Hi,
I am currently using level A with my daughter who will be five this month. We have been using it for about 1 1/2 months now and we are going very slow. At first she loved the lessons but now she groans
when I pull out the box. When it is time to do the tapping part of the lessons(example:tap 4 times and ask her how many times I tapped)
she ends up crying.(then she tells me she is just stupid) At first she gets the taps correct then she starts guessing. She stops trying and guesses for the other parts of the lesson also. If I skip the tapping part of the lessons and we use
the tally sticks, I ask her to make (for example) 6, she takes the tally sticks and she will make six(thats if she isn't in guessing mode) then starts building houses with the sticks. Then she says "Ok, now it's time to make stuff. It takes
alot to get her interest back into the lesson. She used to love math(she loves workbook pages) and she was pretty good at it(she could say her numbers up to 30 and using manipulatives she could add and subtract numbers up to 20) I really want this to work and I don't mind going really slow but I am starting to wonder if I should try a different method. I feel like I must be doing something wrong because everybody else is having a great time using Right Start. I need to fix this because I don't want her to dislike math.
I am very confused.

Thanks,
Penny

Dear Penny,
Thank you for sharing your honest concerns. Every child is different and therefore there is no "right way" to teach. You need to work with your child's giftings too. If she loves to build things with the sticks, then let her, but after her math lesson is over.

The taps are for those children who are auditory learners. They love it. She may be more visual and so using the abacus or tally sticks appeal more to her artistic nature. That is fine. We are all so different and learn at different paces.

To answer your concern about changing curriculums, I would certainly recommend you stick with RightStart. The reason she did so well before was because you were probably counting a lot. That is very low level math, but it is rich in language. Girls generally pick up language very easily so they like it.
However, life isn't going to be full of only positive experiences for her. Unfortunately life throws us problems and we need to learn how to solve them in more than one pleasant way.

Though she is gifted in art she will also need to balance a checkbook, buy groceries, solve problems of all kinds, etc. You get my point. I would recommend you begin each lesson by letting her have some time to use the tools to play before the lesson begins and then again after it is over. Try using the tangrams, the math balance, the geoboard, etc. Mix it up and give her some variety. Perhaps she is bored because you are going so slow. If she feels she already understands things she may be turning off the lesson before it begins.

Another idea we have found that works well is to use the math card games. Children love to play games. They especially enjoy having one-on-one time with their parents. Play the games of matching quantities, Go to the Dump, Addition War, etc. Try a new game each week. Games are to math as books are to reading. They give children a purpose for learning the facts.

I hope this helps, please feel free to add more questions as you go along. I would love to hear how it is going in a week or two. The key is to enjoy this moment in her life together. Life is too short to have tears over math. Try asking her probing questions to find out what she likes and what she doesn't like about math and that may help direct your choices as well.
Sincerely,
Nancy

Thanks so much for taking the time out to reply. It is so nice to have help when I need it. Like I said in my original post I really want this to work so I will be folowing you advice. I will post another message in about two weeks to let you know how we have progressed.
Thanks again,
Penny

Hi,
I am so glad that I posted about our math trouble. I am already observing a big difference in our math sessions. I was going to slow! Thanks so much. I just couldn't see that I was going too slow.

Penny

That is great news!
Nancy