From Singapore to RightStart?

[Plaid Dad]

My dd may have the opportunity to be involved part-time with a small cottage-style school next year (I'd be teaching there). They would be using RightStart for math; we've done a combination of R&S, Singapore, and MCP. I used the little wizard on the RightStart site to determine the appropriate level for dd, and I can consult with the other parents/teachers about what materials I'd need to buy.

My question is about how your dc have done moving from Singapore into RightStart. Would it be helpful for me to go through the previous level (B) with my dd this summer before launching her into the program in the fall? In what areas is she likely to have confusion or trouble with the transition?

We're still mooting whether this cottage school arrangement will work for our family, but these curriculum considerations are part of our decision-making process. TIA!

[PhunandFonics]

You could use their transition lessons over the summer just to help her get comfortable with the workings of the program. I recently made the switch with my 9 year old son and this worked well for us!

Good luck! What a great opportunity!

[OhElizabeth]

If she placed in at C, then she should work through the appropriate lessons in Transitions first before starting in the fall. Singapore and RS are close enough in thought process, just using different terms for things, so she's not going to have a problem. Where you might have an issue is differences in expectations. If she REALLY LIKES Singapore, she might balk at changing, kwim? In a situation like that, I'd consider letting her continue her Singapore materials at home and just enjoying the RS lessons in the class. Or you could continue the extra math practice she was getting in your R&S and MCP books. Or both. How many does a week would this cottage school meet? Would their lessons be once a week and you do your own thing the rest of the week, or is it daily?

Do you have the option to take certain classes and not others? If her participation is strongly linked to her changing math programs, and if she is strongly keen on your current approach, I'd make sure that change will work for you before committing, sorry. Rule #1: Don't mess up what's working. I know you know that, but I'm saying it anyway. It's not that there's anything wrong with RS. (I like it a lot and plan to use it again with the next dc, assuming it's a good fit.) I just think when a kid has been doing something, is in a groove, and it's WORKING for them, they're going to get flustered if you change them around, kwim?

[SoCal Sandra]

We use RS as our main math program and supplement heavily with Singapore. Dss 8 are finishing up RS C. The two curricula are similar, but keep in mind that Singapore uses some counting strategies, such as "counting on," and RS discourages any kind of counting except skip counting. Also, your daughter will need familiarity with the abacus because it is used in the lessons she will encounter. Those are the two areas I would focus on.

If your dd does make the switch to RS, and if time allows, it would be very beneficial to supplement with Singapore's CWP. HTH.

[hsmom]

I second the transition lessons. They worked wonders for us. In the few lessons you do, do with the transition lessons it will familiarize her with the abacus. Well at least that was our experience with it. Neither my son nor I had used one prior to starting RS.

Now I cannot give any advice on the transition between the two since I have not used Singapore yet.

[Mama Lynx]

Drew,

as others have said, it would be very helpful to go through the appropriate transitions lessons, or some of Level B, before beginning in C.

We use Right Start, and I think it is a truly excellent program. We supplement with Singapore. (Actually, we really end up doing both programs.) Between the Singapore strategies and the Right Start strategies, I let my children use whatever works best for them - either way gets the job done.

How does your DD do with manipulative? How does she handle change? Those are the only two real problem areas I can see ... Right Start is not a good fit for a child who dislikes manipulatives. And it's different enough that if she dislikes change, she could have a problem there. In terms of the actual work, I'm sure she'd have no trouble. Three of my children thrive with it; one of my kids just has a completely different brain (pretty sure he's dyslexic), and the RS strategies are often very difficult for him. We lean more heavily on Singapore for him.

Right Start is not set up to have a lot of "homework." I don't know how the teacher plans to teach it, but I imagine that if my child were in a cottage school that taught RS, I'd still use Singapore at home (and vice-versa)!

[Debbie in OR]

We use Right Start, and I think it is a truly excellent program. We supplement with Singapore. Between the Singapore strategies and the Right Start strategies, I let my children use whatever works best for them - either way gets the job done.

How does your DD do with manipulative? Right Start is not a good fit for a child who dislikes manipulatives.

I agree with this. We use RS as our spine and Singapore and Ray's once a week to develop a bag of strategies they can pull from. Since all three of those are heavy on mental math, they reinforce each other well. They are alike enough I would imagine it won't be a difficult transition. And I think what Mama Lynx says about the manipulatives is probably the biggest issue. I loved RS so much when we switched to it (and actually, the longer I use it, the more I see the genius behind it), and was telling everybody. Several of my friends switched as well and the only blip occurred with one of the boys who, we discovered, HATES using manipulatives. He was in tears constantly, begging to go back to Singapore because he liked the worksheets. Otherwise, I can't imagine it will be a big issue.

[Plaid Dad]

Thanks for all the advice! A few answers to questions:


Dd likes Singapore fine, but she's not in love with it. I don't think changing is likely to cause a huge upheaval for her, particularly as it would be linked to a change in environment. (She's very positive about that.)
She does like manipulatives, and we've used an abacus in the past, though probably not the same kind or in the same way.
Since I already have the Singapore books, I could easily supplement with those at home.
A lot of the details of the cottage school are still up in the air, including how many days dd might attend (that's linked to my own teaching schedule and dd's OT appts) and which subjects she'd be covering there.


Now if I did want to do the B-to-C transition lessons, what would I need to buy? We have no RS materials at all and since they are pretty pricey, I don't want to buy things I don't really need. I will check with the teacher who'd be doing this class, but if someone could give me a list or point me to the correct page on their site for the materials I'd need to do the transition lessons, I'd be very grateful. It wasn't clear to me from the site whether the transition set includes everything, or whether it assumes that you have all the manipulatives for Level B. Thanks again!

[hsmom]

I could be wrong, but if I am not mistaken for the transition lessons you really only need the abacus and the tiles I think. ( I loaned out my transition lessons, so I cannot check for reference.)

Also when you go to buy the manipulative's check out Rainbow resources. I substituted some items, it was cheaper for me that way. Like the geoboards I just got a cheap one from RR, the wooden blocks I just bought the cheap colored ones from RR, I got our tally sticks from the craft section at the dollar store. If you just look and compare you can make the price of this stuff a lot less.

Hope my ramblings have helped.

[Debbie in OR]

Right....just the Transitions Lessons book (you will only need to complete part of it....it tells you where to stop if you are going to start with Book C) and an abacus.

[nmoira]

The two curricula are similar, but keep in mind that Singapore uses some counting strategies, such as "counting on," and RS discourages any kind of counting except skip counting.This is true, but, as long as the child has nailed addition facts within 10 and 20, it shouldn't be an issue because as a next step Singapore teaches grouping by 10's when doing mental math. Right Start does use 10's and 5's, but there are only a couple of strategies for which this comes into play. If the child in question can do multiple digit addition on paper and understands place value, the transition lessons will suffice, and there's no need to go through Level B.

[Reya]

How does your DD do with manipulative? How does she handle change? Those are the only two real problem areas I can see ... Right Start is not a good fit for a child who dislikes manipulatives.

Actually....it depends. My DS hasn't broken out the manipulatives yet in level C. We're down to using the abacus once in 20-30 lessons now--from almost daily in A. So I wouldn't let the manipulatives stop you. When DS understands so well that he doesn't need the manipulatives, we don't, even if it tells us to! (He did all the 4-digit addition in B without the abacus, for example.) I have him use it to clarify explanations and when I really want to show him something physically. Other than that, it never gets used.

[kellycbr]

Use the RS Forums, and the moderator will answer your specific question about what you really need. Also, there is a link to the Yahoo forum on the RS sight, and you can always find RS items for sale for a good price. Good luck! We are just starting RS ourselves, and I got your LCC book in the mail yesterday, so our hs experience is just getting richer!