with me as I feel she gets to really dig deep into the concepts that she just touched on in SM.
I think a lot of children who "get" mathematics easily don't like manipulatives so that might be a factor in your decision if you feel your DD will be like that.

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Of the ones you mention, I've only used RightStart, but I've been extremely happy with it.  (I have one child who has completed 5 levels of RS, and one who has completed 4, so I have a pretty good base of experience.)   I imagine you could combine it with a Waldorf thing if you don't mind taking longer than a school year to get through each level of RS.  Levels A and B are not too long, but starting with level C, you need to do 4 -5 lessons a week to complete the book in a typical school year.  (Assuming you are still using the Waldorf curric. at that point.)   Frankly, I wouldn't worry much about that, especially if you are starting out with a 5 year old, as you are.   But if you think that would bother you, it's something to consider.   As for where to start, level A is *very* basic and gentle -- geared toward 4 1/2 - 5 1/2.  Level B covers everything in level A, but at a faster pace and quickly gets into stuff that most kids under 6 would struggle with, simply for developmental reasons.  But if you were starting out with a 6 y.o. or a math-minded 5 1/2 year old, I'd start with level B.

HTH!

[calynde]

We do Waldorf math along with Miquon...and it has been working fabulously for us! DS and I both really love Miquon, it is such a good approach...without too much boring repetition. I think it goes really well alongside Waldorf style math. 

[moominmamma]

Of the three I think that Miquon feels the most Waldorfy to me, Singapore the least so. We started with Miquon because it appealed to my sense of what early math should be for young kids (i.e. vaguely Waldorfy, playful, curious, social). While I think Miquon gave them an excellent conceptual foundation, it gradually became clear that my kids preferred a more step-wise academic approach to math and our melding of Miquon and Singapore turned into a clear preference for Singapore. My youngest is doing 5A/5B now and my older three all finished Singapore Primary years ago. I'm pleased with how it worked for all of them.

I looked at Right Start on occasion but the sequence of introduction of concepts didn't really suit my kids. They wanted to learn about the connections between different operations and concepts early on, rather than focusing on one area exclusively until total mastery was obtained.

Miranda

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Originally Posted by moominmamma 

I looked at Right Start on occasion but the sequence of introduction of concepts didn't really suit my kids. They wanted to learn about the connections between different operations and concepts early on, rather than focusing on one area exclusively until total mastery was obtained.

Just for clarity, Right Start does not focus on a single area until mastery.  That doesn't mean it's the right sequence for everyone or that it spirals as much as other programs (I don't claim familiarity with any other curricula), but children do work on various concepts through the RS curriculum.  Sometimes it isn't named as such early on, however.  So a child might do something that involves fractions without introducing the word "fraction" yet.

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by luv my 2 sweeties 

Just for clarity, Right Start does not focus on a single area until mastery.  

Yes, thanks for the clarification. I meant mastery in a different sense than it's often used when discussing math curricula. 

RightStart sticks with a single mathematical operation and expects children to master that operation to quite a high level before moving on to introduce the next operation. I had kids who were happily combining all four operations at a basic level long before they had mastered the algorithm for adding large multi-digit numbers with regrouping. Their natural approach to math was one of seeing the connections between concepts and operations, the big picture, from the outset. The scope and sequence of RS was a poor fit for them.

Miranda

[Greenmama2]

Originally Posted by moominmamma 

Of the three I think that Miquon feels the most Waldorfy to me, Singapore the least so. We started with Miquon because it appealed to my sense of what early math should be for young kids (i.e. vaguely Waldorfy, playful, curious, social). While I think Miquon gave them an excellent conceptual foundation, it gradually became clear that my kids preferred a more step-wise academic approach to math and our melding of Miquon and Singapore turned into a clear preference for Singapore. My youngest is doing 5A/5B now and my older three all finished Singapore Primary years ago. I'm pleased with how it worked for all of them.

I looked at Right Start on occasion but the sequence of introduction of concepts didn't really suit my kids. They wanted to learn about the connections between different operations and concepts early on, rather than focusing on one area exclusively until total mastery was obtained.

Miranda

Right. I love Miquon, but that's exactly it. *I* love it, nine times out of ten DD will choose Singapore.

[LuxPerpetua]

Thanks so much for the opinions.

Can anyone tell me how far each program goes--like from what grade level to what grade level?

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by LuxPerpetua 

Can anyone tell me how far each program goes--like from what grade level to what grade level?

Singapore Primary Math goes is organized by grade levels from 1A (first half of 1st grade) to 6B (second half of sixth grade) but it moves faster than most North American school curricula, and a lot of kids who finish 6B can head straight into an Algebra 1 course. Some might want to review and fill a couple of gaps with some pre-algebra first. There are also some good Singaporean secondary curriculums that fit right in on the end of Primary Math. RightStart covers Kindergarten through pre-algebra. They also have some sort of algebra offering, but it is kind of a different program.

Miquon is harder to pin down. Nominally it's a 1st through 3rd grade program, but some of the concepts are more of the pre-algebra sort, yet there is some stuff that's part of a typical K-3 focus in schools that is hardly covered at all in Miquon. I'd say it's kind of K-4/5 overall.

Miranda

[umsami]

I've used Right Start Levels A and B. Now we're doing that in addition to Math Mammoth--as DS1 was very eager to learn multiplication. Right Start Level A was perfect for us--especially as DS1 did not like writing when he was in Pre-K/Kindy. It is very hands on--with very little written work. When he hit 7, he seemed to blossom into loving writing--and actually wanted more pencil/paper work, which is why we added Math Mammoth.

DS2, is 5, and is loving Right Start A as well.

I've looked into SIngapore as a possible choice for DS1 for next year, but I think at this point (well, at least for the summer), we're going to continue with Math Mammoth as he seems to really "get" it.

I definitely agree with those who say that you might love a curriculum, but your kids might not. So, if you can, try and find some sample pages and play around with your kids. One thing I loved about Math Mammoth is that she gives you 300 different sample pages so you can definitely get a good idea about it. Also, it was super cheap... and you buy the topics you want. RightStart is very expensive IMHO, but my kids have loved it--and they've really seemed to get the concepts. The variety of manipulatives also was a big plus for us. My kids still want to "play" math. The math games too are great.