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Which level Singapore (& cuisenaire rods)


mamamindy
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math for K'er? 1st grader? I have both. We dabbled a bit in math (saxon K & saxon 1) last session but no one is happy so we're going to try Singapore at a friend's suggestion. My K'er really seems to "get" math even though I haven't done much of anything in the way of formal instruction yet, and my 6yo was just bored with saxon, but doing well otherwise. I have ordered the textbook and workbooks for 1a & 1b, along with the HIG. I'm wondering which level we should begin with?

 

Not totally unrelated - we have a bunch of cuisenaire rods that my mom pulled out of the attic.... Are these for Miquon? I had considered letting my K'er and preschoolers play with them.... I see a lot of people use Miquon along with Singapore... How do you? should we?

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My oldest was bored to tears in Saxon 1 in school, so I know what you mean. :D He's happily using Singapore now.

 

If your 5 year old seems ready for 1A, you could start her there. I'm doing 1A with my 5.5 year old. He did Essential Math K last year at 4, but it's not an absolute requirement. We use Cuisenaire rods with Singapore (I never could "get" Miquon, but I was able to figure out how to use the rods with Singapore no problem - go figure).

 

I would give your 6 year old the placement test on the Singapore website. She may need some info from 1A/1B that Saxon didn't teach (like making 10s), but that would be easy to spot teach and then move on if she's bored with 1st grade math.

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I think you could start with 1A for both, but not necessarily expect to keep them going at the same pace. From memory, there are two things in 1A that are not in most other math programs (including Saxon) - number bonds and "making a ten." Those two things are the foundation of what makes Singapore different (and better IMO) than most other curricula so it would be worth it to go over that with your 6yo.

 

Also, you may want to click the link in my siggy to see how to teach with C-rods. Most of my ideas for younger kids come from Miquon (which we LOVE) so it will give you a taste of what that would be like! HTH!

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I found this from a post on this forum (and the pp is the creator). All I can say is :party: and :hurray: to Rosie for putting this out to everyone.

 

I used Singapore and Miquon with my first dd and am in the beginning of a new rotation with my second dd. It might not work for all kids because of different learning styles. I did not find the HIGs to be necessary, but I think the way they teach. I would use it for the first book or two and decide whether you really need it or not. I did find the Miquon teacher material helpful.

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Thank you for the responses!

 

If they're both going to use the 1A, all I would need to order is another workbooks, correct? Also, do you find the HIG essential?

 

 

Yes, a workbook for each child.

 

And, yes, I found the HIG essential, but I wasn't taught math this way so I had to learn along with my dd. The HIG is where I really learned the info, not the textbook. I think if I'd just had the textbook that I would have ended up teaching the way I was taught in school instead of the Singapore way.

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Yes, a workbook for each child.

 

And, yes, I found the HIG essential, but I wasn't taught math this way so I had to learn along with my dd. The HIG is where I really learned the info, not the textbook. I think if I'd just had the textbook that I would have ended up teaching the way I was taught in school instead of the Singapore way.

 

:iagree: me too.

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  • 5 months later...

I think you could start with 1A for both, but not necessarily expect to keep them going at the same pace. From memory, there are two things in 1A that are not in most other math programs (including Saxon) - number bonds and "making a ten." Those two things are the foundation of what makes Singapore different (and better IMO) than most other curricula so it would be worth it to go over that with your 6yo.

 

Also, you may want to click the link in my siggy to see how to teach with C-rods. Most of my ideas for younger kids come from Miquon (which we LOVE) so it will give you a taste of what that would be like! HTH!

 

 

Yes, for sure check out Rosie's videos. If your younger stalls on 1A at some point, you can find lots of fun stuff to do with the rods for a bit to deepen the conceptual stuff. And, in general, the rods are a great tool for math concepts for quite a few years.

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:iagree: me too.

 

 

Yes, I agree, as well. That first grade math seems easy but I always regret not taking time with the HIG and doing at least a bit of that concrete stuff with my kids. And, again, if your younger is slower with 1A, the HIG will give you lots and lots of ideas of stuff to do with other manipulatives (most of which you can make yourself almost free).

 

The HIG does not give you any info about C-rods, though, so go to educationunboxed.com for that.

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Check out Rosie's videos at educationunboxed.com to see how you can use the rods with Singapore. We use both, but now that I know how Miquon works I could use Singapore alone. The kids enjoy Miquon though and we bought the whole set, they are cheap. I would start both with 1A, and let the move at their own pace. Both of mine went through 1 A pretty fast, and slowed down a bit on 1B. I love using the rods to introduce new concepts.

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