Miquon question for 5th grader

[happyhome]

Calling all Miquon users.....

 

I have 2nd and 4th graders that have been in traditional math programs through private and public schools since the beginning. This is our first year homeschooling and Math Mammoth was very successful for us both on an academic level, but more importantly, in helping them see the bigger picture. They have always done spiral programs through the schools and we have discovered that mastery is definitely better for us.

 

I feel like my kids can "do" math but they don't know the "why" of so many things. I've tried to verbally explain this but am now sure that I need a more "hands on" approach to supplement Math Mammoth. Can Miquon be used over the summer and as a supplement next year to solidify mental math and visualize place value/fractions/operations? I know the program tops out at 3rd grade and they are both above that level, but I was thinking to make it more of a "game time" to see if I can make these concepts a bit more concrete?

 

Does this make any sense? If not, any other ideas??

[Five More Minutes]

Bumping for you.

 

I can see Miquon being appropriate for the Gr. 2/3 child; I'm using and enjoying parts of it with my dd of the same age. It's certainly strong conceptually, and it's fun enough for summer math!

 

But I've no experience using it with an older student, and hope someone else can give you ideas on that.

[happyhome]

Bumping for the morning crowd.....

[Alessandra]

I started using Miquon this year with a 6th grader. My dc has some learning challenges, but she was almost up to grade level on 5th grade standardized tests. I worked with her and think Miquon is absolutely appropriate.

 

-- Miquon does not have illustrations. No cute, early elementary level cartoon characters.

-- Miquon has very little text, so you are not making an older child read little kid level writing.

-- Miquon can be done in any order (TG says this). So your dc could use it as they wish. Imo, it is empowering for a child to be told they can skip what they know.

-- Miquon is fun.

-- Miquon takes a different approach from many math books. For example, there is almost no 'arithmetic,' that is, no columns of addition, etc. Almost all the problems are mathematical sentences, similar to problems in algebra. Explaining this to dc can make them feel they are progressing, not just reviewing.

-- Since Miquon uses the rods, it does seem like the 'game time' you mentioned.

 

I believe Currclick sells Miquon downloads with good samples. You might want to show the samples to your dc and see what they think. If you decide to get the program, I would tend to go with the printed materials from RR. They aren't very expensive, and it is much less confusing having books rather than a mass of printed pages. JMHO.

 

ETA It really does make you understand numbers, even more than SM. Again, IMHO.

[Farrar]

The advice I've seen about using Miquon with older kids is that you would probably rely on the thread structure more than the individual books. So while younger kids usually go through Orange, then Red, etc. and may skip around within each book some, older students go from thread A, to B, to C, and so forth, but may skip around between threads. A new learner doing Orange needs to wait for developmental readiness to go finish a thread in Red and Blue and so forth, but an older child can probably just follow the thread through, or at least, can follow the thread until he gets stuck.

 

Does that make sense?

[happyhome]

Thank you ladies....this is exactly how I will use it. I showed the samples to the kids and they think it's fun!!! Yeah!!! Math is fun!! Long way away from what they used to say in school. Thanks for all your help! Off to find the books and rods!!

[happyhome]

One last question....I was planning to start the threads in the green book through the purple book. If I do the thread method, would I need all the books for a 3rd and 5th grader? Also, what teacher materials do I need?

[Pen]

For us, trying to use it at older stage was a waste of time/money/energy.

[happyhome]

For us, trying to use it at older stage was a waste of time/money/energy.

 

 

Pen....do you mind if I ask why? Were your kids just not interested or was it just too basic to be of any value? My 4th grade daughter, specifically, can do the math operations but when I ask why, or how did you get there, she looks at me like a deer in headlights. I worry that later, if she doesn't know the why of math, she'll have a harder time working through the harder, longer problems of Algebra, etc. I thought about a Right Start Math or a Math U See, but honestly, I do not have time to begin a whole new methodology. She gets Math Mammoth. She likes the mastery aspect of it. I just feel like we missed the foundational knowledge that MM offered in the beginning since we came to it so late. I think I just need to supplement it a bit and we'll be okay. I'm just looking for the best supplement. Have you used anything that worked?

[Ruby Rose]

I just bought Miquon for my DS going into K. I bought the whole set and also a second orange and red. My DD uses MM 2 now and she thrives when I pull out the MUS blocks. I'm going to test her soon with the ADAM http://www.letsgolearn.com/lglsite/why/ to find any weaknesses. Then work throught those strands with her in Miquon. Hence, the additional books. I figure those 2 will get him through K and I can order the others if needed.

[JudoMom]

I just started with my 10 year old. For various health-related reasons, I missed teaching him some foundational things when he was in early elementary (1-3). I thought he had a better grasp than what he did, so I skipped/combined/etc. lessons and made assumptions about what he knew/didn't know, and that was a big mistake on my part. So now, after floundering with math for yet another year, I decided to set traditional curriculum aside and focus on number sense. He can compute just fine but he's missing some things.

 

We're following the threads in the books, as mentioned above. I have all the color books and Lab Sheet Annotations. I've found Notes to Teachers to be unnecessary so far (my first grader did the orange book this year, and I didn't us the Notes to Teachers at all then, either).

 

I asked ds10 what he thought about it. He enjoys it, and I've seen a few things click already. We're spending about 20-30 minutes a day, just doing as much as we can. I also bought Mathematical Reasoning by Critical Thinking Company for more practice, and MCP 5th grade workbook for a bit of traditional practice.

[Farrar]

I wouldn't start with Green unless you were using it for a specific skill that's in that book. If you want it for trying to help a child with overall concepts, I would start in Orange or Red - probably Red. While the vast majority of it will be really, really easy, there are some concepts that begin building back in Red - like with fractions, definitely and I think actually exponents as well - that make it worth starting with. One of the things that's so great about Miquon is the way that they will take a concept that's higher up in elementary math and introduce it really early, but in a really simple, intuitive way. So, for example, there's multiplication by fractions in Red. That's something that might not be introduced at all until fourth grade in some sequences and Red is a book that's used in K or first grade. But it'll be problems like 1/2 x 10 and then 1/4 x 4 and things like that. So it's starting with the most simple, non-threatening introduction and letting kids discover the way it works through easy problems - and, of course, through the rods.