If you're using/have used Miquon, a few specific questions, please?

[HappyGrace]

What age/Miquon level correlation did you end up doing? In other words, did you do the first two books in first grade, and so on? Or did you end up cruising through faster, or slower? My first grader is using this (in conjunction with some other programs) and I was just generally wondering how others had progressed through the series.

 

Also, it seems to get pretty hard toward the end-does it actually end up a little higher than third grade skills? To help me ascertain this, I'd also love to know what level of another program your dc went into after completing Miquon.

 

Another question--if you have a math intuitive child, did they get sick of the

Cuisinaire rods after awhile? If so, did you insist that they use them? Ds is already not interested in using them (we are only in the second book), can figure most of it out in his head, and I'm wondering how much that will screw us up eventually. The work is very easy for him right now, but I don't want to stop the rods if it'll backfire later! Thanks so much!

[patchfire]

Dd used Miquon all the way through, and ds is currently using it.

 

Dd did the first book in kindergarten, the second & third books in first grade, the fourth & fifth books in second grade, and the last book in third grade. She went into Life of Fred Fractions as well as Key to Fractions, and a decent portion of the introductory material, especially, was review from what Miquon covered. She did get tired of the rods; I didn't insist that she use them, but I left them accessible and if she had a problem, she was required to try to use the rods to figure it out and THEN come to me... she rarely had to come to me after actually using the rods.

 

Ds is technically preK and is using the very first few pages of the first book. I don't anticipate him finishing it until next year, and i have no idea if he's as math-intuitive as dd (my gut says he's not). I figure it may be the very end of third grade or sometime in fourth when he finishes them.

[Zoo Keeper]

I can't say how many books in Miquon I've done per year, because sometimes we work topically through them. We worked through multiplication in the orange book and in the red book in the same week or so (instead of working all the way through the orange book and then all the way through the red book). I think the average would be to do about two books in one year. But who has to be average?:) Maybe your son would enjoy the challenge of working up in a topic instead of working across a bunch of topics, but you are a better judge of that than I would be.

 

Since we use three different maths (Miquon, Singapore, and MEP), my guys enjoy using the rods to think through problems in the other programs as well. MEP seems to be especially nice for this.

[birchbark]

We've used the books exclusively as our math curriculum, and I'm very happy. We did the first two in 1st grade, the next two in 2nd, and the last two in 3rd.

 

Yes it does get pretty challenging toward the end! I've had to ask my dh's help a couple times. :tongue_smilie: Sometimes my ds gets the answers before I can though, and I'm amazed at the math abilities the program has given him.

 

As for the rods, we used them heavily in the first year, lightly in the second, and almost not at all for the third. I think this shows the natural (and desired) progression from thinking in the concrete to the abstract.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We've used the books exclusively as our math curriculum, and I'm very happy.

 

Thanks! We are using it and really love it. RightStart was a dud, Singapore had *way* too much writing in the Earlybird for her. Rella just turned 6, so she's technically in K. We are a little more than halfway through Orange. I meandered over to Red for a few pages in one section; but as long as she's ready to move on to a concept, we just work our way through. Glad to hear when people use it as their exclusive math program for early elementary and not just as a supplement.

 

Now, what to use after? :glare:

[MyLittleWonders]

We are using Miquon exclusively as well. Ds#2 is in the Red book. He started the Orange book back in the late spring of '09, then we put it aside for a while to work on his fine motor skills (he could do most of the concepts but couldn't write well at the time). He restarted the Orange book around August, and finished it in December, I think. He's now working his way through the Red. Ds#1 started the Red book half way through 2nd grade (when we switched). He's now half way through the Green book, and will probably finish the entire program half way through 4th grade.

 

As for what to do when we are done with Miquon, the plan is to go back to Singapore (I like Singapore as well, but for ds#1, it was visually overwhelming in 1st grade; that is what led me to Miquon). We also plan on supplementing with Life of Fred Fractions in 4th grade and Life of Fred Decimals in 5th, before moving on to LoF exclusively in 6th.

 

ETA: (My screen went weird and I wanted to post before losing my reply.) We use the rods off and on. Ds#2 prefers using the abacus to addition/subtraction, but sometimes we'll pull out the rods for the visual they give. Ds#1 tends to not like to use any manipulatives, but when needed will work his solutions with the rods. Both boys do seem to like the visual they give, but I do not force their use.

Edited January 28, 2010 by MyLittleWonders

[HappyGrace]

Wow, these are great answers-thank you! It is enlightening to hear everyone's experience!

 

I'm especially relieved that the rods are not "necessary"-he does like the RS abacus, so we tend to default to that if we need to visualize something. I like the base 10 aspect of the abacus.

 

It's wonderful to know Miquon lays such a good foundation. We are just using it as a supplement at this point. I do like the idea of using it topically; I will have to ponder that some more.

 

Thanks again!