miquon help (Spy Car) read here

[Amirah]

if i have a 3yr old who is just learning about counting and numbers would miquon the orange book and the cuisenaire rods be too confusing? i plan to use singapore math in k.what books go with the orange book? also are there any other books that are good besides the orange book?

 

i been lurking a long time so i know spy car is the expert on this but please anyone with info or opinions on this chime in i need all the help i can get

[Irishmommy]

I would think unless your 3 yo is pretty advanced, then the orange book would be too difficult initially. There is a really good intro. booklet that someone made. I'll see if I can find the link. I would just get out the rods and play, play, play.

 

Sorry, I thought I'd bookmarked it. I know someone will post it.

[mamachanse]

Try this: http://nurturedbylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/cuisenaire-discovery-book.html

[mhornby56]

 

Here's the link. :) My kids enjoy this.

[junepep]

Here's the link that she mentioned - it's absolutely wonderful, my 4.5 yr-old loves it (we've been using it for at least the last 6 mos and she just keeps asking for it - just be aware that the colors of your rods may be different than the colors of hers, my 3 rod is grey not lime green - or maybe it just printed strangely!!).

 

http://nurturedbylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/cuisenaire-discovery-book.html

 

Here is the link to a thread containing a bunch of blogs relating to miquon

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=253318

 

And don't forget, even if your child isn't ready for Orange you can still do many of the games and activities within the First Grade Diary (that has been absolutely invaluable to me as well).

 

One of the biggest issues that people seem to have with the Miquon program is that they treat the workbooks as standalones and just work through them, they should actually imho be the smallest portion of the curriculum, basically I plan to move on to using the Orange book in the fall as the sections correspond with what we're learning both as a check before hand to see if she's already mastered the skill and also to see where weaknesses might be.

 

I hope this helps :)

 

EDITED TO ADD -- Too late again :D some days I swear my brain just works slower than molasses !!

[nansk]

 

Here it is.

[Irishmommy]

Thanks everyone. I knew someone would have it!;)

[Amirah]

thanks everyone!! this was just what i was looking for :)

[StephanieZ]

I wouldn't rush into Miquon. Even the Orange book is really at more of a 1st grade level. I wouldn't suggest starting it until a child can easily count items up to 100, and understands addition and subtraction readily (and can easily do simple arithmetic such as 5+6 by using counters or fingers or whatever), also can count backwards easily from 100, and can count forwards or backwards from any number between 1 & 100. There are probably more readiness signals, but those are a few basics off the top of my head.

 

Messing around with the Cuisinaire rods sooner would be super fine, but not the worksheets.

 

I'd suggest things like:

 

Counting/pattern bears with pattern cards.

Pattern beads with pattern cards.

Tangrams with "Tangrammables" or similar worksheets/workbook.

Pattern Blocks with "Patternables" or similar.

A balance scale with lots of things to weigh/compare (including those counting bears)

Measuring cups of various sizes, in both metric and english, larger plastic cups/bowls/etc. . . and a bucket of water (or bin of rice or beans)

Etc.

Counting beads/beans

Wooden numbers and arithmetic symbols

 

Once you gather a bunch of cool manipulatives, you can just dedicate 15 min each day of your time to play with them with your child. Introduce just one new thing every week or so, and play with it together as your child gets to understand how it works and the cool things he can do with it.

 

IMHO, preschool age math should be about hands on exploration of numbers, counting, etc, based on STUFF, not 'abstract' numbers, etc.

 

FWIW, these are the types of things I did with my kids when they were 2-4ish, and lots of it still at age 5ish. . . and they all zoomed through 'official' math starting at around age 5. (As you can see from my siggy, they advanced rapidly and consistently. . . so apparently it was not a hindrance to hold back most/all 'official' math to about age 5, when they each started Gr 1 math.)

 

HTH

[cellocoffee]

How about Dr. Wright's kitchen table math 1?

I just got it and it's full of fun activitie and deep concept. For a non-mathy

musician, I actually got excited to get ready for my younger one.:lol::lol:

[Spy Car]

if i have a 3yr old who is just learning about counting and numbers would miquon the orange book and the cuisenaire rods be too confusing? i plan to use singapore math in k.what books go with the orange book? also are there any other books that are good besides the orange book?

 

 

Hey Amirah, my advice (and I'm not claiming the mantle of "expert") is to use this time while your child is young to educate yourself. If you haven't already done so read Liping Ma's book. Get the 3 Miquon books and read those (particularly the First Grade Diary and Notes to Teachers) so you have the start of a vision for where you want to go with your child's math education.

 

Then you could sprinkle things in to your child's day that are fun, playful, and match his or her development. Not in a sit down with a math book sort of way, but in a way that uses their real word to notice, order, and compare things. And in short bursts.

 

We played with simple things like small groups of pebbles in the park. How many are there? Three. That's right! If we take one way how many are there now? Two. Well done!

 

This might (or might not) include playing with rods. We started with them when my son just turned 4. And soon we did do Lab Sheets from the Orange book. But the Lab Sheets were not the backbone of the Miquon experience (despite the fact that we used them). The greater value (for me) was to draw inspiration from the way Lore Rasmussen (the author of Miquon) taught and then seeking to find my own style of teaching--or setting up scenarios where my child could "discover" mathematical truths seeming on his own.

 

We did more "Lab Sheets" that I made that ones from the book. My son took some glee in being able to use rods to solve problems like 3+[ ]=5 using C Rods. Or in making all the possible combinations of Rods that equalled 7.

 

I came up with a little game of which "is greater", which is "less than" played with two rods that he would "read" left to right. Three is less than 5, or Five is greater than 3 depending on the placement. Then we added a card (hand drawn index card, nothing fancy) with an inequalities sign he could flip the correct way and then read aloud 3<5 or 5>3. Then we added how much greater or how much less than. All these worked to prepare him quite well for the whole-parts math in Singapore.

 

We also took a page from Right Start through adapting their precursor program (Activities for Al Abacus) into a Miquon-style way to teach an introduction to place value. We used base-10 "flats" (which are the same scale as C Rods as our "Hundreds" values, Orange C Rods as our "Tens", and the other C Rods as our "Units" (aka Ones).

 

Then we modeled a lot of numbers. I might give him the number 438 and ask him to build it with blocks and rods, or I might build the model with blocks and rods and ask him to "read" the number.

 

We also used the Right Start place value cards and their base-10 cards to model these type numbers in another way. I believe the emphasis RS places on teaching place value early is smart. And I liked our adapted methods.

 

The idea of using "math names" is (in my non-expert opinion :tongue_smilie:) when doing these things with a young child is important. By this I mean referring to 224 as 2-Hundreds 2-Tens 4-Units (or Ones) rather than "Two Hundred Twenty Four." I usually explained that the "English name" for something like 1-Ten 2-Units was "twelve" but I wanted him to understand 12 as 1-Ten and 2-Units. Seems like a small thing, but I am convinced that it is a big thing when you are taking about a young child.

 

As an "experiment" I never had my son count to one hundred. Not as a song or something that he'd memorized (but did not really understand). Rather we repeated worked on the number of Tens and what they meant in place value and the value of Units. And it so with both Math names and English names. Then the first time I asked him to count to One Hundred he did so perfectly, and I knew he knew what all these words really meant and it was not just "lyrics" he'd memorized.

 

We also made cards with "numbers" modeled in different ways. With "red dots" in two rows of five (for Ten) in the Japanese math style, as Tally Stick style, as Roman Numerals, as regular numerals. We would match one "form" of numbers with another form of the same value, or order all the values of one form from greatest to least, or least to greatest. That sort of thing.

 

And use popsicle sticks as Tally Sticks. And make with rubber bands to make groups of Ten and use those to build numbers. But I tried very hard to get him to see "groupings" without counting.

 

And we had fun with a homemade flap board (idea from the First Grade Diary) where I had a cardboard back with two flaps (also cardboard) hinged using thick fabric tape. Opening one flap would reveal a "card" (of the types described above) that I secured into photo corners on the front of the "back" so I could do a quick change of different cards. So say one flap revealed 3 Red Dots. Three. Then I could open the other flap, say 5 Red Dots. Three plus Five is [ ? ]. OK it is 8. Now close the first flap and 8-3 =[?]. Open flap with 5+3= [?]. Close flap 2 with 8-5=[?]. It is like peek-a-boo with numbers.

 

I am getting long winded.

 

I guess, bottom-line, is that I would encourage you to have fun. Find creative ways to plant the seeds of learning. There is, to my mind a very rich middle ground between "delaying academics" and pushing things that are developmentally inappropriate on young children. There is a Third Way.

 

The MEP materials (available without cost) were very valuable to me. The worksheets are very interesting and the lesson plans are full of good teaching ideas. The introductory "Reception" level was not available when we started (but I would look there first).

 

The Pre-K/K Singapore series called "Earlybird" was not something I loved. It was really work-bookish (in the bad sense of the word), joyless, and did not tap into the "concrete" stage of learning in the way Miquon based learning did so was not efficient or IMO especially developmentally appropriate. With the other things under his belt, however, my son had no problem starting the regular Primary Math series in Pre-k and finishing 1A/1B in Kindergarten.

 

There is another Singapore Pre-K/K program called "Essentials." I have never used it, but if I had a "do-over" I would probably have ordered it instead. Even though it is an older program it seems like "Essentials" is growing in popularity here on this forum recently.

 

With a young child it takes time and creativity to meet them on their level. But it is also really fun to challenge yourself how you can help them make sense of their world in fun ways that engage their minds and their senses. It can be mind-building for both parent and child. If you can make learning play, and something that nurtures your bond as parent and child you are on the right path. Don't think you have to march through the Orange book (or any other book) at his age. But don't be afraid to engage with your child and help them learn. Children love the attention and they have surprisingly fertile minds if you can find means of education that make sense to them.

 

Best wishes. Sorry I prattled on so long.

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

One more thing, in the process of writing the above I forgot to welcome you out of lurking and into the forum, so let me say ahlan wa sahlan.

 

Bill

[TracyP]

Great post, Bill. I'm bookmarking this thread. I also wanted to say thank you. After a year of reading your rave reviews of Miquon, I finally bought it. We love it here! I wish we would have started earlier. Thanks again.

[Ellie]

I think a 3yo could play with the rods and learn a great deal from them.

 

Personally (and I dare to say this in public, knowing that Spycar might beat me up for it :tongue_smilie:) if I wanted to use Cuisenaire rods with a 3yo little person, I would use Mathmatics Made Meaningful first.

[Spy Car]

Great post, Bill. I'm bookmarking this thread. I also wanted to say thank you. After a year of reading your rave reviews of Miquon, I finally bought it. We love it here! I wish we would have started earlier. Thanks again.

 

Thank you Tracy, I'm happy to hear you're loving it!

 

I'm not sure if you are using Miquon with your oldest, but (if not) you could always look at the Lab Annotations book when she encounters a new topic in her other materials to see how Miquon approaches it.

 

I've found that the simple/clear explanations of teaching explicit Mathematical Laws (and how to put them into practical use) in the Lab Annotations add a dimension of understanding for my son that I really appreciate.

 

Enjoy you Math Lab!

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

I think a 3yo could play with the rods and learn a great deal from them.

 

Personally (and I dare to say this in public, knowing that Spycar might beat me up for it :tongue_smilie:) if I wanted to use Cuisenaire rods with a 3yo little person, I would use Mathmatics Made Meaningful first.

 

I won't beat you up, I promise :tongue_smilie:

 

I have not used Mathematics Made Meaningful, I have only heard good things about it. I would assume it teaches many of the same things I tried to make up myself in a way that was likely very similar. What's wrong with that?

 

The one unique element of Miquon is the degree to which it tries to create learning situations where the child is lead to "discover" things for themselves rather than all the instruction being "parent led." I certainly did direct instruction, but that other "discovery" element (for lack of a better word) was extremely valuable both for inspiring a love of learning and in really internalizing the understandings. When a young child plays with rods and "discovers" that 3+2 is the same as 2+3 and you excitedly tell them they have "discovered" the Commutitive Law, and they try out and "prove" this law with other combinations of rods it is a very different type of learning that a parent/teacher lecturing on the Commutitive Law, if you know what I mean.

 

Bill

[birchbark]

Spy Car, where can you get base-10 flats in the same scale as the C rods?

[Spy Car]

Spy Car, where can you get base-10 flats in the same scale as the C rods?

 

Rainbow and CDB are two places off the top of my head. Any base 10 flats will be the right scale (as both C Rods and Base 10 blocks) are based on centimeters. A base 10 flat is 10x10x1 cm, so it is the same size as 10 Orange Rods (which are normally 10 values, and are 10x1x1 cm).

 

Bill

[LMD]

Thanks for those links, awesome!

 

And FTR - we use miquon and MEP with my DS1, who is 3.5. I think some of the orange book is do-able for this age, I'm thinking especially the A section dealing with mostly counting. I also have a copy of this http://www.etacuisenaire.com/catalog/product?deptId=&prodId=030030 which is fun. :)

[Amirah]

im writing everything down. math is the only thing that freaks me out about homeschooling. i was doing alg 2 in 9th grade because i just loved math and i want my son to feel the same way too.

[Guest]

I have been reevaluating some of my decisions on math lately, for Adrian and also looking into the not so distant future for Malcolm. So I came here searching for some input. I wanted to thank you both, Ellie and Bill. I think it is clearer to me what I want/ need to do now.

 

First of all I will most definitely be getting Liping Ma's book. I was going to get MUS to add to Singapore since we are dropping Horizons next year but have decided to go with Miquon now. I had considered Miquon but always got hung up on the fact that it only goes up to grade 3. Anyway, instead of the regular Cuisenaire rods though and since I already have a box of base ten flast, I am going to add the wooden set of Mathematics Made Meaningful.

 

Anyway, I am rambling now. I often come here and look at old threads to help with my decisions. This is what I did today. I read and am filing some of the threads I came across but I wanted to say thank you to those whose advise and suggestions helped me figure out what I want to do.

Edited May 26, 2011 by Guest

[Spy Car]

Hey Marie, I'm glad you've found this thread helpful. Don't worry about Miquon ending in 3rd Grade (or even 2nd if started in K). Miquon is really about getting children thinking mathematically, and bringing in concrete means (along with explicit mathematical laws) so they internalize the material at an age when this sort of teaching is what they need developmentally.

 

As they mature more and more abstraction is something they will be able to handle because they will have a great foundation. Miquon gets them through that early critical period where semantics and abstractions, and plain old bad (or misunderstood) explanations can lead to confusion. The brilliant think about Miquon is that it makes math concepts really clear, and children "prove" the math laws for themselves.

 

I hope you really enjoy it!

 

Bill

[Chelli]

Bill, I've looked at using Miquon a few times as a supplement, but I can not figure out what I need to use it (The Lab book, the orange book, the teacher notes). What do you suggest?

[Spy Car]

Bill, I've looked at using Miquon a few times as a supplement, but I can not figure out what I need to use it (The Lab book, the orange book, the teacher notes). What do you suggest?

 

The 3 Teachers books are necessary.

 

The First Grade Diary takes one through a year of teaching students with the author Lore Rasmussen. In many was this work shows the heart and soul of how to teach/and to create situations where children can teach themselves. There are many ideas for how to create enrichment activities and things of the like. I found the Diary very inspiring!

 

The Lab Annotatons is like a teacher manual. It has notes for every lab sheet in the student books (which might seem incomprehensible at first with out the Lab Annotation notes) and also in depth discussions on topics such as multiplication, division and fractions that are very interesting.

 

Notes to Teachers is the slightest of the 3 books, but has useful ideas for getting started.

 

One would also need student books. Because Miquon can be used in a many ways (one does not have to work in a linear fashion straight through) one can follow a topic from one book to the next (say Orange to Red) and then return to Orange, or move on to Blue. For that reason you should get at least 2 of the student books to start, if not the full series.

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Bill

[Guest]

Hey Marie, I'm glad you've found this thread helpful. Don't worry about Miquon ending in 3rd Grade (or even 2nd if started in K). Miquon is really about getting children thinking mathematically, and bringing in concrete means (along with explicit mathematical laws) so they internalize the material at an age when this sort of teaching is what they need developmentally.

 

Thank you Bill. I agree with you and see your point. My concerns are more of the "what next" nature mostly. Grade numbers are not my main concern, especially where math and science are concerned. I need to stop worrying too much about that and remember that we are using two programs after all. I just hate jumping around between programs. I am one of those people that needs to see the big picture first, the plan, before going into the parts and the little bit here with one program, little bit there with another just makes me nervous. I guess that's one thing I need to work on for myself ;). I am hoping Liping Ma's book will help alleviate some of this stress over programs and put my focus more on what and how things are being taught, which is the way I was before I started stressing over programs :tongue_smilie:.

 

As they mature more and more abstraction is something they will be able to handle because they will have a great foundation. Miquon gets them through that early critical period where semantics and abstractions, and plain old bad (or misunderstood) explanations can lead to confusion. The brilliant think about Miquon is that it makes math concepts really clear, and children "prove" the math laws for themselves.

 

I hope you really enjoy it!

 

Bill

 

You just touched on two very important points which describe some of what has been going on here. I have a son that seems to internalize the abstract better than the slow mechanical approaches. For your first point, SM has worked so well for Adrian that with the SM IP books (we had almost completed SM Primary STD 1A and IP 1A but now I will be going back and reviewing from the beginning) he has on occasion given me an answer faster than I had the opportunity to think, where as on the other hand I had Horizons which did what you say in the second point, lead to some confusion. I had already started noticing how Horizons was turning him into an automaton (big no no in this family and I was already reconsidering my future plans) when I started detecting some confusion in place value which I thought he had down well :mad:. I am not trying to blame it on the program, I am sure for others this is not an issue but for me, I was angry with myself for not thinking that this would happen in the first place. Anyway, live and learn.

 

Your post above (the long one ;)) reminded me of how math used to be in our house before I got so hung up on programs. While I do this with my younger son since he is just a toddler, it seems the stress and responsibility of Adrian's education on my shoulders has lead to some not so wise decisions where Adrian is concerned. Anyway, I am learning though and have never been afraid to admit when I am wrong ;).

 

Thanks again for being so willing to share your experiences with your son. A lot of what you said here and in other threads has been a wake-up call for me in many ways.

Edited May 28, 2011 by Guest

[Aubrey]

Hey Amirah, my advice (and I'm not claiming the mantle of "expert") is to use this time while your child is young to educate yourself. If you haven't already done so read Liping Ma's book. Get the 3 Miquon books and read those (particularly the First Grade Diary and Notes to Teachers) so you have the start of a vision for where you want to go with your child's math education.

 

Then you could sprinkle things in to your child's day that are fun, playful, and match his or her development. Not in a sit down with a math book sort of way, but in a way that uses their real word to notice, order, and compare things. And in short bursts.

 

We played with simple things like small groups of pebbles in the park. How many are there? Three. That's right! If we take one way how many are there now? Two. Well done!

 

This might (or might not) include playing with rods. We started with them when my son just turned 4. And soon we did do Lab Sheets from the Orange book. But the Lab Sheets were not the backbone of the Miquon experience (despite the fact that we used them). The greater value (for me) was to draw inspiration from the way Lore Rasmussen (the author of Miquon) taught and then seeking to find my own style of teaching--or setting up scenarios where my child could "discover" mathematical truths seeming on his own.

 

We did more "Lab Sheets" that I made that ones from the book. My son took some glee in being able to use rods to solve problems like 3+[ ]=5 using C Rods. Or in making all the possible combinations of Rods that equalled 7.

 

I came up with a little game of which "is greater", which is "less than" played with two rods that he would "read" left to right. Three is less than 5, or Five is greater than 3 depending on the placement. Then we added a card (hand drawn index card, nothing fancy) with an inequalities sign he could flip the correct way and then read aloud 3<5 or 5>3. Then we added how much greater or how much less than. All these worked to prepare him quite well for the whole-parts math in Singapore.

 

We also took a page from Right Start through adapting their precursor program (Activities for Al Abacus) into a Miquon-style way to teach an introduction to place value. We used base-10 "flats" (which are the same scale as C Rods as our "Hundreds" values, Orange C Rods as our "Tens", and the other C Rods as our "Units" (aka Ones).

 

Then we modeled a lot of numbers. I might give him the number 438 and ask him to build it with blocks and rods, or I might build the model with blocks and rods and ask him to "read" the number.

 

We also used the Right Start place value cards and their base-10 cards to model these type numbers in another way. I believe the emphasis RS places on teaching place value early is smart. And I liked our adapted methods.

 

The idea of using "math names" is (in my non-expert opinion :tongue_smilie:) when doing these things with a young child is important. By this I mean referring to 224 as 2-Hundreds 2-Tens 4-Units (or Ones) rather than "Two Hundred Twenty Four." I usually explained that the "English name" for something like 1-Ten 2-Units was "twelve" but I wanted him to understand 12 as 1-Ten and 2-Units. Seems like a small thing, but I am convinced that it is a big thing when you are taking about a young child.

 

As an "experiment" I never had my son count to one hundred. Not as a song or something that he'd memorized (but did not really understand). Rather we repeated worked on the number of Tens and what they meant in place value and the value of Units. And it so with both Math names and English names. Then the first time I asked him to count to One Hundred he did so perfectly, and I knew he knew what all these words really meant and it was not just "lyrics" he'd memorized.

 

We also made cards with "numbers" modeled in different ways. With "red dots" in two rows of five (for Ten) in the Japanese math style, as Tally Stick style, as Roman Numerals, as regular numerals. We would match one "form" of numbers with another form of the same value, or order all the values of one form from greatest to least, or least to greatest. That sort of thing.

 

And use popsicle sticks as Tally Sticks. And make with rubber bands to make groups of Ten and use those to build numbers. But I tried very hard to get him to see "groupings" without counting.

 

And we had fun with a homemade flap board (idea from the First Grade Diary) where I had a cardboard back with two flaps (also cardboard) hinged using thick fabric tape. Opening one flap would reveal a "card" (of the types described above) that I secured into photo corners on the front of the "back" so I could do a quick change of different cards. So say one flap revealed 3 Red Dots. Three. Then I could open the other flap, say 5 Red Dots. Three plus Five is [ ? ]. OK it is 8. Now close the first flap and 8-3 =[?]. Open flap with 5+3= [?]. Close flap 2 with 8-5=[?]. It is like peek-a-boo with numbers.

 

I am getting long winded.

 

I guess, bottom-line, is that I would encourage you to have fun. Find creative ways to plant the seeds of learning. There is, to my mind a very rich middle ground between "delaying academics" and pushing things that are developmentally inappropriate on young children. There is a Third Way.

 

The MEP materials (available without cost) were very valuable to me. The worksheets are very interesting and the lesson plans are full of good teaching ideas. The introductory "Reception" level was not available when we started (but I would look there first).

 

The Pre-K/K Singapore series called "Earlybird" was not something I loved. It was really work-bookish (in the bad sense of the word), joyless, and did not tap into the "concrete" stage of learning in the way Miquon based learning did so was not efficient or IMO especially developmentally appropriate. With the other things under his belt, however, my son had no problem starting the regular Primary Math series in Pre-k and finishing 1A/1B in Kindergarten.

 

There is another Singapore Pre-K/K program called "Essentials." I have never used it, but if I had a "do-over" I would probably have ordered it instead. Even though it is an older program it seems like "Essentials" is growing in popularity here on this forum recently.

 

With a young child it takes time and creativity to meet them on their level. But it is also really fun to challenge yourself how you can help them make sense of their world in fun ways that engage their minds and their senses. It can be mind-building for both parent and child. If you can make learning play, and something that nurtures your bond as parent and child you are on the right path. Don't think you have to march through the Orange book (or any other book) at his age. But don't be afraid to engage with your child and help them learn. Children love the attention and they have surprisingly fertile minds if you can find means of education that make sense to them.

 

Best wishes. Sorry I prattled on so long.

 

Bill

 

I'm in a rush, but I couldn't skip saying: this is brilliant. I *hate* playing, so while this stuff may seem simple to you, it takes an outline for me to see it beyond the conceptual level.

[Spy Car]

I'm in a rush, but I couldn't skip saying: this is brilliant. I *hate* playing, so while this stuff may seem simple to you, it takes an outline for me to see it beyond the conceptual level.

 

When you come up for air, you might enjoy reading Lore Rasmussen's "First Grade Diary" (Miquon). It really lays out how the Miquon author used a sort of *play* approach to introduce serious math to young children.

 

While it says "First Grade" in the title the method is especially well suited to younger (4 and 5 year olds) who can learn a great deal through creative play and using tools that make math relationships comprehensible to their young minds.

 

Bill

[Aubrey]

When you come up for air, you might enjoy reading Lore Rasmussen's "First Grade Diary" (Miquon). It really lays out how the Miquon author used a sort of *play* approach to introduce serious math to young children.

 

While it says "First Grade" in the title the method is especially well suited to younger (4 and 5 year olds) who can learn a great deal through creative play and using tools that make math relationships comprehensible to their young minds.

 

Bill

 

I'm waiting on an interview that was supposed to start a few minutes ago. I'm only :glare: because it makes me nervous. :lol:

 

I've got First Grade Diary on my shelf (because of you). I haven't read it, though I've tried several times. It's SO boring & randomly written! But it's stayed on my to-be-read-next shelf. (For over a year.) :D

[Spy Car]

I'm waiting on an interview that was supposed to start a few minutes ago. I'm only :glare: because it makes me nervous. :lol:

 

I've got First Grade Diary on my shelf (because of you). I haven't read it, though I've tried several times. It's SO boring & randomly written! But it's stayed on my to-be-read-next shelf. (For over a year.) :D

 

It is somewhat random. But it is not boring. My advice is to treat it like a "light read" rather than a volume to be "studied." Breeze through it.

 

This way you can get the big picture without getting mired in particulars. It is more about approach than anything else. And if there are particular ideas you want to co-opt you can always go back, nor make a note.

 

I think you try too hard :D

 

Play!

 

Bill

[Aubrey]

It is somewhat random. But it is not boring. My advice is to treat it like a "light read" rather than a volume to be "studied." Breeze through it.

 

This way you can get the big picture without getting mired in particulars. It is more about approach than anything else. And if there are particular ideas you want to co-opt you can always go back, nor make a note.

 

I think you try too hard :D

This can definitely be true when it comes to reading things: I tend to read everything as if it's the Bible or the WTM. :lol:

Play!

 

Bill

 

Play--ha! I didn't "play" as a kid. I created my own system for organizing & cataloging the 5 books we owned. Then I forced my sibs to "check them out." Then I charged them late fees. :D

 

I quit "playing" when I was 3 & it occurred to me that the activity had no intrinsic value, accomplished nothing, & offered no deeper meaning. Now? I'm REALLY hopeless. :lol:

 

Luckily, my dc can play w/ ea other or dh, & I can connect w/ them through history, grammar, & math. :lol:

[besroma]

Hey Amirah, my advice (and I'm not claiming the mantle of "expert") is to use this time while your child is young to educate yourself. If you haven't already done so read Liping Ma's book. Get the 3 Miquon books and read those (particularly the First Grade Diary and Notes to Teachers) so you have the start of a vision for where you want to go with your child's math education.

 

Then you could sprinkle things in to your child's day that are fun, playful, and match his or her development. Not in a sit down with a math book sort of way, but in a way that uses their real word to notice, order, and compare things. And in short bursts.

 

We played with simple things like small groups of pebbles in the park. How many are there? Three. That's right! If we take one way how many are there now? Two. Well done!

 

This might (or might not) include playing with rods. We started with them when my son just turned 4. And soon we did do Lab Sheets from the Orange book. But the Lab Sheets were not the backbone of the Miquon experience (despite the fact that we used them). The greater value (for me) was to draw inspiration from the way Lore Rasmussen (the author of Miquon) taught and then seeking to find my own style of teaching--or setting up scenarios where my child could "discover" mathematical truths seeming on his own.

 

We did more "Lab Sheets" that I made that ones from the book. My son took some glee in being able to use rods to solve problems like 3+[ ]=5 using C Rods. Or in making all the possible combinations of Rods that equalled 7.

 

I came up with a little game of which "is greater", which is "less than" played with two rods that he would "read" left to right. Three is less than 5, or Five is greater than 3 depending on the placement. Then we added a card (hand drawn index card, nothing fancy) with an inequalities sign he could flip the correct way and then read aloud 3<5 or 5>3. Then we added how much greater or how much less than. All these worked to prepare him quite well for the whole-parts math in Singapore.

 

We also took a page from Right Start through adapting their precursor program (Activities for Al Abacus) into a Miquon-style way to teach an introduction to place value. We used base-10 "flats" (which are the same scale as C Rods as our "Hundreds" values, Orange C Rods as our "Tens", and the other C Rods as our "Units" (aka Ones).

 

Then we modeled a lot of numbers. I might give him the number 438 and ask him to build it with blocks and rods, or I might build the model with blocks and rods and ask him to "read" the number.

 

We also used the Right Start place value cards and their base-10 cards to model these type numbers in another way. I believe the emphasis RS places on teaching place value early is smart. And I liked our adapted methods.

 

The idea of using "math names" is (in my non-expert opinion :tongue_smilie:) when doing these things with a young child is important. By this I mean referring to 224 as 2-Hundreds 2-Tens 4-Units (or Ones) rather than "Two Hundred Twenty Four." I usually explained that the "English name" for something like 1-Ten 2-Units was "twelve" but I wanted him to understand 12 as 1-Ten and 2-Units. Seems like a small thing, but I am convinced that it is a big thing when you are taking about a young child.

 

As an "experiment" I never had my son count to one hundred. Not as a song or something that he'd memorized (but did not really understand). Rather we repeated worked on the number of Tens and what they meant in place value and the value of Units. And it so with both Math names and English names. Then the first time I asked him to count to One Hundred he did so perfectly, and I knew he knew what all these words really meant and it was not just "lyrics" he'd memorized.

 

We also made cards with "numbers" modeled in different ways. With "red dots" in two rows of five (for Ten) in the Japanese math style, as Tally Stick style, as Roman Numerals, as regular numerals. We would match one "form" of numbers with another form of the same value, or order all the values of one form from greatest to least, or least to greatest. That sort of thing.

 

And use popsicle sticks as Tally Sticks. And make with rubber bands to make groups of Ten and use those to build numbers. But I tried very hard to get him to see "groupings" without counting.

 

And we had fun with a homemade flap board (idea from the First Grade Diary) where I had a cardboard back with two flaps (also cardboard) hinged using thick fabric tape. Opening one flap would reveal a "card" (of the types described above) that I secured into photo corners on the front of the "back" so I could do a quick change of different cards. So say one flap revealed 3 Red Dots. Three. Then I could open the other flap, say 5 Red Dots. Three plus Five is [ ? ]. OK it is 8. Now close the first flap and 8-3 =[?]. Open flap with 5+3= [?]. Close flap 2 with 8-5=[?]. It is like peek-a-boo with numbers.

 

I am getting long winded.

 

I guess, bottom-line, is that I would encourage you to have fun. Find creative ways to plant the seeds of learning. There is, to my mind a very rich middle ground between "delaying academics" and pushing things that are developmentally inappropriate on young children. There is a Third Way.

 

The MEP materials (available without cost) were very valuable to me. The worksheets are very interesting and the lesson plans are full of good teaching ideas. The introductory "Reception" level was not available when we started (but I would look there first).

 

The Pre-K/K Singapore series called "Earlybird" was not something I loved. It was really work-bookish (in the bad sense of the word), joyless, and did not tap into the "concrete" stage of learning in the way Miquon based learning did so was not efficient or IMO especially developmentally appropriate. With the other things under his belt, however, my son had no problem starting the regular Primary Math series in Pre-k and finishing 1A/1B in Kindergarten.

 

There is another Singapore Pre-K/K program called "Essentials." I have never used it, but if I had a "do-over" I would probably have ordered it instead. Even though it is an older program it seems like "Essentials" is growing in popularity here on this forum recently.

 

With a young child it takes time and creativity to meet them on their level. But it is also really fun to challenge yourself how you can help them make sense of their world in fun ways that engage their minds and their senses. It can be mind-building for both parent and child. If you can make learning play, and something that nurtures your bond as parent and child you are on the right path. Don't think you have to march through the Orange book (or any other book) at his age. But don't be afraid to engage with your child and help them learn. Children love the attention and they have surprisingly fertile minds if you can find means of education that make sense to them.

 

Best wishes. Sorry I prattled on so long.

 

Bill

 

Bumping so others can read this valuable post and thread.