Miquon for kindergarten... supplementing with singapore?

[staceyobu]

My plan for this year was Miquon Orange and Singapore 1 for kindergarten. I think I overestimated when ordering Singapore 1. DD can do the work, but she finds it frustrating. Can we just do Miquon Orange this year and start singapore 1 in the spring or next year for first grade? Would there be any benefit to purchasing the earlybird singapore books? I'm not particularly wanting to order anything else at this point...

[Spy Car]

From my perspective keeping math fun and engaging is key. For my son the sort of playful introduction to math he got from Miquon was the perfect lead-in to the whole-parts method found in Singapore. After using C rods to "prove" mathematical relationship for himself, the Singapore method was "natural."

 

We did do Primary Math in Kindergarten, but we had started Miquon early. There is no reason to feel "pressure" as Primary Math 1A/1B is aimed at First Grade. I wouldn't frustrate either yourself or your daughter by feeling a push to do something on a schedule she may not be ready for yet.

 

The introduction phase of math using Miquon (and as importantly activities inspired my Miquon) was a golden time for us. Havet fun. And think about how to make learning hands on.

 

Some ideas that helped us.

 

1) Intoduce the idea of "greater than/less than" using two rods that you choose and lay on a table. Once clear (however long it takes) then add an inequalities symbol (>) in the form of a homemade index card that a child can flip the correct way.

 

They say 7 is greater than 5 for 7>5

and 5 is less than 7 depending on how you place the rods.

 

Once that is mastered add " how much less/how much greater".

 

2) Add a set of base-10 flats (for 100 values) to your Cuisenaire Rod set. Talk about numbers as 2-Hundreds 3-Tens and 2-Units (or Ones if you prefer, I don't). Give the child a written number to build.

 

232 is 2-Flats, 3-Orange Rods, and a Red-Unit Rod. They model it for you.

 

Or, you make a onstruction and they give you the "math name" as Hundreds, tens and Units.

 

These things plus the elements in Miquon, plus things you make up will set your daughter up well for understanding what she needs to know.

 

The MEP materials have nice activity ideas to borrow in the Lesson Plans. Games are good. Pairs that make 10 (games like Right Start's "Go the Dump") are a vital skill.

 

You do not need Earlybird IMO. Better to stick with Miquon-like activities in the spirt of the "Math Lab". This is the most effective and age-appropriate way to learn at his age in any case.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Bill

[Tabula Rasa]

From my perspective keeping math fun and engaging is key. For my son the sort of playful introduction to math he got from Miquon was the perfect lead-in to the whole-parts method found in Singapore. After using C rods to "prove" mathematical relationship for himself, the Singapore method was "natural."

 

We did do Primary Math in Kindergarten, but we had started Miquon early. There is no reason to feel "pressure" as Primary Math 1A/1B is aimed at First Grade. I wouldn't frustrate either yourself or your daughter by feeling a push to do something on a schedule she may not be ready for yet.

 

The introduction phase of math using Miquon (and as importantly activities inspired my Miquon) was a golden time for us. Havet fun. And think about how to make learning hands on.

 

Some ideas that helped us.

 

1) Intoduce the idea of "greater than/less than" using two rods that you choose and lay on a table. Once clear (however long it takes) then add an inequalities symbol (>) in the form of a homemade index card that a child can flip the correct way.

 

They say 7 is greater than 5 for 7>5

and 5 is less than 7 depending on how you place the rods.

 

Once that is mastered add " how much less/how much greater".

 

2) Add a set of base-10 flats (for 100 values) to your Cuisenaire Rod set. Talk about numbers as 2-Hundreds 3-Tens and 2-Units (or Ones if you prefer, I don't). Give the child a written number to build.

 

232 is 2-Flats, 3-Orange Rods, and a Red-Unit Rod. They model it for you.

 

Or, you make a onstruction and they give you the "math name" as Hundreds, tens and Units.

 

These things plus the elements in Miquon, plus things you make up will set your daughter up well for understanding what she needs to know.

 

The MEP materials have nice activity ideas to borrow in the Lesson Plans. Games are good. Pairs that make 10 (games like Right Start's "Go the Dump") are a vital skill.

 

You do not need Earlybird IMO. Better to stick with Miquon-like activities in the spirt of the "Math Lab". This is the most effective and age-appropriate way to learn at his age in any case.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Bill

 

Thank you for posting this Bill. We are not there yet of course but I really love what you described for preschool/kindergarten math. Love it! Thanks for sharing :)

[Spy Car]

Thank you for posting this Bill. We are not there yet of course but I really love what you described for preschool/kindergarten math. Love it! Thanks for sharing :)

 

You are welcome. This is a great way to start even in pre-school. A child can grasp relative values by length (and color cues) way before they can write, and using C Rods can show you they can make "6" by stacking a 5 and a 1, or a 4 and a 2 or a 3 and a 3, etc.

 

Then one day they will "discover" 2 plus 4 is the same as 4 plus 2, and you can say "Yes dear, that is the Commutative Law, either way you add to values the result the the same." And the "Commutative Law" is not some blah, blah, blah. No, it is a mane for the "discovery" they have make themselves (being the mathematical geniuses they are :D).

 

So a child can begin to learn the axioms of math (a pretty important skill) before they can even write well.

 

They can learn wholes and parts. If the whole is 6 and one part is 4 what is the other part? If the two parts are 4 and 2 what is the whole? What is the difference between 2 and 6?

 

With these sort of methods the "number bonds" which are a key part of Singapore Math are something they already know through rod play, because it is really the same concept in concrete rather than pictorial form. And when done playfully from early childhood the skill is rather like learning a native language from birth. Natural and easy.

 

Bill

 

 

 

 

 

i

[heart'sjoy]

in Kindergarden (Earlybird books.)

 

Here we used the early bird books first then the miquon and primary math.

 

If you don't want to purchase another book right now, you might could pull up the table of contents of the earlybird 2b book and work on those concepts. The singapore forum also has free workbooks to download. I haven't looked at their early bird though.

http://www.1800-teacher.com/ create an account then you can download files for their workbooks. We've used about 4 workbooks. They are usually a bit harder than the primary workbook but not as hard as challenging word problems.

 

Wholeheartedly agree with Bill. Kindergarden is an exploring number time. Using c rods to build steps, ordering and comparing numbers. Beginning to look at number bonds in c rod form.

[Kendall]

For K I've done only Miquon Orange (and things like Bill mentioned) with 5 children. One child moved through Orange before K was over and we started MEP 1 after that. In first she is now doing red and MEP 1 with no agenda on when we'll finish either. My other children did nothing but Miquon until 4th grade, then we went through Singapore 3,4,5 in 2 years. So Miquon only would be just fine in my opinion.

[Zoo Keeper]

Another great thing to combine with c-rod exploration is MEP Reception. My five year old is loving this combo. He was more than ready for math concepts, but not for much writing/workbook material. MEP Reception plus lots of ever so gently guided time with the c-rods has been just right for him.

 

Just another idea to throw into the mix. :)