Miquon is a unique math program designed for students in the first through third grades. There are a total of six workbooks consisting of math “labs” . In the labs, the student explores and discovers math concepts for himself.
Cuisenaire rods are essential to completing many of the labs. The rods are a manipulative that can be used to perform mathematical operations and demonstrate concepts such as area and volume. There are rods of different colors to represent each number 1 through 10.
The white rod is the unit cube and has dimensions of 1 cm X 1 cm X 1cm. The next rod, red, is 2 cm long; the following green rod is 3 cm long, etc.
This picture illustrates how the rods can be used for addition and subtraction. When a student is using them to add, he finds rods to represent each of the addends and puts them in a row. Then he searches for a rod of the correct length for the sum and checks it by laying it beside the addend row. To subtract he would lay the two rods beside each other. To find the difference he finds the rod that fills the leftover space. For example, on the left side of the photograph there are two white rods placed in a column. To the side of the white rods is a red rod. This physically demonstrates the equations 1+1=2 and 2-1=1. On the right side of the photograph, there are a green and a red rod placed beside a yellow rod. This can represent the equations 3+2=5, 2+3=5, 5-2=3, or 5-3=2.
A sample page from Miquon Orange, the first book, is shown above. In this lab, the student is to discover all the addition equations that are equal to 4. The rods are placed directly on a diagram of the rods on the page. The pages in the Miquon workbooks are simple and uncluttered, and there are typically few problems per page. Miquon is a great for both visual and kinesthetic learners.
You might be wondering why I, one of the classical education ladies at The Curriculum Choice, would choose a program like Miquon. Isn’t classical education about drill and memorizing facts? I must agree that Miquon does not seem to fit into the classical mold. However, before I was a homeschool mom, I was an engineer. So I really like math. I think math is fun and I want my kids to see and understand that from a young age. Not only do I want my kids to think math is fun, but I want them to understand math. Having a good understanding of basic arithmetic is crucial in understanding higher maths. The Cuisenaire rods are wonderful for showing mathematical operations in a concrete way. Miquon is not our main math curriculum because I prefer a primary math curriculum that is more logical and systematic in its presentation. I recommend Miquon as a fun supplemental math program because it helps children to think about math in a different way. Miquon is available for purchase from Key Curriculum Press.
Written by Kristen, Well Trained Classical Mom
Kristen Hamilton and her husband, Kevin, have been home-educating their five children since their eldest’s birth in 1998. Kristen is Executive Assistant Manager of The Old Schoolhouse SchoolhouseTeachers.com and loves helping homeschoolers find educational resources. An admitted curriculum junkie, Kristen blogs about her homeschool experiences at Sunrise to Sunset (sunrisetosunsethomeschool.com). She also enjoys reading, crochet, and hiking with her family in her limited free time.
Brenda says
June 4, 2009 at 8:02 amI agree that using these cuisinaire rods really helps solidify math concepts. Great review of Miquon! I wasn’t sure how it worked before this review.