Archive for the ‘Rightstart Math’ Category:
Rightstart for the Workbox
We just finished up our THIRD week of workboxing. I love how Sue teaches you to break things up and utilize review in your boxes.
Here is something from our math program that can be thrown in a box with a dry erase marker. I simply printed practice sheets on colored paper and laminated.
The goal of the practice sheets is for Elijah to become rapid and fluid with these problems. He is not supposed to count to add the numbers together.
He has to figure them out by visualizing and thinking.
Rightstart has given Elijah an understanding of numbers; it has helped him to see the natural patterns that occur in mathematics, so he has already learned and figured out strategies that will enable him to complete the problems without counting.
Rightstart also wants the child to think about the number in as many ways as possible. You can see on the practice sheets that they mix it up (and my son is completely comfortable with all the different ways the problems are presented!).
This set is presented like this- 6 + __ = 10
This set starts with the whole.
I punched a hole, added a ring, and voila! All ready for workboxes. Elijah can choose one to complete. Once all the sheets have been finished (over many days), we can wipe them off and start over again!
I hope to continue adding some thoughts about Rightstart Math throughout my next few weeks of blog posts. Let me know if you have any questions about this math program.
Math Moment
We use Rightstart Math. I love and hate it all wrapped into one (saving that for another entry). Because I hate it, I haven’t been consistent about using it this year. Because of my lack of consistency, we are not even half way through our book! Don’t fear, though, we are on a roll (thank you workboxes) and should be able to finish before July when we start 2nd grade.
I will repeat this again at some point, but I love Righstart Math because it has mapped my son’s mind for math. I know. Sounds weird. It is. I can’t even begin to explain what it has done for my son. He understands math. He’s as comfortable with numbers as he is with words. True. Thank you Rightstart (I’m sorry I hate you).
Okay, anyway, this post is not a review of RS Math. This post is to show what my first grader did today (remember, we aren’t even 1/2 way through!).
I read him a story problem about Abe, Amy, and some other A-named character. Each person had so many sheep. One had 2735. Another had 3817. And yet another had 1849. His job was to figure out how many sheep total. I was to do as little instructing as possible.
He got to use the base ten picture cards to help him find his way through this problem. He has a great understanding of ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands (thanks again RS!). He has already learned to trade ten ones for one-ten and ten-tens for one-hundred, etc.
So, he used those strategies to add the three (very-large-for-a-first-grader) numbers.
Laying out base ten cards for each number
Cards are all out…now what?
Starting to move and trade
His final answer
He did it!
Math Fun!
I have a love-hate relationship with our math program, Rightstart.
I hate it because I have to wrap my mind around it before I can present it to my son. I hate it because it’s VERY DIFFERENT than how I learned to do math.
I love it because it’s VERY DIFFERENT than how I learned to do math.
I love it because it is mapping my son’s mind for math.
Here’s the skinny- we (I’m assuming you were also in an American school) were taught math based on counting. Righstart teaches kids math based on visualization. The abacus is one of many manipulatives used in the program; it is made special so that the student can transfer it to his mind and manipulate it there, as well.
Rightsart is big on patterns and understanding. We haven’t memorized ANYTHING. Everything has been discovered! And it is really working! The patterns are just popping out at Elijah.
"Mom, if I have three sixes, I have 18, right?"
"Mom, if I have four quarters I have one dollar. So if I have 8 quarters, I have two dollars…and if I have 12 quarters, I have three dollars"…he then figured out that 200 quarters = $50. He wanted to know how many quarters for $100. I told him he could do it. He thought for a second, and said, "OH! fifty and fifty (or five-ten and five-ten) is one hundred, SO 200 and 200 is…I need 400 quarters."
Here is a little activity from a Rightstart printable that I put in his workbox today.
He had to take three rectangles and use them to make one large rectangle. They are all numbered based on size. It’s so fun what happens each time. Do you see the pattern?
