Just Discovered Miquon...

[knitgrl]

I think MEP is great. I've been using it for oldest dd, used Reception for ds and using Yr 1 with him now, and have just about completed Reception for dd5. I didn't want dd5 to be working on the same math book as ds6 - he tends to be a little slower with academic things than she is. So I thought I would pick up Miquon Orange for her to keep doing mathy things for the rest of the year. I just started reading through it, and it looks awesome! Like maybe I'll have her do that instead of MEP.

So, in reading past threads it seems a lot of folks use Miquon as their main program through 3rd grade or so. Would the crossover to MEP in 4th be a problem? Also, if you want to share your love and/or reservations about Miquon or MEP, or how you used one or the other, or both together, I would be happy to read that, too.

[El...]

I love, love, love Miquon.  My second kid is almost done with it (it only goes through about 3rd grade). I love the way it helps my kids deeply understand what numbers mean, and how quickly and simply it leads them to figure pretty complex concepts out.

Because it is only three grades of material,  we did Miquon plus a gradual merge.  Dd did Miquon plus Singapore, and then changed to Beast Academy as that became available. Ds is doing Miquon plus Beast starting in 2nd grade.

[knitgrl]

Ah, so you go through two books a year. I did not catch that. That will be useful information....

[Lori D.]

We went from Miquon to Singapore with our math-lover. 😄 Loved, loved, loved Miquon here! (And Singapore!)

re: 2 books/year -- Actually, you can go through Miquon at whatever pace works for your student -- I've seen (other people's) students finish all 6 workbooks before the end of 2nd grade, and other students who finish in 4th grade. No need to rush -- take it at YOUR student's pace. 😄 

Best of luck in your math adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

[lulalu]

We LOVE Miquon here. I took out all the pages and organized how I felt best. So we do two to three (sometimes more) pages a day. Love how simple and easy to use it is. It is so flexible. 

But if you like scripts or step by step you won't like it. I like the freedom and open endedness of the program. 

[barnwife]

I like Miquon, partly for its flexibility. That being said, I moved our 2 oldest away from it before finishing it. The flexibility that I liked at first started getting to me. It was hard for me to see progress because they were constantly jumping from topic to topic. And, as I started HSing more kids, it just got too overwhelming for me. 

Now that I have a better balance of HS multiple children, our third child is using a blend of Miquon and Singapore's Dimensions math. I'd consider having our 2nd kid do some of the pages (she's 2nd/3rd ish), but she likes knowing exactly what she has to do each day. The flexibility wouldn't be her thing. 

Have fun with Miquon!

[knitgrl]

I wish I had looked into Miquon earlier so that I could have used it with ds. He's fine with the content of MEP, but I usually scribe for him on the worksheets because writing is so much work for him. Miquon seems to be less writing intensive and while I've done some manipulative things with him, not as much as our youngest. I feel bad because it seems like the youngest will be getting the superior math education, while the other two were guinea pigs.

[Miss Tick]

Ommm, let the guilt go, ommm.

I, too, didn't discover Miquon until my olders were mostly beyond it. The olders used MEP until I couldn't handle the amount of teaching time it required. My youngest started right off with Miquon when she wanted to do math. I think she finished the series by 3rd grade and then moved easily into BA. So, I'm not sure the easiest way to transition to MEP, but if your olders used MEP I bet you are familiar enough with that program that you could choose a starting point for her based on her age/grade and then skip through anything she already knows and backfill anything she might have missed.

[knitgrl]

42 minutes ago, SusanC said:

Ommm, let the guilt go, ommm.

I, too, didn't discover Miquon until my olders were mostly beyond it. The olders used MEP until I couldn't handle the amount of teaching time it required. My youngest started right off with Miquon when she wanted to do math. I think she finished the series by 3rd grade and then moved easily into BA. So, I'm not sure the easiest way to transition to MEP, but if your olders used MEP I bet you are familiar enough with that program that you could choose a starting point for her based on her age/grade and then skip through anything she already knows and backfill anything she might have missed.

That's reassuring to hear. :-) Perhaps dd will be able to go straight to BA from Miquon. I was doing a RS game with her a few weeks ago, and she started whining and getting frustrated. "This is TOO easy!" Then she turned her hand into a talking mouth, saying "Blah! Blah! Blah!"

[Lecka]

I have supplemented with Education Unboxed.  They have videos using the rods.  The ones we have used are great!!!!!  
 

It is a resource I didn’t know about for a long time.  

[Sarah0000]

I use Mep Reception for preschool (in clear protecting sleeves with dry erase markers). Miquon, Singapore 1-3 (textbooks only), Life of Fred elementary, and Beast Academy for k-2. I like Miquon the most for independent work before the kids are ready for Beast Academy. In our house Singapore textbooks work for oral, couch time. They are a quick way to review stuff and ensure understanding but in Miquon they do their own thing.

ETA: We tried bits of Mep 1-3 but it was a pain trying to condense the work into less worksheets. I like the content, not the format. I think Mep is a stronger program in terms of scope than Singapore or Miquon; if you were going to do ONE math thing, and I mean one math thing altogether not just one math curriculum, then Mep is a strong choice if you don't mind worksheets every day (we do mind). 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Sarah0000

[Farrar]

Another Miquon lover. My kid who did well with Miquon did well with Beast Academy (the levels that were out when he did it, anyway). 

I had another kid who did MEP. I think it all just depends on you and the kid. Miquon and MEP are great programs. Fuse them and it'll be excellent. Or just switch over to MEP when you're done with all the Miquon. If it doesn't work, then you'll find something else at that point. I wouldn't overthink it too much.

[knitgrl]

1 hour ago, Sarah0000 said:

I use Mep Reception for preschool (in clear protecting sleeves with dry erase markers).  -- I did this, too!

In our house Singapore textbooks work for oral, couch time. -- Never would have even considered math on the couch, (excepting mathy picture books). I love this forum!

 

[knitgrl]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

Another Miquon lover. My kid who did well with Miquon did well with Beast Academy (the levels that were out when he did it, anyway). 

I had another kid who did MEP. I think it all just depends on you and the kid. Miquon and MEP are great programs. Fuse them and it'll be excellent. Or just switch over to MEP when you're done with all the Miquon. If it doesn't work, then you'll find something else at that point. I wouldn't overthink it too much.

I see what you mean about overthinking it, but I generally don't change curriculum unless it just isn't working. I was just planning on having everyone do MEP, because it is good, and it works and I am familiar with it. There is no *need* to change. I guess I am a little wary of the bright and shiny. I was showing my husband the workbook and lab book and saying, "It just looks like so much fun!" His response - "Um. Yeah."

[Farrar]

1 hour ago, knitgrl said:

I see what you mean about overthinking it, but I generally don't change curriculum unless it just isn't working. I was just planning on having everyone do MEP, because it is good, and it works and I am familiar with it. There is no *need* to change. I guess I am a little wary of the bright and shiny. I was showing my husband the workbook and lab book and saying, "It just looks like so much fun!" His response - "Um. Yeah."

I don't think it will hurt anyone if you try and change it up. I have twins. Between them, they used Singapore, MEP, Miquon, Beast, Math in Focus, and Math Mammoth at various points in elementary school. They were fine. They're both doing fine in Algebra II now. Miquon was such a good fit for one of my kids and for me as a teacher that I adore it to this day. I'd say give it a try. If it works, use it for awhile. If nothing else, you'll have the C-rods and you'll get to know them and be able to bring them in for MEP lessons occasionally when something doesn't quite click.

Have you seen the Education Unboxed videos about using the rods?

[Sarah0000]

2 hours ago, knitgrl said:

 

Math on the couch is how we do probably 90% of teacher-led math. I keep a notebook and pencil in our morning basket if necessary, but most everything is oral. If I want kiddos to practice something specific then I use a wall mount whiteboard.

[knitgrl]

9 hours ago, Farrar said:

I don't think it will hurt anyone if you try and change it up. I have twins. Between them, they used Singapore, MEP, Miquon, Beast, Math in Focus, and Math Mammoth at various points in elementary school. They were fine. They're both doing fine in Algebra II now. Miquon was such a good fit for one of my kids and for me as a teacher that I adore it to this day. I'd say give it a try. If it works, use it for awhile. If nothing else, you'll have the C-rods and you'll get to know them and be able to bring them in for MEP lessons occasionally when something doesn't quite click.

Have you seen the Education Unboxed videos about using the rods?

When I first started out, I used MUS with dd because a veteran hs'r recommended it. It wasn't a good fit, because dd could whip through the worksheets, but didn't understand at all why she was carrying the one in addition. We floundered for a few months in 1st grade until you recommended MEP. I know it doesn't matter, but it's hard to shake the feeling that she is still a year behind in math. She gets concepts just fine, but her recall on facts is slow, which might be due more to how she is wired than how I have taught, but still....

I'm kind of thinking of integrating Miquon with ds. He is definitely not a worksheet-loving kid like the girls are.

We have the rods with the Mathematics Made Meaningful cards, and I've used those in Kindergarten for the younger two in between the MEP Reception pages. The rods get pulled out periodically for MEP lessons, too.  I think Education Unboxed convinced me to buy the wooden rods instead of the plastic ones, but I haven't really dived into them, which apparently I should.

[kbutton]

On 4/1/2020 at 10:46 PM, Lori D. said:

We went from Miquon to Singapore with our math-lover. 😄 Loved, loved, loved Miquon here! (And Singapore!)

re: 2 books/year -- Actually, you can go through Miquon at whatever pace works for your student -- I've seen (other people's) students finish all 6 workbooks before the end of 2nd grade, and other students who finish in 4th grade. No need to rush -- take it at YOUR student's pace. 😄 

Best of luck in your math adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.

This is what we did too, though we did save a few topics in the last couple of Miquon books for later--stuff that was a wee bit too abstract, and then came back to them. We turned to Singapore for 3rd grade, and then we did some MM after Singapore 5 (we used US edition, so I wanted to add in some additional topics). 

On 4/2/2020 at 2:16 PM, Lecka said:

I have supplemented with Education Unboxed.  They have videos using the rods.  The ones we have used are great!!!!!  
 

It is a resource I didn’t know about for a long time.  

Agreed.