I'm looking for a good hands-on math curriculum for my very active, soon-to-be-five-year-old. I looked into Moving With Math, but that turned out to be far outside my budget. I'm leaning toward Math-U-See, but I've also stumbled upon RightStart. Is there anyone out there who can give some input into either of these? Thanks. I'm also open to other suggestions.
Neither... McRuffy It's very hands on, very colorful, very fun, very solid and sneakily advanced. By the end of 1st grade level, Rylee (who struggles with math) tested solidly into Teaching Textbooks 4 (though we chose to do 3 to help her build confidence). Reagan is sticking with McRuffy, but Rylee wanted a "just get it done" math... and TT fits that bill for her.
I am currently using MUS and my kids like it. They are not mathy at ALL and so far they are grasping the concepts taught to them. This is the first year I have used it, but I placed all my kids back 2-3 grades below where they should be to make sure they are understanding the concepts. So far, they are on track to complete the first book they were placed in, in about 8 weeks. I like them, they like them, but I figure as long as they grasp the basics it really doesn't matter what program you use.
Between those two programs....it's hard to say. They are both so different (I've tried them both years ago). But, I was going to say what Sommer said....I'd go with McRuffy. But, on the other hand...I really like Moving with Math K too. I used the K with my ds and some other levels with my oldest dd when she was young. I found the teachers manuals on eBay. You can order just the workbook at their site. It does seem to call for an awful lot of manipulatives, but mostly you'd need the teddy bear counters & unifix cubes. The rest you can improvise (there are paper versions you can copy out of the TE and cut out)...or you might already have them. Honestly, both MUS and RS are pricey too.
In our household we use McRuffy and Math U see. My daughter loves McRuffy- this will be her third year using it. We started in 1st grade so I'm not sure what the K is like, but I can only imagine it is similar. I consider it a spiral program and it incorporates hands- on activities and really overall I think a very nice program. I tried switching her last year to MUS which she did not like, she just likes the variety of day to day activities and games it comes with. She likes having a little bit of several things to do a day. With MUS I started it in Beta, so again I don't have the earlier program experience, but for my son a mastery program like this is what he likes. It took us a couple failed programs to figure it out for him (we tried McRuffy, Teaching Textbooks, and Horizons- all great but not for him!), but this has helped him tremendously. He likes to watch the dvd (I watch with him as the progression of difficulty arises, plus I am learning a new way too!) and he's okay with the blocks, though we sometimes rarely use them and prefers the basic b&w pages. But he just likes focusing on one skill area with some other skills here and there. I don't know know much about RS, but I can imagine either program you can't go wrong with- it's also a live and learn thing to find out how your child learns best and how they respond! Good luck!
We use Math U See for 2nd on. I went with Math Mammoth for first grade and while my current first grader is enjoying it and doing great with it my oldest hated it. I went with it because it was cheaper. I won't make that mistake again. He loves MUS. I also seriously considered Right Start but it was just so pricey we couldn't do it. If I had unlimited funds I probably would've gone that direction because the hands on/3d aspect of it really appealed to me.
I have used Right Start for my oldest son for K-3rd grade, and my younger son for K and 1st. I loved how they teach math concepts, but I switched both of my boys for different reasons. My oldest gets concepts very quickly and needs very little repetition or practice. We didn't need to keep doing the practice sheets, and he also got bored with all the different "tricks" they teach you to learn the math facts. He is one that can learn something once and remember it forever. For him we switched to Life of Fred and it has been great so far. For my younger son, he had a really hard time understanding how to add with all the tricks they teach. He just does not have the memory for it. He needs to be taught just one way to do something. I switched him to AOP Lifepacs and he seems to be doing fine. I still love Right Start and would totally recommend it. One thing my boys liked in the younger grades was all the manipulatives. My older son, especially, totally understood borrowing and carry-over with the way they teach it. It's a very unique program, but like with any other program out there, is not for every type of learner. If it's at all possible, try and find close to you who has either Right Start or MUS and take a look at it (or check out a homeschool store if there is one near you). You might also want to check if either of those companies have free downloadable pages you can check out.
Thanks everybody! I love this forum! I ordered the McRuffy Catalog, the free MUS demo DVD, and other program freebies that will hopefully give me a little more insight.
You will probably get better info on McRuffy on their site. Their site is a little wonky to navigate until you figure it out, http://www.mcruffy.com/Kindergarten-math-lessons.htm is a direct link to the K math, there are samples and things there to look at about half way down the page. You want the COLOR MATH not the older version at the bottom of the page.
If you like Lifepacs, you might just love CLE math. I find it has better "flow", as well as instruction that makes sense and plenty of practice. I used Lifepacs with my DS back in the day, and I really wish they had had CLE Sunrise Edition back then! I'm raising his son on it now.
