I am considering using RightStart with my 10 year old son. This is our first year homeschooling and we initially decided to use Saxon since he was familiar with the program and had been using it since Kindergarten. My son has always had an aptitude for math, but struggles with memorizing math facts. Unfortunately, this has convinced him that he's horrible at math. I thought one-on-one instruction would solve these issues, but that didn't turn out to be the case. After about 5 weeks of tears and noticing that my son was beginning to not just dislike, but hate math, I decided to begin looking for another math curriculum.

After looking over the materials and samples on your website, I'm confident that RightStart will provide the foundational understanding that my son needs however, our situation is possibly a little different than others.

My son was born missing his left hand and therefore only has five fingers with which to count. I noticed in some of the lesson samples that finger counting is a big part of the methodology used to show children how to recognize quantities without counting.

Before I actually purchase the books and materials, I would like to know if you think this curriculum can be modified and/or will work for a child that does not have two hands (e.g., 10 fingers). Do you think using only the abacus, tally marks, and/or other concrete counting objects will work as effectively with your program? Does the emphasis on finger counting continue through the higher levels (C-E+)?

Thanks so much for your input and I hope to be using your materials soon!

Dear Shanan,

Thank you for emailing us at RightStart math. Absolutely RightStart can be adapted to suit your child. And yes, abacus and tally marks are effective ways for your child to "see" 5's as well as 10's. Also, the main emphasis and way to "see" quantities is by the use of the abacus. As far as using hands you can use your hands to show him quantities with fingers, however, you can minimize this and work mostly with the abacus where the emphasis is because your child will be seeing quantities up to 100 on the front side and in the thousands on the back side.

I think you and your son will do fine using the RightStart curriculum. Also, if he is "hating" math I would recommend you consider taking time to play math games before starting in on lessons. This will give him a little space from a formal math setting while still keep up with his math skills.

Please feel free to email, post of call. Do feel free to email me directly and give me your phone number if you would like to discuss this via the phone. Just email me your phone number, time zone and when it would be a good time to call you.

Thanks again for your post and for looking to give your child a RightStart in math. Please do let us know how it goes as we always appreciate hearing what families have to say about their RightStart experience.

Sincerely, Rosine

Dear Rosine,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful messgage! I just knew RightStart was the "right" place. Since my son is still struggling to memorize addition facts, I've gone ahead and ordered instructions, worksheets, and manipulatives for Levels B & C. I'm going to take your advice however, and start out with games rather than formal lessons. Knowing we would soon be switching curriculums, I decided to take a break from math this past week and my son is like a different kid. In fact, this morning during science, he had a math question (9 planets divided by the 5 ceiling fan blades on which we're building our solar system model)and he began figuring it out all on his own! I know it doesn't sound like much, but this is the first time he has done anything math related that wasn't met with loud groans and lots of resistance. I don't know if he even recognized that he was "doing" math. He is a very visual learner which is why I think RightStart will be such a good fit for him.

As soon as we receive our materials I'll be sure to let you know if I have any questions and/or to fill you in on our progress.

Thanks again for your thoughtful reply,
Shanan Anthony

Thanks for your post. Are you kidding? It sounds like quite a bit for him to be using math outside of the math lesson. And, that's exactly what RS is about....It's about being able to apply mathematics to real life situations. What a great story! I appreciate you sharing that on the board.

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Do keep us posted and feel free to post, call or email with any questions you might have.

Sincerely, Rosine