Math for 1st grade...

[jenniferp8]

Looking for "fun" math for a first grader. She went through half of the Kahn academy k-2 level last year and liked it. I'm thinking maybe Miquon? What are the differences between that and Singapore? Want to do more "playing" with math than a "just have to do it" curriculum.

[UCF612]

We use Right Start level B in first grade. It utilizes games which my boys love.

[blondeviolin]

MEP is a lot of puzzles and fun activities.

[scoutingmom]

Another vote for Rightstart, but MEP is second choice.

 

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[AHASRADA]

We use both Right Start and Miquon. RS uses a lot of card games, variety, and many different manipulatives. It is scripted, but you can spend as much or as little time on each activity as you'd like, and play the card games any time. It builds excellent number sense and mental math. You can also buy the card games and abacus on their own, if you don't want to do the full curriculum.

 

My dd also loves Cuisenaire rods. If you want to "play around" with math, I would buy a set of rods and go through the activities on the Education Unboxed videos. If it seems like this method clicks with your dc, you could move on to Miquon. It is very open-ended, not scripted at all. Students are encouraged to mess around with various manipulatives, but especially c-rods, to arrive at answers.

 

HTH!

[rattfink]

Miquon is totally free form. It basically gives you the resources to create your own math lessons for wherever your child is right now. It is as structured or as open as you make it. For us it has been a great fit and the biggest problem we've had is that my toddler and my preschooler want in on the fun too so we had to buy a second set of c-rods for them (thank goodness my toddler doesn't put things in his mouth or it could be a real problem). I have always enjoyed math so I have enjoyed putting together a lesson and seeing where DD takes it. DD and I also both hate scripted lessons so Miquon is a great fit for us. However, I don't think it would be a good fit for everyone because you really do need to understand and prep the lessons to get the most out of it. Once you get a feel for it the prep isn't too bad, but it took me some time (and all of the teacher resources) to really get to the point where I felt comfortable with the program. For me the work has been worth it because my kids now love math, but I don't know that it would be worth it for everyone. That said, I personally think that the Notes to Teachers could help anyone teaching math get some good ideas so it might be worth picking up to see what you think.

 

 

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[eternallytired]

I LOVE RightStart B, and it's worked well for both of my older kids so far, despite their different learning styles.  I didn't need the script, though some find it helpful.  I love the variety of activities and manipulatives (lots of card games which can be done solo or with others, abacus, 3-d shapes, place value cards...).  You can use what your child needs or skip some activities if they have mastered soemthing with ease.  The progression from concrete to abstract was masterfully done, and the whole program was just really solid and fun.

 

I bought Miquon as a fun alternate, but DS was not at all enamored of the C-rods, and he did not like the open-ended-ness of it.  He's naturally very mathy, though, so he really didn't need the discovery phase; I ended up speeding him through portions of RS where it progressed more slowly than he needed.  DD seemed to need more of RS's structured step-by-step progression; she got frustrated with the lack of direction in Miquon.  It's probably a great program, and if I hadn't been so passionate about RS, I likely would have put in more effort and made it work.  But since I had RS and it was working so well, I decided it wasn't worth expending the energy to get Miquon to work just for "something different" once a week or so.

[Flowergirl159]

I use Singapore as our spine, and we supplement with Miquon.

 

My DD6 is half way through her first grade year and has completed Singapore 1A and 1B. She has just moved onto 2A. I love the way Singapore teaches a child to think about math. I have used Singapore from 1A through to 4B and I am really pleased with this program. In saying that though, I am not referring to just the workbook. To teach the Singapore way, you need to use the HIG and textbook. The HIG has lots of games and fun ways to learn maths. Once they understand the concept in this way, then you set them loose on the workbook.

 

My DD6 is using Miquon Orange, nearly finished and ready to move onto Red, usually one or two pages each day. I really like the way Miquon is discovery based. And my children love using the rods. With my second child, when she finished Singapore 1A and 1B, she then used Miquon Orange and Red, then moved onto Singapore 2A six months later. I thought my DD6 would follow the same pattern, but she really wanted to move onto Singapore 2A straight away, so she is supplementing with Miquon.

 

Hope this helps some :)

[Sarah0000]

We are using Miquon. I bought and diligently read the lab annotations, notes, and diary, and then upon starting discovered that the program can work as a completely open and go workbook for us. At least in Orange, perhaps it gets more complicated later. Of course its different for everyone, but for you it could be less prep and work than you might think.

 

I like Orange because there's a mix of worksheet types, and the c rods are not always required. Sometimes there are just practice problems, a few dot to dots, number line and pattern sheets, measuring sheets, etc. I like the variety. We also use the RS games, which is fun, but the cards get tedious after a while. Cards just aren't as fun as rods, plus if you use cards in other subjects it can feel like too much of the same thing, at least here.

[Hobbes]

Looking for "fun" math for a first grader. She went through half of the Kahn academy k-2 level last year and liked it. I'm thinking maybe Miquon? What are the differences between that and Singapore? Want to do more "playing" with math than a "just have to do it" curriculum.

This is how I like to do early math - more playing with it. So I don't use a curriculum for Gr.1. I printed off our province's Gr. 1 math guidelines and used that to jog my memory about topics. We would discuss adding one day and use chocolate chips. I gave them a kid's measuring tape and a list of things to measure after I showed them how to use it. Skip Count Kid songs took care of skip counting (they love them). Had a small clock that we used to discuss time, then played on an iPad app for a bit to solidify time. I did buy MUS blocks and they played with them... that helped with number quantity concepts. Even simple fractions with baking. That sort of thing. No problem with moving on to higher levels and we had fun. I just checked the standards list every few weeks to get an idea for another topic, then we talked about that a lot. No pressure, which is nice.

[PeterPan]

Didn't get mentioned, but Family Math (the elementary book) and the Math by all Means series by Marilyn Burns would work.  If you can stand the prep, some of the GEMS units are a great way to explore math.  Or start living math books.  Or TOPS units like lentil science.