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!
We have been using RightStart Math since the beginning of our homeschool (this is our 4th year) and are so happy we did. The lessons, games, manipulatives, and songs all blend together to create what we believe is and will be a wonderfully strong mathematical foundation for our children to have as they continue their studies and throughout the course of everyday life as well. Thank you so much for an excellent program!
I really have seen a big difference with my son, in comparison with his classmates. Within the first week, of using RightStart, he was PLAYING with numbers, saying things like, hey mom, did you know there are four 25s in 100. Thinking of the patterns of the abacus. Yay!
His [school] teacher asks an addition or subtraction question online, and he solves the questions so much faster than the other kids…because he has had the opportunity to have the information presented to him in a way that he plays with it. Yay for RightStart! I just wish more kids had the opportunity to approach math this way. I’m glad my son is doing great, but I feel bad now for the other kids in his class.
Thanks once again for a great, wonderful product.
We love doing math with RightStart!
“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.
“I have been using the program for years and I am on my 4th child learning math using RightStart. It’s an excellent program that has given my 2 older kids a great foundation to be very successful in math. They are now in junior high at a private school and are at the top of their class in math. The foundations they received from RightStart have been great!”
My son is almost 5 and was asking to start school. I pulled out some of my daughter’s old kindergarten material (she’s in 6th grade now and still enjoying RS) and he and I started very slowly working through RightStart. He loved it from the beginning. I am so surprised and pleased at what he is learning so quickly! The way the concepts are laid out really resonates with him. He figured out counting by “2’s” by himself! He loves the songs and especially the games. Thank you so much for this curriculum. It really does set kids up with a “RightStart” in math.
We do love your curriculum and have used it for 5 years with both of my children. Both with very different views on math. For one math comes easy and for the other math is a struggle. They both love math because of the RightStart curriculum.
But this testimony is actually for one of your employees. Rachel has been in contact with me about a frustrating situation, nothing directly related to the curriculum but more with difficulties that have come along with COVID-19. Long story that isn’t really important for this testimony. I don’t know if she will be able to resolve my issue but Rachel has just been a pleasure to deal with. I already love the curriculum but I love the company more because of her doing her job well.
When my daughter wasn’t getting the “carry the 1” concept I sought out another curriculum. RightStart Mathematics was perfect because it uses several physical elements within their program that help explain the various teachings and help the students in their computations. They include things like an abacus, a scale, 3D shapes, tangrams, cards to help with addition, multiplication, a clock for telling time, etc.
I’ve just realized as well that this course will be the end of our journey with Right Start. We picked it up over a decade ago with my son, who had finished “grade 6” math with other courses but retained next to nothing so we started from scratch with RS. He graduated from university last month. And then we used RS methodologies with my daughter from the time she started to learn to count.
As a (literally) award-winning mathlete and math geek myself, I still found new and wonderful ways to think mathematically from working through this program with my kids. I have been and will remain, a fervent “evangelist” for this program and its approach.
Your excellent customer service is just the icing on the cake! So thank you again, not just for this file, but thank you to Dr. Cotter and the whole team for providing this wonderful, wonderful curriculum in the first place.
