Miquon Math

When parents ask me for my recommendation for math curricula for younger children, I sing the praises of Miquon Math, six consumable workbooks used with Cuisenaire rods, a necessary investment for this program. As a person who values discovery and understanding over rote memorization, I appreciate the connections that this series fosters. As much as I believe that math facts are best internalized (and memorized backwards and forwards), some people really have an inability to hold on to rote facts. This is one of the strengths of Miquon with its emphasis on mathematical relationships and pattern recognition. Miquon is great for visual and kinesthetic learners.

Because I mostly work with middle schoolers, I am particularly sensitive to the gaps that I notice in math education as they mainfest in the 6th-8th grades. I often create lessons based on Miquon Lab sheets for my math enrichment students. (These are the "top-scoring" students on standardized tests.)

Real-life scenario:
My then seven year old daughter happened to be working on square and triangular numbers in the Green Book as I was teaching my sixth grade class about numerical relationships, including these topics. As I heard protests from some of my students that the work we were doing was "too advanced," I pulled out my daughter's workbook. "If my second/third grader can figure this out, I imagine that you all will be able to learn this as well." I worry that the sense of adventure and discovery in learning has been lost to most of my students. Miquon fosters this "I can figure this out for myself" sensibility.

Now, I must say that I don't adhere to using the lab sheets as presented in Lab Sheet Annotations and Mathematics for the Primary Teacher. Sometimes I show my children a standard algorithm (the step-by-step method of solving a problem), and sometimes we skip pages. I don't count on Miquon to teach my children their math facts, but I know that my children are not afraid of math and do not have math blocks. There are plenty of other ways to learn math facts (games, flashcards, songs, etc.), and I know most other parents supplement with these methods regardless of curriculum. Let's face it; the children who excel in school often have parents who are supplementing in some way at home. Why should it be any different for homeschoolers?

Benefits:
Inexpensive (Each book is about $7.00.)
Simple, uncluttered layout
Promotes problem solving ability and discovery

Caveats:
May need supplementation for math facts (especially if this makes you feel more comfortable)
Nerve wracking for parents who prefer using the math algorithms they learned in school
Lack of instructions for first time users (buy the Annotations book)
May lead to frustration when your child places in Saxon 65 at the end of the program (or is that a benefit?)