Math program for after Miquon!!!!

[moniqueaudrey]

Hi everyone.  After hating MUS and Math Mammoth, my daughter is enjoying Miquon Math. 

 

She is also progressing and retaining what she learns with this program.  And finally, some conceptual math is being understood, rather than just memorising a way to compute, and copying it over and over, without any understanding of why she's doing it that way.

 

My dilemma now - where to after Miquon!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Does anyone have experience/knowledge of what programs teach in a similar way to Miquon, for grades 4 and up? (Miquon only goes to grade 3, sadly).

 

We're after a program that has:  minimal things on a page (so as to not overwhelm),  pictures (and colour if possible but colour not essential), interesting pages with things presented differently all the time (like Miquon does), difficult math concepts presented in a very simple and fun way, 'handwritten' style pages if possible (like Miquon uses), pages that get the child to write their own sums that are related to that particular learning.  And I'll emphasise pictures!  Pictures, pictures, pictures! - and the pictures need to relate to the math - not some random picture in the corner to make it fun, but actually useful ones that are used to work something mathematical out on that page. 

 

Oh how I wish Miquon continued for all the elementary grades!

 

 

[wapiti]

Beast Academy from AoPS

[Kendall]

MEP doesn't meet many of your criteria, but I love Miquon and now use MEP.  The plus with MEP is that it is online and is free.  So you can try it risk free.

[El...]

I know!  I hate that Miquon ends.  We just finished the last book of Miquon last week (sniffle, sob). 

 

We did the Miquon worksheets in order.  Somewhere toward the end of the second book, Dd got overly frustrated with Miquon, so I added in Singapore math (Standards).  A few months of easier stuff in Singapore recharged her.  She has done both since then.  We are now in the fall semester of 3rd grade, on track with Singapore and done with Miquon.  We added Beast Academy two months ago, so she'll continue doing two programs at once for the next few years.

 

I like Singapore because it has more review and goes slower; it is, IMO, about 6 months behind Miquon.  It gives a lot more practice.  I love BA because it is HARD and fun.  I also like that she takes the guide books to bed at night for a casual read.  (!!)

 

I made a point to not explain the Miquon worksheets to her.  This seems to have prepared her for BA's challenge level. 

[Lori D.]

Our DS who loved Miquon also loved Singapore, and then later on, Harold Jacobs Algebra I and Geometry.

 

Once you get into 5th grade and up, you might look at the Keys to … series of workbooks -- I understand that they were put together by the son of the woman who created Miquon. :) Topics include: Fractions, Decimals, Percents, Measurement, Metric Measurement, Algebra, and Geometry.

[moniqueaudrey]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions so far. 

 

I'd also like to add:  my daughter struggled with understanding math concepts when doing MUS and Math Mammoth, and hated the boring repetition.  But by the time I tried Miquon, she was 8 years old.  It's for grades 1-3, so she was going grade 1 maths at 8.  I think that's why Miquon was so successful for her.  It does advance quickly, and I think if she'd started at about 6/7 years of age, it wouldn't have been very good for her.  But because she had some basic maths understanding and was a little older and ready to understand conceptual math, it was the right pace for her.

 

Kind of the right program at the right time.

 

So we're after something like that, but it obviously can't be too HARD, as maths is her weaker subject, with English being her stronger one.  And she's sooo visual (especially pictures).  She hates too many numbers being thrown at her.  Sees pictures in her head (not numbers or letters).   I do everything visual for her, and hands on too.  For spelling, I've made all her sound cards into pictures, and she has memorised everything so well this way.  Also learns things to songs - but only catchy tunes that can be memorised, not those silly math facts cds that you can get. 

 

So I think that Miquon, whilst there's not actually pictures everywhere, it's very clever with it's presentation on each page, big print, different each page, very interesting presentation.

 

Thanks again!!!

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

If she likes pictures, you might have a read through CSMP and teach her how to translate maths sentences into dot and string pictures and vice versa.

[Farrar]

There's nothing else like Miquon.

 

Sorry.

 

I'm still in mourning too.

 

My Miquon boy went to Beast Academy. I think it *could* be right for your dd, even though she doesn't do "hard." Look at the samples and see what you think. It has some things in common with Miquon's conceptual approach and there is sort of a discovery element in the way the problems are laid out. The story elements might appeal to her. And the way the problems are set up worked so well for my Miquon boy that I can't not believe there's some kinship there. On the other hand, if she doesn't like "hard" I wouldn't push Beast too much...

 

Other options...

 

Since she's older and you want something on the easy side, you could possibly do the Key to Math series books for the most part. The one piece of arithmetic that's missing there is more long division. But the layout for the Key to series is very similar to Miquon. Lots of practice. The learning comes through the practicing.

 

You could move to Singapore or MEP based on the conceptual piece. Both are "harder" than Miquon, but both have a concepts focused approach that continues Miquon's...

 

Or maybe she's got the concepts now and needs something really different since there's nothing quite like Miquon. Maybe you want to consider something super straightforward and easy like CLE or Teaching Textbooks but which will increase her fluency with algorithms.

 

 

[Lori D.]

...my daughter struggled with understanding math concepts when doing MUS and Math Mammoth, and hated the boring repetition

...by the time I tried Miquon, she was 8 years old… because she had some basic maths understanding and was a little older and ready to understand conceptual math, it was the right pace for her.

 

… it obviously can't be too HARD, as maths is her weaker subject

… she's sooo visual (especially pictures).

… big print, different each page, very interesting presentation.

 

You might try Singapore 2A/B. Very simple, big print, images to help visualize the concepts. She will likely move very quickly through it because most of it will be repeat to her, BUT, you would be using it to help her transition into math that she will learn how to visualize for herself -- starting in Singapore 3A/B, they show you how to make your own drawings ("bar method") for problem-solving.

 

Starting at about third grade, most programs no longer use much in the way of visuals. MUS does, via the rods and the video teachings. MUS also has big print, clean and simple layout, without an overwhelming amount of problems on a page. One thing about MUS is that if DD is bored and she has the concept -- move on! Don't feel she has to do every single problem if she's got it. :)

 

However, if what you mean by "boring repetition" is that MUS doesn't show the same concept from different angles in the way Miquon does, that is true. In order to reproduce that, we used a "spine" math program and then various supplements to teach a concept, or practice it, in a variety of ways.

 

 

My suggestion -- without knowing your DD and how she works, so take this FWIW ;) -- would be Singapore, possibly 2A/B or 3A/B, and lots of interesting supplements that use Cusienaire rods, pattern blocks, geoboards, etc. That way you can slow down the Singapore (or whatever you choose to use as the spine) as much as you need (or not at all), and get your visuals and interesting/new ways of presenting material through the supplements. When you think she's ready, then try Beast Academy for fun story and interesting presentation.

[moniqueaudrey]

Thanks everyone again.  So many great suggestions.  I have a lot of research to do on these other programs.

 

When Singapore math is mentioned, do you mean the books called Primary Mathematics, as the "standard" books?  Not Math Challenge the Singapore Way?  I'm guessing you mean the first, as they have the levels in two sections A and B.  And did you have the textbooks, teacher guides and all the other books for each level, or just the workbooks?

 

CSMP - I used this for her years ago for a short time.  Will look at this again as it might appeal nowdays. 

 

And MEP - haven't seen this before - will also take a look.

 

Just checked out Key to.....this looks very Miquon like - might be a good option.

 

Beast academy - a friend has this for her daughter.  I love the look of it, but way too much information for my DD to take in so quickly right now.  This might be a good choice as a supplement that is fun and has the story, and she could do it at he own pace.  Or start it in a year or two, when she's more ready for that type of workload.  Love the cartoon and colour in it, and the story approach.

 

Harold Jacobs - this is new to me - will check it out.

 

Thanks so much everyone :)

 

 

[Kendall]

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/

 

Here is the link for MEP in case you hadn't found it.  My guess would be to start in 3A.  One thing that MEP does in a similar fashion is delay teaching the algorithms.  Also there is just one page per lesson.  I think MEP is advanced and you can move to Algebra 1 after 6 (I've moved one child to Algebra I 2/3 of the way through 5 as well).  So don't feel like 3 is a step backwards.   MEP does require teaching time form the parent.

[Farrar]

Just checked out Key to.....this looks very Miquon like - might be a good option.

 

Most of these were written by the author of Miquon's son, I believe. They really do have the same layout as Miquon (but a little more dense for older kids). A lot of people feel there's no real teaching in them, but I disagree - the problems themselves teach well and they help solidify concepts, especially for kids who can learn by doing. I think from what you said it might work well for your dd. The biggest issue I see is that there's a math gap between where Miquon leaves off and where the Key to books pick up. The biggest topic in that gap is definitely long division and that's a big topic, especially for kids that are slower workers.

[Emerald Stoker]

Sigh, the eternal question...I struggled after each kid to find something I liked as a follow-up to Miquon and nothing was ever quite as nice! (Beast Academy didn't exist yet--mine would have liked that). Probably the most successful thing was MEP, supplemented with Hands-On Equations and Patty Paper Geometry (I've got some hands-on kids here).

 

One thing I did find that I liked a lot as a supplement during that transition was the trio of problem set books from the Nuffield foundation written in the 1970s; it's not a complete curriculum, but the problems seemed Miquonesque in spirit to me (I handwrote each problem on an index card, which was a small pain, but not too bad). The three books go in order from easiest to hardest: green, purple, red. Here's a link: http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary/resource/3212/problems-for-the-early-secondary-years

 

There are some other files from the Nuffield Mathematics Project here: http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary/collection/623/nuffield-mathematics-project

 

 

[moniqueaudrey]

^{Thanks for the additional suggestions.  All of this feedback has helped immensely.  I have some wonderful programs to choose from.  Thanks everyone.}