halibecs Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I would like to buy a set of Base 10 Blocks but am not sure if it matters which set. I've seen some with different colors for the ones, tens, etc.and then some that are all blue. I've seen some that are "weighted." Some are interlocking. The set on the Singapore set is $40.00, the sets at Rainbow Resource are $21.00. Am I missing something? I have also seen MUS sets and Mortensen sets, which are much more expensive. What's best for 1st and 3rd grade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lots of boys Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I prefer C rods over base 10 but I did get some base 10 flats (just plastic, blue, not interlocking) that were $6 for 10 and they work well for our needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spetzi Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I really like the Math U See blocks because they are thick with "holes" in the back. We've used these for showing negative numbers. (Eg, take an 8block and turn it over to show -8. Put a 5 block over the holes and you have 3 holes left or -3.) I bought my second MUS set used so you may want to look in classifieds for them. We just didn't use the cuisenaire rods very much other than building blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 We LOVE our C-rods. Seriously. I'm a big fan and here's why. But I also like our set of Base 10 flats. I got my second hand from a friend who works in a private school. I don't know the maker of them but they are all blue in color and feel very well made. A couple weeks ago I saw a set from Florida K-12 on sale at a used-curriculum sale that had never been opened. Since they were only asking $3 and I'm a bit of a math manipulative hoarder anyway, I decided I had to have them. I was a bit dispapointed in the quality of them compared to my others. These are very thin-feeling and well-- cheapy plastic. I doubt it would affect my teaching in a negative way though-- just look and feel-wise I really like the others better. I'm almost willing to bet those original ones were Learning Resource. I have a few of their other products and LOVE them. Well made, durable, nice. Just a personal preference but I DO NOT like the interlocking ones in either c-rods or Base 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCEmom Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Coming at it from a budgeted approach, I bought c rods first (a 155 piece set) because I think they're more versatile, then added a set of base 10 flats. Everything is in 1 cm increments so they work together. The c rod set provided the 50 ones, and 10 ten rods, and then the base ten flats are our hundreds. I debated a thousand cube, but I didn't think it'd get that much use and I didn't want to store it so we're skipping it for now. ETA: I bought everything from Rainbow Resources Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Buy the most inexpensive set you can find. Base 10 blocks don't need bells and whistles. :-) :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I prefer C rods over base 10 but I did get some base 10 flats (just plastic, blue, not interlocking) that were $6 for 10 and they work well for our needs. Get C-rods and do this. You can get a thousand cube as well - we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolkitty Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 we got MUS rods as their worksheets match the size of the rods. we also have c-rods to make a distinction for when the preKer is doing 'math' with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acsnmama Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 We love C-Rods as well. However, I did buy a cheap base 10 set on Amazon for $16 (its yellow). Great quality, great price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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