I am considering ordering this for DS (will be 6 in May). I have a Horizons K math workbook and he is clearly bored with it. I don't think he likes worksheets and he also can do more advanced problem solving than what is on the sheet. I think he could do 1st or 2nd grade (with help/guidance) level. He seems to be a visual/hands-on learner. He's a busy, active boy, so I figure something that helps him learn through activity would be better. Math has never been my strongsuit, so I prefer to use some kind of step-by-step guide to help me make sure I am covering the concepts. I can always do some things in every day life, like we have. For example, we play math bingo. I create problems (addition/subtraction - even using carryovers and borrowing) on a dry erase board and he does those. We've done some fraction work in cutting pizzas, apples, baking, etc., but I don't know if I've covered them enough, not enough, in the right "order" so as to avoid confusing him. Anyway, if anyone uses this and can tell me more about it, that would be great! Thanks!
I used Miquon as a remedial course for my dd when she was 3rd or 4th grade (can't remember which). My ds was 2 years younger, but caught onto math much quicker. I pretty much gave them the "lab" sheet and let them complete them on their own. If they couldn't figure out what to do, I'd step in and help guide. They really enjoyed them and did them all in 1 1/2 yrs. If you like a strick lesson plan that tells you what to say when, this isn't what you want. However, if you want to cover first thru 3rd grade math concepts with flexibilty and fun. It is great. You can have fun and be assured that you cover everything they need. It even lets a couple of "algebra" secrets out. Like the number line doesn't start at zero. Another great benifit. It is inexpensive. You can buy a lot of the materials used.
I tried Miquon and couldn't figure it out. I initially purchased the child's book and found there were no instructions. I then purchased the lab manual and it was a little easier. Things just didn't click with my son or me. We started using Singapore this year. It doesn't have a lot of repetition and is good for math-advanced students. It moves from a manipulative to pictorial to abstract concepts in the way it teaches. The textbook has problems to work out that can be done orally. I use it in combination with a living math approach and my boys really enjoy math now.
I'm using it and love it! I tried several types of math programs before coming down to either Miquon or MUS. I chose Miquon because of the price, and I'm glad I did. I later got a hands-on look at MUS and saw that it wouldn't have worked for us anyway. There's quite a bit in Miquon that you can teach w/o the teacher's guide (which is called "Lab Sheet Annotations" by the way), but there's also a lot that will require the teacher's guide. There's only one thick teacher's guide for the entire program, and then there are 6 student workbooks and the rods. There are other things, but I've found they're completely unnecessary! (Like the 1st grade diary and stuff) What I like best about Miquon: (1) It's a mastery system. It teaches only one concept at a time before moving on and before combining ideas. It allows you to really dig into something that's causing trouble, and it allows you to completely skip sections that are already mastered. (2) It teaches higher level concepts right from the start. It's teaching "algebra" without you even realizing it, so that later, the jump into algebra isn't so daunting. (3) It's not a graded system. You won't see "grade 1" on a workbook, you'll see "the red book" or "the green book". Kids don't know what level they're doing, so if they're behind, they won't feel stupid, and if they're ahead, they won't get overwhelmed and want to quit. You can work as fast or as slow as you want. It's *supposed to be* two workbooks per year, equalling approximately grades 1, 2, and 3, but you can do 3 in a year or 1 in a year. Doesn't matter. (4) It assumes kids aren't stupid. I HATE how so many math publishers and schools assume that kids can't possibly learn to multiply until 3rd grade. If they can count, they can be taught to skip numbers. If they can skip count, they can multiply. If they can multiply, they can divide. This is taught in the first two books (grade 1). The second book of grade 1 also introduces order of operations and factoring... things I didn't learn until middle school!! (5) It assumes kids aren't stupid, BUT it also assumes kids don't like to be overwhelmed by pages and pages of tiny print, black and white practice problems. The pages are all single-colored, but each page is a different color. The font looks more like handwriting than print. The numbers are large. There are pictures built in (especially for things like fractions). It's very kid-friendly, but it encourages free thought and time for the kids to be teachers. It'll give a series of problems and then ask the child to come up with their own problems that fit the pattern being taught. If you haven't seen this yet (link below), it'll help you decide for sure where to start. I think you should start with the first book, though. Even if most of it is review, and you're able to zip through it, it'll build confidence, and it'll help you introduce the rod system. (Actually, when we started, I made my own little cheat sheet that we could reference to remember which colors were which numbered rods. We didn't need it after a week or two.) http://www.fun-books.com/books/toc/miquon_math-TOC.htm
What I did so that none of us got bored with the books was to go through it and give them sheets from each type of problem - such as she would do 3 pages from the simple addition, 1 page from the time section, 1 page from multiplication. We started the books later so she already had a handle on some of the things and so we could skip around like this and that kept interest. It just required a bit of pre work on my part. Also, if you were really pushed and just got the Annotations book - you could always draw out the concepts for yourself you wouldn't need the workbook although I agree with an earlier post the colours are nice if your child isn't distracted by colour. ss
I would also suggest getting the Lab Sheet Annotations. There were a couple of pages near the end that I couldn't figure out on my own.
