vwsmith Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Is it possible to substitute Montessori bead material for Cuisenaire Rods when using Miquon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) No, I can't see how. The beads - if they're what I'm thinking of - are round and counted. The rods can be stacked (flat sides) and are a very particular size (1cm wide x how ever cm long). The two materials are very different. I'd buy some rods if you're doing Miquon ;) Edited January 12, 2016 by wapiti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwsmith Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 I actually have some C-rods that someone gave me so if I decide to use Miquon I'm good there. I was just hoping that there was a way since my son is already working with the beads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I don't think I understand - what's wrong with using both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwsmith Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 I don't think I understand - what's wrong with using both? Are you asking this b/c you are using beads with Miquon or can see a way for that to happen? I am not that familiar with Miquon so I'd like to know what you think. I'm not even sure I'll be using it--I was just reading this past week how many use it as a supplement to their Math programs so I thought I'd ask. However, I am having a bear of a time finding sample pages that help explain it all and I'm not sure I've got the whole grasp of it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) No, what I mean is why not continue to use the beads as you are now, and use the rods with Miquon separately. There's nothing wrong with doing math more than one way at the same time (on different days of the week or whatnot).I don't think there's any way to understand Miquon without doing it - somewhere around here, there was a long Miquon thread - not sure if this was it. I own some of the books but have never gotten around to doing it - they're not expensive used (First Grade Diary, Orange leve, and Lab Sheet Annotations). There's a little free PDF (preschool level) for ways to start playing with the rods, if you don't already have it. Edited January 12, 2016 by wapiti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwsmith Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 No, what I mean is why not continue to use the beads as you are now, and use the rods with Miquon separately. There's nothing wrong with doing math more than one way at the same time (on different days of the week or whatnot). LOL, I don't even know how to use the beads; I just know that Montessori math works have been, and continue to be, great for my kids (at school). I don't think there's any way to understand Miquon without doing it - somewhere around here, there was a long Miquon thread - not sure if this was it. I own some of the books but have never gotten around to doing it - they're not expensive used (First Grade Diary, Orange leve, and Lab Sheet Annotations). There's a little free PDF (preschool level) for ways to start playing with the rods, if you don't already have it. Oh, we'll continue doing Montessori Math, I was just thinking it would be nice to use the same manipulatives across the board. Maybe I'll find a Miquon book or two at the local Homeschool Coop Sale to peruse. Thanks for your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) No, what I mean is why not continue to use the beads as you are now, and use the rods with Miquon separately. There's nothing wrong with doing math more than one way at the same time (on different days of the week or whatnot). I think it might be confusing for some children, as Miquon and Montessori use different colors to represent the numbers. IIRC, MUS uses yet another color scheme. I've seriously considered repainting the Cuisenaire rods in the Montessori colors, but then the Miquon books wouldn't match. I wish someone had thought to standardize this early on! Edited March 4, 2012 by Eleanor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 My dd has used both, Montessori square chains and C-rods, and she is not confused by the two colour schemes. I printed an addition and multiplication file folder game and coloured the addition and multiplication charts in the Montessori colours. Although she was using C-rods for Miquon then, she took one look at the charts and recognized them as the colours of the bead bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rbsmrter Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 We've used them interchangeably without a problem. For my DD it just comes down to preference. Sometimes she wants to use the rods, sometimes she wants to use the beads. I will say that we did start with rods first to deter her from counting. I've seen quite a few tutorials on making your own bead stair, so if you were concerned about confusion, you could correlate the bead stair with the rod color. I'm sure a lot of true Montessorians wouldn't agree with the change, but I've adapted quite a few of the Montessori manipulatives without any confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 If the children are doing a core curriculum that isn't manipulative-based, and Montessori and Miquon are just used as extras, it probably doesn't matter much. I'm guessing that this is the case with nansk, who has Math Mammoth listed in her sig. :) But if many of their early math lessons are based on the use of the colored bars, I'd be inclined to pick one color scheme and stick to it. As for which one to use as the standard, it seems to me to be more a matter of convenience than anything. AFAIK there's no special reason for the choice of colors, except golden/translucent for the 10's in Montessori (to emphasize their significance). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegirlwhopaintedtrees Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 My daughter uses both as well. She hasn't been confused by the differing colors. It's nice to be able to do math in different ways and it allows her the variety she needs as she doesn't care for repetition if she thinks she already knows something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 If the children are doing a core curriculum that isn't manipulative-based, and Montessori and Miquon are just used as extras, it probably doesn't matter much. I'm guessing that this is the case with nansk, who has Math Mammoth listed in her sig. :) But if many of their early math lessons are based on the use of the colored bars, I'd be inclined to pick one color scheme and stick to it. Well, we use a variety of maths programs including Miquon. My dd uses the C-rods with Miquon, the Montessori square chains for skip counting and the golden bead material for 4-digit addition/subtraction. There is no confusion. AFAIK there's no special reason for the choice of colors Yes, this I agree with. Montessori used what was easily available to her at that time. I see no reason to pay hundreds of dollars for specific material - who uses spindles anymore?! I have made or substituted many items to achieve the same mathematical or language learning in my child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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