Miquon Orange - Kinder DD is struggling...supplement?

[BikeBookBread]

I love the idea of Miquon, and am not going to give it up. However, my Kinder DD is just NOT doing well with it. We've been working with it very slowly and deliberately since September, struggling to get past the first 20 pages of the Orange book.

 

Admittedly, I'm not a mathy Mom, and she, like me, is very, very verbally strong, and is reading very well. I hate to label her, but I just don't think she's going to be that strong in math without a lot of assistance and extra work. I was at B&N today just looking at the "mainstream" math helps, and she's beyond the Kumon counting books, but nowhere near ready for the addition/subtraction stuff that comes next. She likes doing worksheets with lots of cute colors and pictures (I didn't want to "go there", but I think I might have to), and is just not into "let's sit on the floor and work with the rods some more".

 

Anyone have a suggestion for a basic "kinder math in a workbook" as a supplement to the Miquon conceptual math? I'm not looking to switch curriculum wholesale.

 

TIA!

[Ohdanigirl]

have you looked at Singapore Math? It is a different approach but maybe she needs that. Also, you said she was K, maybe she just needs to put the books away and begin again after a short break. I did that with my ds and his reading lessons and then he decided he was ready to begin again and has actually really picked up the pace. You never know.

 

.... and even though we moms love the manipulatives, sometimes the ds don't, so that may be it too.

[Karen in CO]

Do you have the First Grade Diary? I tried and failed several times to teach with Miquon, but now that I have the diary, I actually understand how to use it. It shows a progression through the material - there is a lot of discussion and not nearly as much playing with rods as I thought. There are also progress check points and more problems to put on a white board.

 

 

For a worksheet program, I like BJU - it is colorful and will get the job done. there are assignments for coloring and such. Singapore might also be something for you to look at. I have heard that miquon and singapore can work synergistically.

[BikeBookBread]

Do you have the First Grade Diary? I tried and failed several times to teach with Miquon, but now that I have the diary, I actually understand how to use it. It shows a progression through the material - there is a lot of discussion and not nearly as much playing with rods as I thought. There are also progress check points and more problems to put on a white board.

 

 

For a worksheet program, I like BJU - it is colorful and will get the job done. there are assignments for coloring and such. Singapore might also be something for you to look at. I have heard that miquon and singapore can work synergistically.

 

Yes, we have the FGD...it's helpful, but still pretty manipulative heavy. I just think she needs more pen and paper...

[Ellie]

Yes, we have the FGD...it's helpful, but still pretty manipulative heavy. I just think she needs more pen and paper...

Not all dc need manipulatives. Miquon might not be the right choice for her because of that. My dc would not have liked Miquon, and it makes *me* mentally tired to teach it--apparently, I'm not a kinesthetic learner or teacher. :-)

 

Also, Miquon is considered first through third. Could be she's just too young for it.

[Spy Car]

Singapore is a wonderful compliment to Miquon. It builds on the skills learned in Miquon in a more "work-booky" fashion.

 

We used the Earlybird, but if I had it to do over I may have used "Essential Math" (also from Singapore) which is more "plain".

 

But either Singapore kindergarten series ought to be a nice addition to Miquon.

 

Bill

[chiguirre]

I'd pack the Miquon up until she's 6 or maybe 6.5 years old. Miquon moves very fast compared to more traditional programs and you really need the developmental readiness for it to click. In the meantime, I'd try Singapore's Earlybird Math. These are designed for Kers and they're very easy to implement.

[Ravin]

I'd put it away and bring it out again in six months. Buy or check out from the library Rightstart math books, check out http://www.livingmath.net, and just relax.

 

DD wasn't clicking with Miquon, and doesn't like the rods. She's in 1st grade. At her request I ordered an old-fashioned math textbook (Practical Arithmetics, though it could have been Ray's if I'd found a deal on that first), and she's enjoying it. Ordering it also got me to slow down and relax a bit, because at the time it was published, formal math instruction wasn't started until THIRD GRADE. If you relax and wait, they learn more quickly after starting later.

[BikeBookBread]

Thanks for the reality check everyone! I just ordered the Singapore Essentials workbook A. Looks very simple, and probably pretty fun for her.

 

Definitely not going to give up on the Miquon, though!!!! I think I'll just put it away for a while.

[Spy Car]

I'd pack the Miquon up until she's 6 or maybe 6.5 years old. Miquon moves very fast compared to more traditional programs and you really need the developmental readiness for it to click. In the meantime, I'd try Singapore's Earlybird Math. These are designed for Kers and they're very easy to implement.

 

But of you did that you would miss out on the critical "concrete" component of the "concrete to pictorial to abstract" method of teaching math.

 

Miquon excels at making concepts concrete, where Singapore (unsupplemented) jumps right to the pictorial stage of teaching concepts. So I'd advocate keeping Miquon (or Miquon inspired) teaching in the mix even if one adds Singapore. While agreeing that marching straight through Miquon may not be the best way to use the program, as you can hit spots that are too advance for the child. It's better to skip what a child isn't developmentally ready to do, which is what Miquon expect one to do.

 

Bill

 

Bill

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Singapore is a wonderful compliment to Miquon. It builds on the skills learned in Miquon in a more "work-booky" fashion.

 

We used the Earlybird, but if I had it to do over I may have used "Essential Math" (also from Singapore) which is more "plain".

 

But either Singapore kindergarten series ought to be a nice addition to Miquon.

 

Bill

 

We used Singapore EB the year before we started Orange. I think it's a great place to start. One of the main reasons we didn't go on to 1A in Singapore was the amount of writing involved (one page in EB had dd write 1-14 out -- a lot to write for any 4/5 year old), just an FYI.

 

The FGD is great, and one of the best things I like about it was the suggestion to let your child just play with the rods. Let her build castles or towers or make animals, shapes, boats, train tracks, rainbows, etc., for a while and call it math. Let her get used the the rods. Give her a lab sheet to just look at on her own, even the same one for the week, no expectations, just exploration. This did absolute wonders for us. My dd took off like a rocket after I let her just explore on her own.

 

Good Luck!

 

ETA: We just stopped Orange at the end of the E section and are going to Red for odds/evens and their addition and subtraction before we go on to multiplication in Orange; which she isn't ready for just yet. This is the beauty of the labs sheets in any book, you can move around depending on what she needs to practice on or review.

Edited February 21, 2010 by Cindie2dds

[chiguirre]

But of you did that you would miss out on the critical "concrete" component of the "concrete to pictorial to abstract" method of teaching math.

 

Miquon excels at making concepts concrete, where Singapore (unsupplemented) jumps right to the pictorial stage of teaching concepts.

 

Hmmm, when I used EB, they had teacher tips in a box at the bottom of the page that suggested manipulative based activities. Did they eliminate that in the new edition?

[kalanamak]

I love the idea of Miquon, and am not going to give it up. However, my Kinder DD is just NOT doing well with it. We've been working with it very slowly and deliberately since September, struggling to get past the first 20 pages of the Orange book.

 

 

I loved the idea, too, and read all the books, furiously taking notes and making lesson plans.

 

My son loathed it and it was all a wash. I finally gave all my material away and just stuck to EB, which he liked just fine. When you see a child really tearing up the pea-patch with one program, it makes slogging on over the other look less appealing.

[gandpsmommy]

Singapore is a wonderful compliment to Miquon. It builds on the skills learned in Miquon in a more "work-booky" fashion.

 

We used the Earlybird, but if I had it to do over I may have used "Essential Math" (also from Singapore) which is more "plain".

 

But either Singapore kindergarten series ought to be a nice addition to Miquon.

 

Bill

 

We used Miquon Orange and Singapore Earlybird together for dd's K5 year. I thought they complemented each other nicely. Eventually (in second grade) we switched from Singapore to Righstart, which has been the magic key for our particular personalities, but dd enjoys Miquon, and we continue to pull it out now and then just for a change of pace. (I bought all the Miquon workbooks together when dd was doing K5). I also love Miquon, but for me it has to be a supplement. I personally can't use it as a main text.

 

Ds has been using Righstart exclusively for kindergarten. I pulled out dd's orange book and did a few activities from it with ds last week, as he has finished Righstart A and we are awaiting B in the mail. He enjoyed it and really understood it easily after using Righstart for a year. I think I might add in a few Miquon activities for him, too, once a week or so.