Miquon heretic

[Violet Crown]

We started using Miquon when our oldest was 3. Never bought the rods. Skipped the pages that used them. Never bought the Annotations; we thought it was pretty obvious what each page was getting at.

 

Dd-now-14 loved Miquon, dh and I loved Miquon; dd1 flourished mathematically and dd2 is doing well too.

 

Surely we can't be the only ones who didn't find the Cuisenaire rods to be the True Heart of Miquon? Anyone else who thinks it works just fine without?

 

(Edited to remove Too Much Unnecessary Information)

Edited May 15, 2010 by Sharon in Austin

[i.love.lucy]

:lurk5:

[lionfamily1999]

We have the rods..................................... Ds is very happy playing with them.

 

Thank you for letting me know you can do M sans rods. We'll try that on Monday :D

[forty-two]

Well, the creators of the program seem to feel that the rods are pretty integral to the whole thing ;), though it is a credit to them and to you that you were able to get spectacular success without them. Honestly, I think it says more about how a math-loving mom can turn out math-loving kids, than saying anything about how a rod-less Miquon can itself create math-loving kids.

[Kuovonne]

We have the rods, and I tried to get DD to use them in the beginning. However, DD usually does the workbook pages without the rods. Sometimes when DD doesn't get a concept, I'll pull out the rods and explain it to her. I hardly ever refer to the lab sheet annotations. So, yes, I agree that Miquon can be done without rods for some kids and some families. OTHO, for families just starting out with Miquon, I think they are better off having the rods.

[chiguirre]

Dd doesn't use the rods much either, but her main curriculum is SM. Since Miquon is extra practice and a different perspective for her, I don't insist she model everything. She likes the rods, but she can usually do the worksheets without them. OTOH, when we first started the rods were key to building her understanding so I'd definitely get a set.

[Amber in AUS]

I think it is up to the child. DD feels they are optional and is able to work everything out in her head DS feels they are compulsory and uses them for every single problem. It doesn't bother me either way so long as they understand it.

[lovemykids]

I must have missed the part about you being a math loving mom, but that’s very true; our attitudes as parents are very contagious. While it’s true that some children and parents may use the left side of their brain more than others; which, therefore, may make them a bit more mathematically inclined. It’s also a fact that a positive attitude from the parents can be a precursor to math ability, even in right brained dominant people.

Just an interesting tidbit.

 

 

About Miquon, I haven't made the time to read all of the materials yet, so we have only done a few pages of the workbook. We had to skip over many of them and pick and choose others. But ds is thrilled that playing with rods can be considered a math class. LOL. My nine year old loves to play with them as well. :D

[Violet Crown]

I must have missed the part about you being a math loving mom

I edited out some stuff that I thought would be illustrative but ended up being just braggy.

but that’s very true; our attitudes as parents are very contagious. While it’s true that some children and parents may use the left side of their brain more than others; which, therefore, may make them a bit more mathematically inclined. It’s also a fact that a positive attitude from the parents can be a precursor to math ability, even in right brained dominant people.

There's a lot of truth to that. I was actually quite math-phobic--was good enough at it but avoided it scrupulously in college--but married a mathy guy who showed me how much fun it really was, when not ruined by the standard ps way of teaching it.

 

I would never knock the rods out of someone's hands (metaphorically speaking, nor literally either), but my kids were just annoyed by manipulatives, and we found Miquon to be an absolutely stellar program even without the rods.