We've now finished Level B and are about 10 lessons into Level C.
Most recent additions in blue
DD1 is done with RS. We progrossed about a third of the way through Level C (just far enough to ease the transfer to Singapore). It's a great program, but DD1 needs more control and was frustrated with everything being teacher led. I'm happy with started with RS rather than Singapore, but now that she has the basics down, I'm confident she's not missing out on anything significant. I'm still considering using RS Geometry when the time comes.
Additions are in red.
There is a Yahoo! group called RightStart. It's not horribly busy, but the quality of discussion tends to be high.
2. What level/age is your child? Did that influence your decision to use this particular program (or not to use another?)
DD1 just turned 4. We are about halfway through Level B (1st Grade). We'd started in Level A about a year ago, but it didn't move quickly enough for her. We did about 20 lessons in B not long after that, then she lost interest (my being very busy with her sister probably had something to do with this). We picked it up again in November, and we average 5 or 6 lessons per week. She loves this program.
It didn't require much writing (we could have completed it without her writing anything).
Well, she loved it until we started subtraction. She wanted it all laid out, now. She can work through Singapore at her own pace. While it would be possible to compact RS (I did a bit), it's more work than it was worth to me. Besides, she was ready for a format change.
3. What sort of learning style does your child have? Are we talking about a mathematically-oriented child? A visual learner? Kinesthetic? (A brief description will help other parents who may have a similar type of child to make this decision.)
She's mathematically oriented and picks up new concepts quickly, but she is more gifted with language. I think she's a both a visual and auditory learner... I'm often confounded by what she comes up with.
She may be more mathematically oriented than I thought. She whizzed through a multi-day series of lessons leading up to 4-digit addition on paper in two days. In fact, the first worksheet problem she did was on paper rather than with the abacus. (The program is designed so that children intuit how to do it on paper on their own.)
I'm pretty sure she's visual.
4. Describe your math program: does it use a lot of manipulatives? Rely on visual indicators? Is it compatible with other programs? Does it require a great deal of parental preparation/intervention/active guidance? Do you think that the program is suited to home educators, or is there a heavy focus on busy work and classroom managment? What about repetition, is there enough? Too much?
The program is visually oriented. Children are actively discouraged from counting at all and are taugth instead to see objects in groups of 5's.
The primary manipulative in the early years is the abacus, which is a fantastic tool for DD1. She can "see" the abacus in her head. The abacus is two sided: the first side values all beads at 1, the other is used once the child understands place value (VERY early on) and has beads valued, 1, 10, 100, 1000. I'm not sure subtraction is formally introduced in Level B (though there are plenty of ___ + 4= 10 problems), the reasoning being to have the child master one dominant concept completely before moving on, but DD1 is already adding 4 digit numbers, completely understands the concept of trading, has learned her math facts through 15, skip counts by 2's, 5's, 10's. We're not there yet, but the child is also taught to add 2 digit numbers mentally. The program is big on the comprehension of underlying mathematical principles -- you KNOW when your child has hit a wall, the lessons are structured so there's no faking understanding.
This program is designed for homeschoolers, though there is a classroom version. Worksheets in the early years are few and far between; concepts are reinforced either through use during the lessons or elaboration. Some concepts are built upon steadily, while others, like basic geometry, are introduced more sporadically.
There is little preparation, other than gathering materials; however, the parent is heavily involved with the lessons. Lessons are more or less scripted (which is nice because precise use of terminology is important), though the child is expected to think her way through problems rather than just be shown how to do it.
Subtraction is introduced, but in a cursory manner and mastery is not expected. It is dealt with in Level C. The only problem DD1 had in the entire course was with the introduction of subtraction as "counting up" rather than "taking away." I think she had a pretty firm idea of what subtraction was already. I merely taught her how to "count" up change and moved on.
5. Why did you decide to use this particular program? Was it to suit your individual child, or because it was recommended by a book/another homeschooler/a post here?
I'd evaluated a number of programs (MUS, Saxon, Singapore) and simply fell in love with Right Start. I love how I can see the foundations being laid for advanced concepts in the Level A and B manuals. I love the emphasis on mental math and comprehension. The manipulative make complete sense to me (I've always hated cuisinair rods).
The woman behind RightStart has a PhD in mathmatics education and degree in engineering and is a former Montessori teacher. The program itself is heavily Asian influenced in both content and teaching style.
6. What do you like/dislike about the program?
See above.
7. Will you/would you continue at different levels, or do you think that another program might be better suited to your child as s/he progresses? Why?
We'll be sticking with Right Start for as long as possible. At the pace Dr. Cotter seems to be writing the middle grade manuals (Geometry still isn't finished), we may have to change then.
I feel just as strongly now.
DD1 doesn't feel as strongly as I.