Customer Testimonials

My youngest 11 year old son is on the autism spectrum. I can say RS Math is a life saver for us. We homeschool our three boys. My son was struggling just to get past the first two lessons in Level A a few years ago. Then I started doing half a lesson with him each day and we will be finishing Level A soon. This is truly a monumental achievement for us. I honestly didn’t think this would be possible. When we were stuck on lessons 1 and 2 for a while, things looked grim.

Joan Cotter, the author was very generous in communicating with me before I purchased Level A and she reassured me that RS math would work for children with learning difficulties.

A few beautiful things about RS Maths in my experiences :
– Constant but gradually changing repetitions of on concepts : They lay a solid foundation of understanding the concepts. I am teaching my son to read the clock at the moment and I understand it will be repeated in Level C!
– Quality learning tools for multi-functional purposes : One example is the tiles of different colours. They are for counting but also for learning the idea of ‘inches’. The beads in the abacus are one centimetre in diameter and can teach how long a centimetre is.
– Fun. The learning tools are fun to use. It almost has an element of behavioral therapy for my son.
– Maths games : To be honest, I don’t find all of the games exciting and they are sometimes just for ticking the boxes. However some are quite fun and I am glad I have a choice to do them.

The high quality of the math manipulatives are a joy to use for their quality. For example, the drawing set, 4-in-1 ruler and geometry panels are of a rare quality to find these days. Hope RS Maths can keep up this high standard in the math manipulatives.

I also remember your staff were very helpful and friendly when we were considering to purchase the Level A.

Half a lesson takes me about 45 minutes. Some people might find the gradual pace and constant repetition boring and tedious. All I can say is RS math works for us and without it, we would be stuck. RS math is an excellent investment for our son.

We are huge fans of RightStart Math. My daughters understand numbers in a way I did not when I was growing up. They truly visualize quantities and work out solutions in more of an intuitive way than I did just following steps. The lessons are not overwhelming, but present concepts in small friendly ways.

I don’t think I’ve ever written a testimonial before, but I am so pleased with RightStart Math for all kinds of reasons, one of which is the program’s underlying respect for children’s intelligence and innate mathematical thinking. The curriculum works with, not against, children’s problem-solving abilities and avoids many of the common pitfalls of curricula which either confuse or bore kids (or both!). The RightStart curriculum is in some respects very sophisticated and goes beyond what children would normally be exposed to; however, it is also very straightforward for both child and adult and easy to incorporate in a homeschooling curriculum or as an adjunct to regular schooling for children who need or want more math practice. All of the introduced concepts are logical, clearly presented, and can make sense to children on multiple levels as they gain understanding. The hands-on manipulative materials (including the genius balance) and the focus on numbers as visual quantities (of fives and tens) all reflect best practices in mathematical teaching. The card games are not only an excellent teaching tool in themselves but also serve to remind children that math has everyday, practical applications (eg winning a game!) and that math can truly be fun. I’m especially grateful to have discovered RightStart Math because I have struggled to find a math curriculum for my bright 10 year old with dyslexia who has strong conceptual understanding of mathematical ideas but nevertheless struggles mightily with basic computation and working memory. As a result of this mismatch, he’s been frustrated and discouraged by math instruction in school, thinking he is a “dummy” because he struggled to memorize basic math facts while at the same time intuiting that he actually understands many complex concepts, particularly in geometry, which elude his peers. This was a setup for needless math failure, something I’ve long observed (as an educator) in many children who don’t readily fit a narrow educational mold. But RightStart Math offers a valuable approach for many children of varying abilities and learning profiles because it reflects scientific thinking about the developing brain and makes mathematical learning enjoyable and empowering. Thank you, RightStart Math!

“My nine-year-old is finally grasping some of the basic math concepts that the public school failed her on over the past four years. She loves playing the RightStart games and now actually ENJOYS doing math… after years of tears and frustration, I never thought I’d see that happen. Her confidence in math has grown exponentially. It was a tough transition since she was used to assuming she couldn’t do math and giving up, but once she realized she could do the work and learned some helpful tricks, her math anxiety has all but disappeared. We started her at the level they recommended based on her skill set and even though it’s lower than her grade level it has been extremely helpful. We’re averaging two lessons per day–I expect this will slow as concepts become more difficult–and believe she’ll be in the next book level by the new year, only with a much stronger base to continue moving forward with. RightStart has been a huge game-changer for us.