[3 sets of C-rods too much???]

We've just begun to use cuisenaire rods, and unexpectedly ended up with 3 sets. (I ordered set #2 and then discovered a friend was gifting me with set #3) They are all the small group sets of 155. Is that a crazy amount to have? I don't yet have a feel for what quantity is helpful and what quantity is over the top and would sit gathering dust on the shelf. Unfortunately I can't "wait and see" because if a return is going to be made I have to do it right away.

 

The kids will be 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and K in the fall, and we're using Math In Focus and as much Miquon as I can get my head around.

 

What says the hive? Keep or return set #3?

[C-rods, store them jumbled together or sorted?]

Any academic advantage either way? I'm a C-rod newbie, and trying to set things up for next school year....

 

How do you store yours??

[Would Saxon + Miquon be terribly at odds with each other??]

Yes, I know they are polar opposites. But after looking through zillions of math programs for my rising 2nd grader, I keep coming back to Saxon. He thrives on sameness. He loves knowing exactly what to do. When faced with a new concept his understanding comes very slowly and gradually, but once it comes it is solid. This is an incremental kiddo, and I think an incremental approach would fit him like a glove.

 

At the same time, though, I'm concerned about conceptual understanding. So I thought some low-key, non-pressure Miquon exploration would be a plus.

 

Would Saxon + Miquon be a terrible combo for this fellow? Any other suggestions?

 

Other things we've used....for first grade we used CLE 100. He did great the first half of the year. The second half he became bogged down & dreaded math. He didn't know about number bonds, and wasn't given any strategies for figuring out the upper addition facts. (17-8, 13-6...this type of problem stood in his path like Mt. Everest.) So, he did quite poorly on the math computation section of his IOWA.

 

Through the summer we're using Math In Focus - the idea was to improve conceptual understanding. The number bond concept has been terrific & helpful. However, the mastery approach brings tears. New concept + several pages of new concept practice is a deadly combination for him. Each successive page is worse than the page before, and this little guy is not thriving with the system...

 

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[TT users....can you chime in on this??]

My son did a sample Teaching Textbook lesson the other day. (I'm thinking about using TT as our spiral review for the year.) He figured out that if he'd type in any old answer, the computer would say it was wrong, then offer him two choices. Choice A: re-do the problem. Choice B: see the answer. Of course, being a math-reluctant 8yo, he chose Choice B.

 

Does the program consistently have the options set up like this, or did we run into a fluke?

 

I love the independence of TT for review. However, if the program has the consistent 'easy-out', this kiddo will take that route every time....

[Please critique this math plan....]

We have four kids, and I'm trying to come up with a math plan that fits each of them:

 

DD, K, 4.5yo - Essentials Math, Miquon Orange (for as far as is comfortable for her; no cracking the whip at this age)

 

DS, 1st, 6.5 - Math In Focus, Miquon Orange & Red

 

DS, 2nd, 8yo - This youngster used CLE this year. It went great for half the year, then once we got into bigger sums/differences (i.e. 13-6 etc.) he began to really struggle & dread math. IOWA scores were terrible. Right now we're going through MIF 1B, trying to improve conceptual understanding. The concept of number bonds has been helpful, but the mastery approach brings tears. For him I'm thinking Miquon, the first four levels, with Saxon 2 for non-traumatic spiral review.

 

DS, 3rd, 9yo - We're in the midst of neuro-psyche testing for this son. He's extremely smart and grasps new material easily, yet if we leave the data for a few weeks it disappears. He also did CLE this year, and did well for half the year, whereupon lessons began to drag out for huge lengths of time. IOWA scores were poor. We're currently going through MIF, which really works nicely for him. I can see his conceptual understanding growing by leaps and bounds (we started in 1A, and we're whizzing through the levels, planning to start 3A in the fall). So, Math in Focus for this boy next year. Maybe [i]Miquon [/i]too to continue to develop the lacking conceptual aspect? I'm troubled by the lack of spiral review with this plan, though, given how he loses data so easily. I'm considering doing Saxon worksheets, even just one side of the worksheet daily so concepts aren't lost??

 

Any and all suggestions are welcome!!!

[How to get a label to stay on an eraser???]

we label their name with a sharpie marker as well :)

 

What kind of eraser are ya'll marking with a sharpie? The sharpie rubs off ours within several days or a week. There must be something different about the texture/absorption of the eraser we use...

[How to get a label to stay on an eraser???]

Have any of you found the answer to labeling erasers? We try to have our kids keep track of their own pencils, markers, erasers & such, and generally keep everything labeled - everybody has what they need, and it gets put away.

 

But I haven't found anything that works for erasers. We use the Mars Staedtler style usually - sharpie marks rub off, tape leaves goo everywhere. Has anyone found a brilliant solution??

[What Plaid Phonics level for these kiddos??]

My rising 2nd grader did CLE learn to read last year. He's reading chapter books independently now, but he could use more work on understanding phonics rules to reinforce good spelling.

 

My rising 1st grader (6yo) is going to try CLE learn to read this year, but I suspect we may need to slow down some of it for him. He is beginning to read long vowels now, but his reading fluency is still very poor, and we have a lot of work ahead of us.

 

What Plaid Phonics levels would you recommend for each of these boys??

[Please Compare CLE and R&S Spelling]

I prefer our spelling curriculum to be separate from other language arts, so I vote for R&S. I like the rhythm of getting new words on Monday, practicing them through the week, and testing on Thursday/Friday. I agree with the randomness of the CLE lists.

[What math introduces concepts in tiny pieces??]

One of my kiddos thrives on the "known", and tears up with any kind of conceptual jump. He learns well, but is far from quick at understanding a new concept.

 

What math would be slow & steady with no big jumps??

 

This is for my son who will be 2nd grade, 8yo in the fall.

[Interest led writing?]

What writing background does your son have aside from these interest led projects? It sounds like he might already be familiar with the idea of an introductory paragraph, conclusion, etc?

 

I didn't use any curriculum other than my own writing experience. Outside of his daily writing assignments, my ds9 has written narrative papers on the NFL and airplanes. His current project is dinosaurs.

 

He picks a subject, and from the library, he checks out 4-5 books, easy ones that are his current grade level but far below his reading level. The first week, he reads one book a day. I sit with him when the book is done and we take notes together. I give him pointers: Is it interesting? Would your reader want to know this information? Does it help the reader understand the subject? Otherwise he tends to throw in all the facts without culling for interest. I write down the information; ds9 is still a reluctant writer and I don't want him fixating on the physical act of writing while note taking. By the end of the week, he has read and narrated notes for all the books. The last day, he reviews the notes and decides if he wants narrow the number of subjects. For both papers thus far, he wrote paragraphs on 3 subjects.

 

The next week we write paragraphs, one each day. The first day, we decide on a topic sentence for the whole paper and write an introduction around it. This paragraph is usually the worst writing in the rough draft so I may skip this step in the next iteration and do it last. For the remaining days, he writes a paragraph on each subject. I discuss topic sentences, supporting details, and conclusions. For the airplane paper, he narrated the sentences before he wrote them down. For the NFL paper, he wrote the paragraphs on his own after the first day. I sat with him the entire time. The last day is spent writing the conclusion.

 

Then, I put the paper aside for the weekend.

 

After the "rest" period, ds pulls out his rough draft and we start fixing it. We work on the subject paragraphs first, then the conclusion, and leave the introduction for last. He reads each paragraph out loud, and he can usually tell when something doesn't sound right. I correct errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I also encourage him to notice repetitive sentence structure, repeating terms, and boring words. If there's a problem with flow, I'll encourage him to switch sentences around. Although I mentally use the Six Traits writing checklist (easily available through web search), I don't give him a rubric to follow.

 

When he finishes his corrections, I type up the final draft. We give it one final read and if it is "clean," I put it in his school notebook, a binder described in the WTM.

 

He really enjoyed the process and the final product. I've caught him looking back through his school binder reading his papers so I plan on assigning the papers again next year. Since he's nine and the writing process can take 3-4 weeks, the bulk of his writing will be narrations, but he has responded well to this assignment.

[Interest led writing?]

I'm wondering about letting my rising 3rd grader choose some topics for writing next year. He's done WWE 1-3, and I'll still do some formal something with him- maybe WT or WWW. But I think he'd enjoy the end result of a writing project that centered around, say, spiders. Or turtles. How can I guide him in this area?? Is there any curricula that could help shape this somewhat?

 

I'm off to a big book fair in two days - can ya'll give me suggestions of materials to look through??

[Mathematics Made Meaningful? Miquon? Something else??]

My older boys are way weak at mental math & not at all adept at handling addition & subtraction facts in the teens. It has gotten somewhat better since I switched them over to Math In Focus (Singapore) a couple months ago. Lots of manipulatives are a plus for them.

 

For next year, though, I want to add in c-rods but I don't really know how to teach math that way. The kids will be in 3rd, 2nd, 1st & K. Would Miquon be best? Or Mathematics Made Meaningful? Or something else?? If Miquon, where would I start the older boys?

 

I planned on using Math In Focus as our spine, and I'd like something that would compliment that. I was going to use Horizons along with (perpetual review) but maybe it would be better to go with a second program that is big on mental math, since they are weak in that area.

[Has anyone used Math in Focus?]

We've recently switched to MIF. And so far, I really like it. I had my oldest son start in 1B & we whizzed through it, filling in conceptual gaps left from his previous math instruction. We've now begun 2A, and we're still whizzing. I hope to get him up to grade level (3rd) by the time the new school year rolls around.

 

I like Singapore style math teaching, but when I tried Primary Mathematics I was spending a good deal of time with my nose in the HIG puzzling out the concept of the day, and figuring out how their game suggestions fit into that. Math In Focus is open and go for me, so I'm spending my time actively teaching math, which my boys need. I like how the games & manipulative suggestions are easy to figure out at a glance, which makes all the difference.

[CLE? The good , the bad, the ugly?]

I love CLE, but it isn't what I would recommend for a child struggling with place value - or for a child needing remedial instruction of any kind. We used it for both our oldest boys, and I love it. But we're having to switch out of it. IOWA math scores came back really terrible this year, my boys just aren't understanding the concepts behind the math. My oldest tested really high on the CoGAT, which shows me he is very capable, but seriously underacheiving in math.

 

We're spending the rest of this year and the summer going through Singapore math at an accelerated pace, beginning with 1A, using lots of manipulatives. Place value has historically been a struggle for my oldest, and I can see lights going on. We began with Primary Mathematics as our singapore source, and we're continuing with Math In Focus (another Singapore resource) because somehow the layout is easier for me to teach. Lots of hands on, lots of mental math, lots of manipulatives & direct one-on-one teaching. I feel like we're finally making progress! I anticipate MIF as our spine for next year, with Horizons supplying the needed spiral review.

 

Additionally, we're having our oldest do neuro-psych testing, and that should give us more information about the math struggles. Why is it, that when we take a three weeks break we lose half a grade level? Of course, some review is expected after a break. But losing half a year, or more? Something isn't right. Our second son (much more normal developmentally) scored even worse on the math section of his IOWA. So we're switching all the kids to a very conceptual approach to math.

 

So, bottom line...I love the layout of CLE, but I don't recommend it for remedial situations.

[What is your favorite Base Ten Manipulative Set??]

I like the idea of having C-rods too. Maybe I'll do both; I'm glad ya'll brought it up.

[Base Ten sets - interlocking vs. plain, does it matter??]

Still questing for a base ten set...does it matter whether the set is interlocking or not?

 

Which style do you prefer??

[What is your favorite Base Ten Manipulative Set??]

I need to order a set, and I'm wondering if there are any sets that are particularly good/bad?????

[Ideas on less teacher intensive curriculum?]

Veritas Self-Paced History is a huge blessing for us. The ONLY thing I have to do is occasionally help my 7yo log in correctly, or call in to Veritas if the program freezes. The program self-grades, is perfectly engaging, and the kids love it!

 

R&S English is teacher-intensive for us, too.... we'll be doing something else next year...

[What grammar for a whole to parts learner??]

Any recommendations? This would be a 3rd or 4th grader.

[How do you motivate a 3rd grader...]

At our house a page that gets 100% earns a sticker on a sticker chart....when the sticker chart is full it is traded in for $10.00...

[Do you like Teaching Textbooks?]

Oh, I was so hoping I could use TT next year - the perfect review program, so i thought. Then I had my son do a sample lesson. And wouldn't you know it, he figured out right away that he could guess at an answer, the program would tell him he got it wrong, and would then offer him two choices. #1) try it again #2) see the answer. Guess what he chose? :glare:

 

For an unmotivated boy who has a thousand things he'd rather use his brain cells for, TT has an all to convenient way to get out of actually working the problems...

[If you supplement with Horizon...do you go down a level??]

I'm planning Singapore as our spine (either PM or MIF). Horizon will be our spiral review. Should I match the two levels? Or should Horizon be half a grade or so behind??

[Help me find a writing program......PLEASE!! I beg you!!!]

We also start our kids with Writing With Ease - after that we're eyeing Writing Tales.

[Using WWE4 but skipping the extensive dictation??]

Does anyone do this? We're finishing WWE3 this year, and the Day 4 dictations are longer than I want to require, so we've been just doing day 1-3. Not sure what to do for writing next year...