Eagle Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 I have somehow convinced myself that we need to do Miquon. MM was working really well for ds until we got to subtraction sentences. He simply cannot get the connection between addition and subtraction. I figured it just needed time. He recently turned 5, so I don't want to push him further than he can comprehend and turn him off of math or school in general. I bought a few books on math games and we have been really enjoying just "playing" math. In fact, because of this experience I've recently rethought a lot of what I had planned for next year, and have realized that I don't need or want to replicate school at home. Ds loves LoF (we're just about to start Edgewood), and also adores the Basher books -- his absolute favourite is Algebra. He wants to learn multiplication and fractions because of the Basher books and Fred. He recently completed the Dragonbox5+ app and thinks it is awesome. So he truly enjoys numbers and logic, just not necessarily in a "fill in this worksheet" way. I see that Miquon covers multiplication, division and fractions in first grade. I think he will find that exciting. Some questions: - It looks like Miquon appears to be more to do with puzzling things out rather than filling in worksheets. Is this correct? - Will Miquon, LoF and math games be sufficient for the first couple of years (until Beast Academy 3)? Or will we need to supplement with MM or something else? - What manipulatives do you recommend with Miquon or for math games? We have c-rods and 100-flats, an abacus, a bucket scale, fraction circles, 10-sided dice. - From reading past threads I see that I need to buy Annotations and should probably read First Grade Diary too. Should I get Notes to Teachers? - I am leaning towards Annotations and First Grade Diary as PDF so I can read them on my ipad, but the colour books as paperback. Good/bad idea? - Am I crazy for switching paths in this way, or does this make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Miquon is more hands on in a "math lab" kind of way. I let my child figure out subtraction using the c-rods. We use SM, Miquon and MEP along with LOF as a supplement - I think that it is a great combination, but some others think that it is a overkill for a Ker - YMMV. We really went slowly so that we dug in as deep as we could into each topic before moving on to the next topic. My child really likes to work on Miquon because it is fun and hands on rather than just chugging through pages of workbook. I got the Annotations and First Grade Diary, they are good to read and I use them as references. But, I teach from my own knowledge of math using the curriculum as a broad guideline and a lot of the stuff in Miquon is self-explanatory, so I did not need the teacher's notes at all (I have a strong math background, and am good at explaining things, so I am not sure how opinions vary on teacher's notes). Get the PDF for the material that you will read because it does not matter to the student how you access the teaching info. If you want to switch, now is the time to do it rather than later. So, go for it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 15, 2013 Author Share Posted May 15, 2013 Thanks for the reply. I just downloaded the First Grade Diary and am excited to start reading! "Fun and hands-on" sounds great. I don't think it would have worked for ds 8 months ago when we started because he was worried about not knowing the correct answers. He is just now getting the idea of experimentation and not having to always be right or know the perfect solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 - It looks like Miquon appears to be more to do with puzzling things out rather than filling in worksheets. Is this correct? Yes. I think so. There is more discovery and a lot less rote filling out than in MM. MM relies on kids doing things in different ways repeatedly to bring them to understanding. Miquon leads kids up little steps where they can make discoveries on their own. - Will Miquon, LoF and math games be sufficient for the first couple of years (until Beast Academy 3)? Or will we need to supplement with MM or something else? Totally sufficient. - What manipulatives do you recommend with Miquon or for math games? We have c-rods and 100-flats, an abacus, a bucket scale, fraction circles, 10-sided dice. It pretty much only uses the C-rods. - From reading past threads I see that I need to buy Annotations and should probably read First Grade Diary too. Should I get Notes to Teachers? Nope. The Diary and Annotations are plenty. - I am leaning towards Annotations and First Grade Diary as PDF so I can read them on my ipad, but the colour books as paperback. Good/bad idea? Good idea. I wish I had the Annotations as a PDF instead of hard copy, but printing the lab books would have been annoying. They're so cheap I think it's easier to have them as hard copies unless you have lots of kids you plan on using them for. - Am I crazy for switching paths in this way, or does this make sense? Miquon *always* makes sense. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 I'll add... I said I thought it was totally sufficient... The one thing that I think is weaker with Miquon is the drill aspect. If you want your ds to really know things like times tables cold, then I don't think Miquon alone will get him there. But you don't need another curriculum, you could just do various games or a regular drill of some kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 We love Singapore, Miquon and LOF ! Both kids are using all three. Do you have Rosie's videos in my signature? The rods have gotten us past all walls, when we learn with Miquon, reinforce with Singapore and LOF ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 16, 2013 Author Share Posted May 16, 2013 I have been reading First Grade Diary and think this is definitely the way to go for us. I have seen Rosie's videos before. Months ago I tried teaching ds with the rods and the videos. It didn't work for us, although ds was really interested in watching the videos. I just needed something more (written) for guidance. I think the Miquon books will help a lot and we will re-visit Rosie's videos once we get started. Ds does know the value of all the rods and can choose a given length rod by number or colour without looking. We got that far initially, so he has a basic familiarity with their numerical associations. Our c-rod set was actually dh's set from when he was little. We played a game with the rods this week and dh could instantly tell which rod was which length -- from a childhood memory. He has a Master's degree in math, so something along the way gave him a love for math. I'm hoping we can help ds develop his own passion for the subject since he is showing an early interest in numeracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I have been reading First Grade Diary and think this is definitely the way to go for us. I have seen Rosie's videos before. Months ago I tried teaching ds with the rods and the videos. It didn't work for us, although ds was really interested in watching the videos. I just needed something more (written) for guidance. I think the Miquon books will help a lot and we will re-visit Rosie's videos once we get started. Ds does know the value of all the rods and can choose a given length rod by number or colour without looking. We got that far initially, so he has a basic familiarity with their numerical associations. Our c-rod set was actually dh's set from when he was little. We played a game with the rods this week and dh could instantly tell which rod was which length -- from a childhood memory. He has a Master's degree in math, so something along the way gave him a love for math. I'm hoping we can help ds develop his own passion for the subject since he is showing an early interest in numeracy. I watch the video's just to see the different ways she teaches, then apply them to the kids as needed with Miquon. Sometimes the rods help, when nothing else does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 So far Miquon is a hit! As it turns out, I think I was going too slow in math for ds before. I thought he didn't understand, but it turns out he was bored and being uncooperative. :glare: I ended up getting the PDF from currclick for the orange book (and annotations and first grade diary). I figured if I was going to pull out all the pages anyway I may as well download and print everything out. It was a good decision. I am wondering if I should add some Singapore Primary Math Challenging Word Problems (level 1 and 2). What do you think? Are these stand alone without a teacher's guide? (We have never tried the Singapore program before). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 So far Miquon is a hit! :hurray: Glad to hear it! I am wondering if I should add some Singapore Primary Math Challenging Word Problems (level 1 and 2). What do you think? Are these stand alone without a teacher's guide? (We have never tried the Singapore program before). If you're thinking of adding in word problems, Singapore CWPs are great. They are stand-alone in that you don't need to be doing the Singapore program to use them. However, I've found that I have benefited from the Process Skills in Problem Solving books to help me understand some of the Singapore-specific problem-solving strategies (especially the bar models). These are intended to be workbooks for the child, but I'm using them more as an instructor's guide to lead into the CWPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 If you're thinking of adding in word problems, Singapore CWPs are great. They are stand-alone in that you don't need to be doing the Singapore program to use them. However, I've found that I have benefited from the Process Skills in Problem Solving books to help me understand some of the Singapore-specific problem-solving strategies (especially the bar models). These are intended to be workbooks for the child, but I'm using them more as an instructor's guide to lead into the CWPs. These look great. I had never heard of them before. If I just want to add in some word problems to ensure ds is familiar with them do you think the PSPS books would be sufficient without needing the CWPs? Possibly adding CWPs in a later grade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 The PSPS books are procedure-heavy. In each 3-5 page section, they provide a couple of examples of a type of word problem, and then have ask the student to use the same steps to solve 4-5 similar problems. In other words, the PSPSs are excellent for introducing problem-solving, but they never ask a student to really think. I would be leery of using them without a plan for folding in the CWPs, which offer a greater range if problems and mix up problem types within a topic. That's why I use the PSPSs more as an instructional manual now, and we solve the problems together on the whiteboard to teach the methods. Then the CWPs become the real problem-solving workbooks for my students. Many have used the CWPs successfully without the PSPSs. If I chose only one of the books to have around, it'd be the CWPs. Just keep the PSPSs in the back of your mind -- if the bar models start to seem random or confusing, or your student doesn't see when or how to set them up, the PSPSs will help with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 We do the CWP's a grade behind. We've never used the other books though and I feel like it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Mint Hill Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I love Miquon!!! My son who is now majoring in Economics loved it, too. But he hated math books with incessant drill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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