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Miquon Math??


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I was just gifted the Miquon Math orange, green, blue and red booka and the Lab book. I had already purchased MUS Alpha for my 7yr old and my just turned 6 yr old boy. Now I'm wondering how to use the program and if I need anything else?

Just to give you a briefing about my 7 yr old we are just now completing the 1A Standard edition of SIngapore and we were going to start 1B next week along with MUS. Now I have these books and I'm clueless. My 6yr old completed the early bird series of Singapore and I was going to sart him with 1A and MUS Alpha. DO I need anything else to go with the books? Should I just use them to supplement the MUS and not do the SIngapore? SHould I just sell them? The Lab book is making my head turn it seems different to me!

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I would urge to to purchase (and read) the two teachers books you don't have. "The First Grade Diary" (which contains the heart and soul of how to teach this program) and the "Notes to Teachers" booklet.

 

The biggest stumbling-block with Miquon (it seems to me) is that many people just don't get it. I know the feeling, because I was perplexed (and mildly panic-stricken) on first glance.

 

But it is actually a deceptively simple and highly rewarding way to explore math if you are of the right mind-set .

 

Miquon and Singapore go together like "peas and carrots." I think these are a perfect compliment to one another, where there is "synergy" in the combination.

 

 

Where I would suspect Miquon and MUS would clash somewhat. For both being "manipulative based" math programs they are quite dissimilar, with Miquon emphasizing "exposure" and MUS emphasizing "mastery" of one operation at a time.

 

But who knows what combos work for people?

 

Bill

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:iagree:about Miquon & Singapore and about reading the other teacher's books.

 

If I were you (and I'm not LOL), I would go through the Orange & Red books while doing Singapore 1B (spread it out however). Much of it will be review, but I think repetition in different formats at that level can only strengthen that all-important foundation.

 

I've never used MUS.

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Are the Lab Annotation books any good at all? Just thinking outloud here but maybe I can start my 6yr old in Miquon and keep my 7yr old in MUS and Singapore. By the way I'm going to look at the diary books now online at CBD. Thanks

 

Yes, you NEED the Lab Annotations book!

 

Read the info at the beginning of each section. That is what you need to teach...the C Rods and Lab Sheets are merely tools. Some pages are just completely :001_huh: without an explanation from the Annotations book.

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Are the Lab Annotation books any good at all? Just thinking outloud here but maybe I can start my 6yr old in Miquon and keep my 7yr old in MUS and Singapore. By the way I'm going to look at the diary books now online at CBD. Thanks

 

Yes!

 

The Lab Annotation Book is fantastic! And just when you "get" Miquon (and start thinking you don't "need" the hand-holding [which you won't] the book gets better). So don't drop it.

 

The Lab Annotations book will not only help with individual lab-sheets, it will help you understand why and how to teach math axioms. For example, how and why to learn the Distributive Law when you start multiplication.

 

And not as an "abstract concept" devoid of practical meaning, but rather as something concrete the child fully understands through "doing." Which includes creating scenarios where they "discover" and prove the concepts for themselves. Of course their "discovery" is completely "guided" (not that we have to tell them that) and isn't "discovery" in the sense that you throw them a bunch of rods and leave them totally be (although there is some good in that too).

 

The short answer is all the teachers materials in Miquon are superb!

 

For parent/teacher education they are top-of-the-heap IMO. And invaluable if you actually want to teach math with intellectual depth and aim to understand/teach the "grammar" of math rather than just teaching "procedural" math and memorization of "math facts."

 

Bill

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I'm planning on starting Miquon in the fall. Do you all follow what the Lab Annotations book says to do with sheets? Or follow the First Grade Diary? Or do you mix it up? I'm really wanting to "get" this. It's hard getting started though.

 

Also, how do you recommend rotating Miquon and Singapore? I thought about doing one for a week and then the other for a week. Will that work? Or should I do a little of both each day? Or every other day?

 

I will also say that I am the *most* excited about teaching math. I can't wait! Miquon really looks fun!

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I'm planning on starting Miquon in the fall. Do you all follow what the Lab Annotations book says to do with sheets? Or follow the First Grade Diary? Or do you mix it up? I'm really wanting to "get" this. It's hard getting started though.

 

Also, how do you recommend rotating Miquon and Singapore? I thought about doing one for a week and then the other for a week. Will that work? Or should I do a little of both each day? Or every other day?

 

I will also say that I am the *most* excited about teaching math. I can't wait! Miquon really looks fun!

 

The Lab Annotations book is (more or less) a teachers guide to the individual student Lab-sheets, plus information on Mathematical concepts for the teacher/parent to help educate her or him.

 

The First Grade Diary is actually a diary written by Lore Rasmussen who developed Miquon math, that takes you through a school year and offers up her experience and wisdom for how she met the needs of individual children, and how she provided activities for learning, and her general approach. This book is rather like experiencing how a master teacher teaches. It's about a close as one can get to having a "mentor."

 

Part of the value of the Diary (to my mind) was not slavishly following her style, but feeling inspired to find my own. And feeling freed up to create my own games and activities and explanations of the things I want to teach.

 

For scheduling Miquon and Singapore styles will vary. I found it very (very) helpful to approach new topics with Miquon (or Miquon inspired) activities first. Because (with the aid of manipulatives like C Rods) the child has a "concrete" experience FIRST.

 

Singapore claims to have a Concrete>Pictorial>Abstract progression, but in truth the "Concrete" element is largely neglected as they dive right into the Pictorial.

 

If we hit stumbling blocks in Singapore, out come the Rods. But here we have used Miquon for "exposure" and as an introduction to new concepts, them turned to Singapore as the spine. And returning to Miquon to ready the next topic (or just for the fun of doing something different) and not as a scheduled thing of X number of days on one vs the other.

 

Styles, I'm sure vary, especially since Miquon is such an adaptable program.

 

Have fun with it!

 

Bill

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I'm planning on starting Miquon in the fall. Do you all follow what the Lab Annotations book says to do with sheets? Or follow the First Grade Diary? Or do you mix it up? I'm really wanting to "get" this. It's hard getting started though.

 

Also, how do you recommend rotating Miquon and Singapore? I thought about doing one for a week and then the other for a week. Will that work? Or should I do a little of both each day? Or every other day?

 

I will also say that I am the *most* excited about teaching math. I can't wait! Miquon really looks fun!

 

The First Grade Diary is the heart of the program...it shows HOW the author did it.

 

The Annotations are the nuts and bolts. I try not to give away "what we are supposed to do" too easily. I let ds7 look at the page and think. It helps that I don't give him a page that contains a concept he hasn't seen before. I do my best to use the manips to guide ds7 into a discovery of a new concept, I show him how we notate that, and then I bring out the lab sheets.

 

As for scheduling, it's all up to you. I like using Miquon as my main intro to topics. You can do the Orange Adding - Singapore Adding, Orange Subtracting - Singapore Subtracting, etc... It won't match up perfectly, but ime it doesn't matter. I have learned NOT to schedule math, AT ALL!!! I cannot predict how fast/slow ds is going to get a topic any more than I can predict the weather.:tongue_smilie: A general sense of direction, and a consistent spot in my daily routine keeps us progressing.

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