What’s so special about the manipulatives used for the RightStart™ Mathematics program? Let’s run through the list. NOT AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE: Cotter AL Abacus: This abacus has 100 beads and is grouped in 5s and 10s using color. It is different from the Chinese abacus, the Japanese abacus, and “play” abacuses (where each string of beads is
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays! We are all looking forward to a break from schooling and spending time with family and friends, yet we know how important it is for our children to keep up their math facts during a holiday break. Our gift to you We have created fun, winter-themed Bingo cards
Mathematics is one of the greatest tools we humans have inherited. Math is given to us both as a dedicated area of the brain and as a legacy from our society. Galileo understood the importance of math when, hundreds of years ago, he said: “The great book of nature can be read only by those who
Did you check out our blog on division? And did you read about short division? Isn’t that just wonderful? Now, let’s talk about some practice for short division. When I was a child, my mother created puzzles for my siblings and me. They were called multivides. Multivides are a great self-checking activity that uses both multiplication
Dr. Cotter has an article published in the Hungarian journal Symmetry: Culture and Science, Volume 34, Number 3! Her article is titled Symmetry for Children Using Drawing Board Tools and Tangrams. The abstract reads: Young children are unable to use Euclid’s tools for geometric constructions. However, children as young as 5 years can construct equilateral triangles, hexagons,
In August 2022, Dr. Joan A. Cotter and Kathleen Cotter Clayton spoke at the 16th International Conference of the Mathematics Education for the Future Project at King’s College, Cambridge University, UK. Dr. Cotter presented Teaching Primary Mathematics without Counting and Place Value with Transparent Number Naming and Kathleen presented Fractions of the Future. If you’d like to have an overview of
Ahhhh. The holidays are here! This means you get to see your family, you can enjoy making good meals and treats with your children, and you get time off from teaching. And then you get to worry that they are not going to remember the math facts that you just taught them…. There is a
Are you wanting some extra or independent work to supplement a child’s learning, especially for the quick-thinker? Perhaps they are working through the correct level, but they get the concepts fast? You don’t want to give them busy work or a ton of problems to work on but want something engaging and fun? Here are a
Are you looking for a fun new game to play with your kids? Have you checked out the Chain Games from the Math Card Games book?? There are addition chain games. There are subtraction chain games. And we even have fraction chain games! So, rather than me telling you how chain games work, I’m going to let this
We recently got this question from Deborah via email: We currently use another math program, but I am considering switching. Do you have any reasoning to share for switching to RightStart Math? Any information to help in my decision? Thanks! Here’s my response: Well… me being a RightStart person, I can come up with a bunch of
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September 2025 Newsletter We want to remind you of the many free resources available to you as a school that uses RightStart Math. 1. Year-Round Continue Reading
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We are excited to announce the release of Dr. Joan Cotter’s new book, Start Math Right—a valuable resource designed to empower educators and parentsContinue Reading
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We want to take a moment to say a special thank you for the incredible work you do. We see the dedication, the late nights, the creativity, and theContinue Reading
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Classical education is built on the foundation of strong reasoning, deep understanding, and mastery of fundamental skills. When it comes toContinue Reading
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January 2025 Newsletter Welcome to the New Year 2025! We hope everyone had a fabulous winter break! As you start the new year, here are someContinue Reading
I am a quilt designer. I’ve made over 250 quilts in my lifetime, 98% of my own design. I’m currently working on my sixth quilt from someone else’s pattern.I have the directions in front of me as I’m approaching on the final steps of Bonnie Hunter’s Allietare quilt design. I find myself struggling to understand how
How many different abacuses do you think Dr. Cotter has? Here’s a clue…. Dr. Cotter is holding one of her first abacuses: a Japanese abacus, purchased by a friend who had visited Japan. She became so efficient using this abacus that she was faster and more accurate than she was with a calculator!While you try
Kathleen is here to walk you through the Fractions chapter of the new Start Math Right: The Journey to Mathematics Excellence book. She begins with a story of fractions and confusion from 1972, then goes on to discuss what a fraction is and how to teach fractions. Kathleen also discusses how not to teach fractions!
Listen to how division is addressed in the new Start Math Right: The Journey to Mathematics Excellence book. Teresa Foltin talks about how division is the most challenging of the arithmetic operations, and shares that there are two distinct ways to think about division. One way is to find the size of a group; another
Are you curious how the new Start Math Right: The Journey to Mathematics Excellence book addresses multiplication? Listen to Allison Fitzgibbon share her discoveries from the new book. Allison admits that the multiplication chapter was packed with more information than she had time to cover! She chose to focus on patterns found in math. Multiplication
Rachel is here to give you a summary of the Addition and Subtraction chapters from the new Start Math Right: The Journey to Mathematics Excellence book! Rachel Anderson was one of the proofreaders for Dr. Cotter’s book and shares her insights during the January 2025 Online Conference. She begins with a quote from the book.
