How to know when your child is ready for Rightstart or Jones Geniuses...?

[lzp11]

Hi all

My daughter turned 2 in April and I am still uncertain about when she'll be ready to move onto a maths programme.  I'm thinking about either Jones Geniuses or probably Rightstart maths (touchmath seems a bit outside our budget).

i feel like I really need some kind of curriculum.  After finishing Little Math a few months ago, it feels like we are kind of drifting and not making much progress. But I'm not sure she is ready to follow either of these courses yet if they need a lot of concentration or even cooperation!  She is a very fun and active girl who really enjoys learning but doesn't respond well to too much structure or needing to demonstrate what she knows. She gets quite frustrated if I'm too directive and I try to follow her lead in play as much as possible.  This makes worksheets a tough ask - I haven't dared try any yet!  It's also why I know that she would not be ready for something like Soft Mozart either. 

We currently do most of our early learning (mainly LR, Starfall, Peter weatherall DVDs and some language DVDs and powerpoints) during mealtimes which helps her to keep focussed, otherwise she's much more interested in exploring, playing and running around (which I think is very positive and natural for a toddler).  I don't want to get into any battles or make learning something that's no longer fun for us both.  We also do lots of physical activity - swimming class, tumbletots and a weekly 'sing and signing' class which involves lots of dance.

With a new baby due in a couple of months, I'm also wondering if it's better for us both to get established with anything new now well before we lose a bit of concentration with the new arrival!  Or maybe it's better to just wait until afterwards....?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Mae_Jakob_Ka]

I would also love to hear what other experienced moms out there say about these two programs. My son is now 2.6 years old and almost completed Litle Math. I am thinking to use RightStart but not sure if he is ready for that or not.

[shaman]

We started Jones Genius when my son was 25 months. We like the math part because we can do different things at our own pace e.g- he learnt 1-20 forwards and backwards before even being able to identify all numbers correctly ( or atleast tell me correctly- sometime my son like to test me  ). He likes putting the dots on the numbers with playdough, beans, stickers etc, so it is anways engaging. I like the fact that he gets to see what the numbers represent, so it is a good mix of abstract and absolute. I thought the double dot technique (touchmath) would be confusing for him at this age.

Jones is good for addition and subtraction since it is built on the number dots and there is no other variable/manipulative required- I dont know if I have explained myself well.

We are doing the Singapore curriculum with this for patterns, sequencing etc- that too at our own pace and using our own sequence  . 

I will probably get the rightstart abacus at some point to show him the numbers for skip counting.

We have been taking a lot of breaks in between, so I wont be able to give you a correct timeline etc. We are working more on phonics now.

Even my son is very active and I make good use of his- I make him jump on his ABC vinyl mats (Lakeshore learning) and we are trying that with phonics and word blending too   he absolutely hates workbooks.
For phonics, I needed a good curriculum, so we used Jones Genius initially and now HOP- he looks at the DVD's as he is playing and I reinforce the same words with DadDudes fleschcards. I go through the letters used in the words and use them in different ways- so last week it was the letters m,a,t, p, s,f (mat, sat, fat, pat)- I do starting sounds, ending sounds etc with these, somwhat like the Montessori alphabet box. One thing leads to the other and the curriculum just builds itself

Even I used to get stressed initially when I would read about all the different curricula that everyone is following, so I sat down and made a checklist of what I want to teach my son and what is being done by others and realized that we had done enough- just not in the order and sequence that everyone else was doing.

There are some good posts by moms who homeschool and those that don't- just use their routine as a guideline and build your own curriculum on that.

All the best

[TracyR4]

The time I found was best to start a formal math program was when they recognized their numbers.
If she can write her numbers then I would go ahead and start with a math program. But work through it slowly. For a young child I like programs like Touch Math, Jones Genius, or Saxon K .  They are really effective and really get you started on your way with math.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

If it were me, I would probably start now because new babies sleep a lot in the beginning. It wasn't until my son dropped his morning nap that I had to get a bit more creative with fitting in lessons, it was a long time before it was an issue.

Good luck!

[lzp11]

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful.
My DD can recognise numbers 1-10 (at least) but she is not really anywhere close to being able to write them.  She prefers to scribble over them!  is it really necessary to be able to write?  I think that would be at the very least 6 months or maybe much longer.

[ruamulla]

Dear Izp11
yr DD can use Number stamps to write answers if she is not writing yet. i have The Jones Geniuses program and will start any time soon. My son is 25 months old.

[lzp11]

Thanks!  I also have a couple of questions about Singapore math but think I'll post that separately 

[bk87]

Hi there,

The first level of jones geniuses includes teaching the child how to write the letters so if they don't know how to write yet that is not a problem.   Perhaps teach your baby how to write first by doing some exercises to improve fine motor skills.  Perhaps even introduce montessori sand paper letters/ numbers to encourage tracing the numbers before writing.

All the best!

[Alwaysok]

So streesful ....the kids are only below 3 years and parents start worrying so much on their education ! Those old days....our parents were more relax and kids live more happily! They learn things too....they grow up too and their talent not as bad....let thing grow naturally is not always bad thing, I guess....

[lzp11]

Thanks everyone for all your ideas, they are really helpful.

Alwaysok, I would have to say that I found your post quite unhelpful and rather negative.  I don't really agree with the assumption that "in the old days, kids were happier".  Do you mean because their parents were not thinking about early education?

I disagree with this for several reasons.  Firstly, I don't believe that any parent on this forum does not put their child's happiness and wellbeing first and foremost.  Certainly, that is my main priority, and I don't see how thinking and planning about early education in any way goes against this.  Quite the opposite, I find that spending time teaching and learning with my daughter creates a happy bond that we both value.  And it certainly does not replace time spent doing other enjoyable activities, whether they be creative or physical (we do swimming, tumbletots and a music class once a week), and spend lots of time just playing in the park or the garden, or visitng friends and family just to 'play'.

Secondly, it is not accurate to assume that in 'the old days' no one had in interest in early education.  I was taught to read early myself by my mother using Doman methods and I had a very happy childhood, a great bond with my mother and built a lifelong love of reading and education in general.  I would like to offer that opportunity to my daughter (and a new arrival due in the next few weeks!) as well.

Third, I dont think there is any evidence to back up the assumption that children were happier in past times.  Or to assume that parents were necessarily more relaxed.  They may have had a range of other pressures including financial which are less of an issue today.  Besides, which old times are we talking about?!  There have been many different eras and attitudes towards how best to raise children over the past decades and ultimately we have to make our own decisions about what is best for our child.

I think it is very misleading to confuse the issues of 'happiness' and education.  There is no reason that we cannot achieve both, and I believe that early education, can lead to an increased sense of happiness and self esteem through our children being able to reach their full potential.

As for worrying - I do spend time thinking about the best ways to approach education, and which methods to use and when - one of my main concerns is how to do so in a positive way that my daughter will find enjoyable and stimulating.  For example, I never developed a great realationship with Maths myself - although I did pass all my exams, it always took a lot of effort and I cannot say I have a very mathematical mind (it's like I don't speak the 'language' of maths).  But I also have many friends with young children, who may not be involved with early education but who still worry about all kinds of things that may seem unnecessary or silly to outside observers, so I think it is not really helpful to judge others for that.  Perhaps that is just part of parenthood - we all want the best for our children and worry about how to achieve that.

Perhaps I read a bit too much into your brief post - apologies if I took the wrong meaning and for going off on a bit of a 'rant'.  My tolerance levels are a bit low at the moment, being fairly heavily pregnant and also having had a particularly stressful week, including being almost pushed to the ground by a very unpleasant woman in a car park who refused to wait 2 minutes whilst trying to strap my 2-year old into her car seat!

[Alwaysok]

I am still new in this website and community! Trying to explore what other parents do the kids......I do not know why by express out what I feel after seeing so many parents are doing so much for their kids edducation can agitated so many parents!!!!! Something wrong some where with my expression!! !! Is that other cannot have different views then yours? If different, will classify as "Negative" ! 1st time here and get hitted badly!!! Scare! What kind of community is this?

In my previous post I didn't mention anything about don't care early education! But I just feel more stressful if I will have to follow what other parents do....I never thought the early education required so much efford because I never go through that when I was young! So in my mind, that's shouldn't be so much things to teach.....but after enter here, I come to know I have a lot of things never do....and if I will have to follow what others been doing, it will be very stressful for me!

Again I am not sure am I express in the way not agitating to others? If yes.....I am sorry! and I will not come in here again as my language got problem!

[lzp11]

Hi Alwaysok

I'm really sorry to hear that you feel scared and that you don't wish to participate in this forum any more.
It was certainly not my intention for you to feel that way.  There are a lot of very supportive people on this site, so I do hope that you stay as part of the community and continue to get involved.  I don't think you should take my personal reaction as representive of everyone else here - from having followed many different threads, then I have seen quite a range of opinions and ideas how to approach different problems.
Perhaps you could spend some time looking at some of these too.

It is very understandable to feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information and possibilities for early education and this can certainly become stressful.  But it is not always difficult - for the most part I have so much fun learning with my daughter, it is such a great experience for us both - and I hope you are able to find a way to do this too.  I would suggest that if you are interested in this subject that there are lots of simple ways to get started - I'm not an expert - I've only just started myself - and there are many others who are far better qualified to give advice - why not post a thread asking for help with getting started with early education?  I think you would find that people are really keen to help.  Maybe choose just one area that you are intersted in - for example reading or maths - and don't worry too much about doing "everything" (not possible!).

When I feel a bit overwhelmed or stressed out,  I have found that this site has been really wonderful in keeping me going.  I was feeling a bit that way when I started this thread, as I mentioned, it has been a very tough week for many reasons!! 

So streesful ....the kids are only below 3 years and parents start worrying so much on their education ! Those old days....our parents were more relax and kids live more happily!

Your reply seemed to be suggesting that my daughter would be happier if I didn't worry about her education.   Well, I do feel very passionately that is not the case - and It is quite upsetting to hear a suggestion that I'm making my daughter unhappy in some way.  This is something very close to my heart and very important to me.  You can certainly disagree with that - it is just my own opinion after all.  But I would also ask for the right to reply to you with my own viewpoint. 

I do understand how difficult it can be to express yourself in a language that is not your own, so I'm sorry if I misunderstood.  Still, I hope you can see my perspective as well.

I wish you all the best for the future and hope that you don't give up on the forum or early education.

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