Cuisinare rods for (parent) dummies?

[madteaparty]

It's time I turn some of my attention to my 4 year old. She goes to a lovely, rural Montessori school part time.

 

I do have Cuisinare rods back from my DS' young days, but we did not do much with them as I am not a very math-manipulativey person. I get a second chance with her though, so I want to do it properly. She currently just plays with them before throwing them in frustration because they do not "stick" as well as her legos do ;)

 

Any scripts for me? Many thanks!

[go_go_gadget]

Have you checked out fellow Hive member Rosie's Education Unboxed videos? Lots of great ideas there. And, of course, Miquon.

[Ellie]

It's time I turn some of my attention to my 4 year old. She goes to a lovely, rural Montessori school part time.

 

I do have Cuisinare rods back from my DS' young days, but we did not do much with them as I am not a very math-manipulativey person. I get a second chance with her though, so I want to do it properly. She currently just plays with them before throwing them in frustration because they do not "stick" as well as her legos do ;)

 

Any scripts for me? Many thanks!

 

Mathematics Made Meaningful.

 

I'm not a math-manipulativey person, either, so when I wanted to know what the big deal was about c-rods, I bought Mathematics Made Meaningful. Best.purchase.ever. You could do it with your 4yo and you'd both learn. :-)

[go_go_gadget]

Mathematics Made Meaningful.

 

I'm not a math-manipulativey person, either, so when I wanted to know what the big deal was about c-rods, I bought Mathematics Made Meaningful. Best.purchase.ever. You could do it with your 4yo and you'd both learn. :-)

 

When I was posting before, I spent a minute trying to remember the name of this book. Then I thought ''Eh, Ellie'll be here in a minute anyway.'' :D

[arliemaria]

Is it possible to get the topic cards/teacher's guide without buying more c-rods?

[Ellie]

Is it possible to get the topic cards/teacher's guide without buying more c-rods?

 

I don't think so.

 

Yeah, you'll have a boatload of c-rods. But then both of you can do the tasks at the same time. :-)

[carriede]

Have you checked out fellow Hive member Rosie's Education Unboxed videos? Lots of great ideas there. And, of course, Miquon.

This, I heart education unboxed.

[Slache]

This, I heart education unboxed.

:iagree:

[Spy Car]

I don't care for the Mathematics Made Meaningful approach. It turns the C Rods experience into a didactic teacher-led Direct Instruction experience vs setting up creative child-led Discovery learning opportunities. It is the difference between "showing" a child how to do something, and letting her figure it out herself.

 

This is not an insignificant difference at 4. Discovery learning builds autonomy and competence, and a sense a child "owns" the concept as the "active partner" in the learning rather than being the passive follower.

 

Miquon has it right IMO by promoting Discovery learning. At 4 learning through play is so very valuable. Truncating that is not a good thing. The Education Unboxed videos are an interesting look at one WTM board members take on Miquon-style learning. They are a nice way to see it in action.

 

Bill

[kitten18]

Love, love, love Education Unboxed!

[Guest ElektroChik]

Hi,

 

My youngest, who loves math, will be 6 next month and currently working through Singapore 1A and doing other various math activities. Do you think she will benefit from this set, "Mathematics made Meaningful", or will she outgrow it quickly?  

 

It's $38 on Amazon, so I want to make sure it's worth the cost before I purchase.

 

http://www.amazon.com/ETA-hand2mind-Mathematics-Meaningful-Cuisenaire/dp/B008N1847O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432927983&sr=8-2&keywords=mathematics+made+meaningful

[Mrs. A]

Another vote for Education Unboxed.

[Mrs. A]

Is it possible to get the topic cards/teacher's guide without buying more c-rods?

 

You'll probably be glad to have more c-rods as you delve into different topics and as your younger kids get to be old enough to use them along with the oldest. 

[Farrar]

I liked Mathematics Made Meaningful... before Education Unboxed existed. Since it exists, I think it's the superior resource - more open ended and more comprehensive.

 

Having more C-rods is not a bad thing though. In the fall of fifth grade, I ended up borrowing a bunch more for long division demos. Sometimes you want a LOT.

[Ellie]

I liked Mathematics Made Meaningful... before Education Unboxed existed. Since it exists, I think it's the superior resource - more open ended and more comprehensive.

 

Meh. I looked at the EU site and am not all that impressed.

 

Perhaps what appeals to me is that MMM has an order--you start with task card #1, then do 2, then 3...:-)

[Spy Car]

 

 

Perhaps what appeals to me is that MMM has an order--you start with task card #1, then do 2, then 3...:-)

 

Which is exactly what I don't like about it. It removes all the discovery/play, and imposes an order. Meh.

 

Bill

[Miss Tick]

I have never held Mathematics Made Meaningful and rarely had success with EU, so double "meh." We have enjoyed Miquon (alongside MM), though, and the "Queasy" rods are very, very effective.

[FO4UR]

I vote for just playing with the rods while you study the Miquon materials.  It's in the notes, I believe that  the author discusses the various stages of rod play. It's vital, imho.

 

Get a very large baking sheet. I found one that was made for food service and it was huge.  Use the baking sheet to stage rod play. It keeps things together and provides a firm surface.  Don't be phased over her frustration that they don't stick.  She needs to build the fm skills and tolerance to things that don't go so well.  Put them away for the day when you see her frustration start, but pull them out again tomorrow.

 

 

The heaviest load of elementary math can be learned through this play.  Let it go on for a long, long time....a month, a year even....before guiding any real lessons.  Anectdotal maybe, but my children's math abilities directly correlate to their interest in rod play at ages 3-6.  Emphasis on play.   The one who didn't care to play with the rods and had to be coaxed is the one who struggles with math at age 10...in spite of being quite intelligent....and the tolerance to things that don't go so well is at the core, if I am honest.  (I didn't get it right the first time...grrr...I hate math...where's my book?  LOL)

 

All that to say, rod play is priority.  Start doing lessons in 3-5 minute sessions when there is a lull in her play.  Let it grow from there.  Introduce lab sheets in the same way you'd introduce a new puzzle.

[Ellie]

Which is exactly what I don't like about it. It removes all the discovery/play, and imposes an order. Meh.

 

Bill

 

I disagree. There's still discovery and play. And some of us feel the need for some direction in our discovery and play, so there you go. :hat:

[Targhee]

I let my 4 year old play with the rods. She made them into pictures, built 3d things out of them, and eventually she started making relationship discoveries. Once she recognized that each had a unit value we played games from this little booklet from NurturedByLove http://nurturedbylove.blogspot.com/2008/12/cuisenaire-discovery-book.html?m=1

[Farrar]

I'm with Bill... I think what I didn't like about MMM is that it was a little too directed. I like that one can use EU sort of the way we tended to use Miquon, which was just pick something and play around with it, which is harder to do with MMM just because of how it's set up. Also, I had some experience using the rods before, but I'm so visual, I think if I hadn't had that, I might have used them a lot less for lack of really getting them. I think seeing the kids use them on EU helps a lot of people.

 

I don't think MMM is bad. If someone really needs something more incremental and directed for their teaching style in order to make it happen and doesn't need the visual piece to get motivated, then MMM could be a better choice. But since EU is free... I'm almost always in favor of trying the free thing first.