Cuisenaire Rods for Miquon- Plastic or Wood - Smooth or segmented?

[hscherger]

How many do I need for one kiddo?

Help me make the right choice the FIRST time :lol:

Edited January 29, 2010 by hscherger

[Aurelia]

Smooth! (I think it's specifically recommended in one of the teacher helps. I don't have my manual here to check.) Either plastic or wood is fine. We use plastic. We got the basic set and haven't needed more, but Ariel doesn't play with them a lot. If you want to go whole-hog, get the small group set.

[HRAAB]

I would definitely get the smooth ones. In fact, I thought all the Cuisenaire rods were smooth. That way, the rods can represent more than just 1 - 10. I have the MUS rods too, and prefer the Cuisenaire.

[hscherger]

bumping for more opinions :lurk5:

[Flaura]

Smooth, plastic and small group set if you have more than 1 kid. We also got a long ruler from rainbow resource they fit into to measure. The boys think it makes a great base for a slingshot. Our set came today from rainbow resource and they live it!

[skueppers]

Smooth, small group set, and either plastic or wood.

 

The colors of the plastic ones are brighter than the colors of the wooden ones, and the finish is smoother on the plastic. They're solid and feel nice, not like a cheap imitation of the wood ones.

 

The wooden ones only have two advantages I can think of over the plastic ones: they're made of a renewable resource, and they have an aesthetic advantage if you prefer natural materials.

 

We have both kinds mixed up in one bin, and my daughter always chooses the wooden ones. However, I think a different child would choose the plastic ones instead, so it's really a toss-up. You can't go wrong either way.

 

In my view, the introductory set does not provide enough rods. For example, there is an exercise early in the orange book that requires 28 white rods and 14 red rods. Of course you can skip it, but why not have enough rods to actually do it? Plus, having a a larger assortment of rods means kids can engage in more open-ended play, something the children in the Miquon school did a lot of.

[Spy Car]

Smooth. NOT scored. NOT linking.

 

The scored linking ones are not Cuisenaire Rods as far as I'm concerned (no matter who has slapped this name on them, including the owner of the brand).

 

I actually prefer the plastic over the wood, although I ended up with "plastic" only out of convenience after searching unsuccessfully high and low for wood ones locally.

 

But since seeing wood ones first-hand, I wouldn't trade.

 

A 155 set is a good size. Also consider 10 of the base-10 "flats" to serve as 100 values with the C Rods. They are a great combo, and the same scale.

 

HTHs

 

Bill

[Cindyg]

Agree with everyone else: smooth, plastic, not linking. I meant to get the wooden ones, but somehow got the plastic ones by mistake, and they felt wonderful in my hands. They don't feel cheap and "plastic-y." They are very nice.

 

The notched ones have an extra bit at the end that lets them link, and that makes them no longer accurate. It also makes them, basically, Legos.

 

If you're concerned that your child won't see or won't remember which color is which size, take one bar in each color and write the squares on it with a permanent magic marker. Then you can use than one on any occasion that you need to count. But your child will soon remember which is which.

 

I loved our Cusenaire days. I'm kinda sad that they're gone.

[hscherger]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their response. You helped me decide :D