Kindergarten math: Several possibilities, narrowed down to 1

I've been researching math programs for the elementary level, and I've been fortunate to get my hands on teacher's manuals and workbooks for several programs, thanks to my local mathy friend (hi, you-know-who-you-are! :D).

I evaluated:

• Math-U-See Alpha
• RightStart Mathematics level A, both 1st ed. and 2nd ed.
• Life of Fred Apples
• Miquon red and green, plus teacher's notebook
• Math Mammoth (I own the digital files for levels 1-6)
• Singapore workbook levels 1A and 1B

Woosh.

Long story short, I'm planning to purchase RightStart math 2nd edition to use as Johnny's kindergarten program.

If we need to switch things up midyear, I'll pull from Math Mammoth. I also like Life of Fred as a break or supplement. 

If that's all you care to know, then ok! If you're wanting more of my thoughts, here we go:

Before looking at math programs, I wanted to step back and think about what my overall goals were for my children. Educational philosophy, teaching and learning methods, etc. I lean Charlotte Mason, and I have tremendous respect for Ruth Beechick's ideas. 

I want my children to have a solid understanding of math concepts, rather than simply memorizing things without knowing how to apply what they've learned.

I want it to be enjoyable for my children if at all possible, and if not possible, then at least not something tear-inducing.

As far as time commitment, I am willing to put in the one-on-one time with each child at the elementary level for sure. I view this foundational time kind of like the effort and instruction it's taking to teach Johnny to read. Sure, he can do Starfall on his own, or maybe I could hand him a workbook and tell him to have at it.

But him reading aloud to me (and me paying attention to the words, too) and teaching him various phonetic nuances is important. Same with math. This is worth the effort.

As far as cost, I'm willing to pay for a solid program. Bonus points if it can be used with my girls with minimal additional purchases such as workbooks. Bonus points if I can sell it all later for a decent price.

Ideally, I will use one program throughout the elementary years. Of course, if we've given reasonable time to a program and it's just plain not working, we will switch. But I hope we can stick with the program, since each curriculum has its own scope and sequence. 

I'm really, really impressed with what I see from RightStart. It's recommended on SimplyCharlotteMason.com (as is Math-U-See). The 2nd edition especially seems teacher-friendly in its layout.

RS has an extensive kit of manipulatives and it mainly uses a special abacus. Their abacus has a group of 5 yellow beads and a group of 5 blue beads to help the child quickly see quantities of 5 (and 10). The author wants children to group and instantly see quantities, rather than counting.

Rather than the maniuplatives being "extra," to me they seem quite instructive and useful. Not fluff. 

Also, RS uses a lot of games for reinforcement. It likens games to worksheet drills. Rather than doing a worksheet, your child can do a game for 15 minutes and have more understanding and more fun. The program does use worksheets, but not a lot. 

Some folks use the RS games only, rather than the full RS program. You can do that; in fact the RS site says you can purchase the game instruction book and various cards and use it as a supplement to any math program.

Overall, to me it seems very thorough and fitting what I'm seeking.

Math-U-See

I was glad to view several segments on the Alpha DVD and look through the teacher's manual. My kids watched the video along with me and got some things out of it. The parent may view the DVD alone as a tool to help them teach their child, or the child may view the DVD along with the parent. Before viewing, I didn't realize that you didn't *have* to let your child watch the DVD.

I wish Steve the teacher paused for a little longer when he asked questions. There was a child audience (not pictured) that would say answers right away, which is nice...but I would need to be really fast with the pause button to give my kids a chance to think.

The teacher's manual just didn't excite me. Though the MUS rods are a helpful tool, they are the only manipulative used in this program as far as I know. Personally, I like the abacus more. My math-enabling friend found a rock-bottom deal on MUS rods at a used curriculum sale so I'm glad to own a set in case we'd like to use them.

It also seemed that with Alpha, there wasn't as much variety in the lessons as with RightStart. 

Life of Fred

I personally love this concept. It's an entertaining story based around a 5-year-old math professor (!) who uses math concepts in his everyday life. Short chapters, then a few problems to solve. The author insists it's a complete program but many on the internet disagree, since there are so few practice opportunities.

It isn't clear to me if you are to go through the first 4 elementary level books at a certain pace and then repeat, or go more slowly. I think you could do either.

I read the first 2 chapters to Johnny and the rest of the Apples book to myself. The next day, I asked if he wanted to do more, and he didn't. He said it was hard for him to see the math in the stories. Interesting.

I can see how many details could be a little distracting to a child. Perhaps they are so into the storyline that they are missing the math concepts?

It might work better in a few months for him. I can see using it as our summer math in the future. More low-key, but still learning/reinforcing concepts.

My library doesn't have the series, so I submitted it as a suggestion for the shelves. They apparently thought I wanted the title via interlibrary loan. Nope, not quite. It's nice to know I can get it that way in the future (or my friend -- hi, friend! :D ).

I'll file this away for later and if it seems like it's worth a try, I'll borrow it again and buy the series if it seems like it will be a good fit.

Miquon

I borrowed the annotations book and two of the workbooks to look over. I was a bit confused and slightly overwhelmed. Some people on the internet feel the same, but supposedly if you stick with it it can be a good program.

That may be the case, but I decided that since I like RightStart so much (and it goes a few levels past Miquon) that I didn't need to look into it further. Johnny really, really likes the idea of RightStart so I think we'll just go that route. Miquon is super-inexpensive on Rainbow Resource.

The "discovery" method is intriguing, but I perceived it to be even more teacher-intensive than RightStart. I would need to buy a workbook for my own to create an answer key. In doing so, it would help me learn the Miquon approach. It also seemed like I would need to do some prepwork ahead of time for lessons.

If I'm devoting a 30-minute time block to math, I'd rather just DO MATH than prepwork. It looks like with RS, I can gather the materials and just follow along the teacher's manual. Also, some people consider Miquon to be a supplement to another program. Other people use it as their main thing.

Math Mammoth

I bought the entire light blue digital series when it was on super sale. It's 1st-6th grade math, all worktexts. You may print the pages, or have your child do it on the computer or tablet.

This is a worktext (worksheets with instruction on the page/within so no separate teacher's manual). There are instructions for making your own games to reinforce concepts. I like what I see with the approach and I'm not sure how I'll implement it just yet. Perhaps a summer math, or subbing it in when we want a break from RightStart, such as if we hit a wall.

I could print the entire thing in black & white for around $10-13 per worktext (and there are 2 for the 1st grade level). But some pages do need to be in color for things such as patterns, so I could selectively print those pages at home, I guess. Or again, have Johnny do it on the computer. At this point, I'm not sure how I feel about computer math at this age.

***
So. I've been watching message boards and eBay for a deal on the 2nd edition manual and I'm coming up short. Also watching promos from Mardel, but their high-value coupons restrict RightStart. Aw, man.

I wanted to mention, while I'm planning on using RightStart as our main program, and adding in Math Mammoth and Life of Fred -- RightStart doesn't need a supplement. Math Mammoth doesn't need a supplement, either. They are both complete and thorough and can stand alone.

I just like the idea of using both and making adjustments for each child depending on where he or she is at with math. I don't need to follow either curriculum to the letter;  they are my tools and we will use them to help us. 

Also, I cannot overstate the value of seeing a curriculum in person. Samples are helpful, but they only go so far. Because my friend was willing to lend me some materials to look through, I saved money and time.

Let's see where we are a year from now!