Hmm, got my Miquon and my c-rods, now I feel stumped as to where to begin

[momsuz123]

I am so excited to get my Miquon books and c-rods, but even though I am reading the diary, notes to teachers, and the lab annotations book, I still feel a little confused about how to begin. I think I am trying to figure out where my 2 girls "fit" in the books. I am letting my 6 y/o just make trains, feel them, play with them, exchange them, etc. My 7 y/o I haven't started yet because I don't want to bore her, so I am trying to figure out where is a good place to start. Any advice?

 

Thanks.

[Ellie]

Start with the first page in the Orange book. :-)

[FO4UR]

Let the 7yo play too.

 

Make stair steps, give her a packet (3-5 pages pulled out of the Orange Book) and let her choose a page to start with.

[KristenR]

I would take some time for yourself to read over the FGD and review the annontations with the corresponding workbook pages. While you "research" you can have your kids just play with the rods. Make stairs, animals, houses, trains, etc.

Once you have a feel for Miquon and less of a :confused: then start up with the workbooks. Whatever you do DON'T get discouraged. It really is so simple. It just takes a switch to get into the Miquon mode.

 

I also blogged about some fun activities we've done with c-rods on my blog. Feel free to scroll through some of those posts and hopefully you can get some ideas.

[MAMommy]

Just what Kristen said. Read the FGD & the 1st annotations. Give yourself some time to absorb the Miquon way & just let the kids play. Once you "see" it.....it's so awesome:D

[Mimmy]

I need some hand holding with Miquon too...

[kristinannie]

Read the notes to teachers first. That is an excellent overview of the program. Look through the lab annotations, especially the beginning of each section...they are awesome. Especially with your 7yo, you will probably not have to do every.single.page of the orange book, but there is so much that is taught in the orange book that I would definitely start there. You get into some pretty serious stuff such as fractions, multiplication, etc. My DS5 can do multiplication in his head from just playing with the rods. We haven't even gotten to that yet in the orange book.

 

My best advice for everyone starting out with Miquon is to let go of your preconceived notions about math. I am a go through the workbook in an orderly fashion type A type of person. However, I have found that tearing out pages and letting DS5 choose has really worked well. Somtimes he will be really interested in measurement or addition or something so he will work on that for awhile. Also, really let your kids play around with the rods. You will not believe the understanding they get about math by just playing around with the rods.

 

Congrats on taking the first step and buying the materials. Give it a chance, relax and you will see some awesome things happening!

[momsuz123]

Thanks all. Well, we had our first official Miquon lesson. It was fun, it was different, it was relaxing. :001_smile: I had both of my girls do it at the same time. Started out on page 1 of orange. Then just skipped around a few pages (whole new concept to me) and did a page here and there - tearing them out. When my younger dd was working hard and slower on a page, I quickly tore out a harder page in a different section for my older one. It is definitely going to take some getting use to, but I think it will be good for our family. Both girls thought it was fun, and I made a point to call it "math lab".

 

Any other advice always appreciated! Thanks.

[Jay3fer]

I have also blogged some of our adventures in Cuisenaire Rods, with and without Miquon.

I think the biggest advice I could give anybody starting out is that the two are NOT inseparable. Play with the rods, with and without the books. Even when we were doing Miquon as our main math program, I always started a lesson by letting the kids play, having dd build a staircase with the rods. And we always interrupted the lessons to let her show ME things, which was terrific fun.

It was also, however, one reason I didn't want to keep it as our main math program... I wanted more structure and less free-associating, and I think she's doing well with that. That doesn't stop me from hauling out the rods to make a point more clear, as with this lesson on money math, or this one on finding area.

Right now, we're between math texts (finished Grade One, getting ready to start Grade Two), so we're taking a Miquon break to finish up Orange and probably a bunch of the Red book, too. I think she's enjoying the easygoing style of the book, while I look forward to getting back to the structured lessons. :-)

One thing I do is I don't let her go into the books. I spend some time the night before, or whenever, tearing out pages I think she's ready for (from both the Orange and Red books). Then, I keep them sorted by letter and number, and ready to go in a big clear plastic envelope. Based on her mood and interests, I can then just grab whatever I want to work on for any given day - or let her choose a sheet from the packet I've prepared, knowing it won't be too far over her head.

In any event, whether or not you ultimately stick with Miquon (and it sounds good so far!), keep using the rods - they are SO important and valuable!