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Post a message or simply read what others have written and answered. Rachel, a RightStart™ Math user and one of our customer care people, will be monitoring this forum. She will respond to your questions as needed.

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Starting with older children

I am considering changing to RSM. We have used Singapore and MUS, which worked well for my older children, but my middles (currently in 3rd and 5th) are not understanding as well. I also have a rising 1st grader. So, next fall, I will have a 1st grader (who would be level B) and a 4th and 6th grader who both tested into Level D. My concern is two fold... first, is it okay to put a 6th grader in level D (which is a 4th grade level, if I understand what I read on the forum), or will that present problems trying to get through levels G and into either Videotext or PreAlgebra? Secondly, I am concerned about time needed to do RSM. I will have 5 children in school plus two preschoolers, so time is rather precious. Can anyone give me an idea of how much time I will need to spend doing lessons for level B and level D?
THank you!
Karen

Re: Starting with older children

Hi, I am currently teaching 4 children levels B, D and G. I schedule an hour to teach level D each day. It really ranges from half an hour to an hour. Level B usually takes about half an hour depending on the mood my son is in. He was very cooperative until recently and it would only take half an hour, but when he is in an uncooperative mood he can drag it out forever if I let him. My oldest dd is doing G almost completely independently. Every once in a while she needs some help, but has done it independently for the most part. You will want to do the transition lessons with the older kids before starting D.

If you are worried about your oldest being too far behind, you can always do extra lessons on the short days so that you go through the material faster.

Re: Starting with older children

Hi, Karen.

I have 4 kids and have taught up to 3 levels at a time (with babies and toddlers). It does take a little balancing - however, the outcome has been well worth it.

Most of the time, Level B only took me about 15-20 minutes to teach (however, just like Helen said, there are days when it took longer). For Level D, 2 of my sons took about 30-45 minutes to teach and my 3rd son took about 30 minutes. It kinda depends on how the student 'receives' the information being taught.

I tend not to worry too much about 'grade level' simply because I really want my kids to UNDERSTAND the math. It does them no good to push them through a level just because they are ?? years old. In the end, though, my kids have done very well using RSM - including my dyslexic son who struggles with absolutely everything.

In my opinion, there is NO substitute for teaching your child math. When you teach your child directly, you can see it in their eyes if they understand something or if they really just do not get it. That clues me in as to whether they are ready to move on or if we need to stay on a lesson for a day or two longer.

Good luck!
Rachel