Miquon Math
Grades: 1-3
Rainbow Resource
Miquon Math is a different math curriculum, and inexpensive as well. It lets children discover and investigate and think on their own, but requires more time from the teacher than the conventional curricula. However, it is cheap and can work as a supplemental program to enrich another math program. Gifted children might enjoy its challenges.
"Based on the belief that mathematical insight grows out of observation, investigation, and the discovery of patterns, the six children's workbooks of the Miquon Math Materials lead children through an exploration of mathematical relationships. Concrete models are not supplements to the written work but instead are the basis of it and are used continuously.
Unlike conventional math series that concentrate on the mechanical manipulations of arithmetic, Miquon Math presents a broader introduction to mathematics, of which arithmetic is only a part. It allows children to be creative and imaginative problem solvers.
Miquon Math introduces all four arithmetic operations and work with fractions in the first year. By the third year, students are graphing algebraic equations. Miquon Math stimulates children with a great variety of investigations. Although it stands alone, it can also be used to supplement a basal program already in use."
Lab sheet annotations (needed) $13.50, books $5.50 each or $37.95 a set
Reviews of Miquon Math Materials
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Time: 3 years
Your situation: I homeschooled two sons, now 16 and 18 and in their third year of college. Miquon was the first Math curriculum we used for elementary level math. Why you liked/didn't like the curriculum: Miquon gave my sons an intuitive grasp of basic number relationships and made it easy for them to learn their basic math facts. It was an incredible value for the price. Any other helpful hints: Cuisenaire rods - the best math manipulatives I ever used. Even if you don't use Miquon, these would be a great resource with any elementary math curriculum. Karen Martin Review left September 10, 2014 |
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Miquon Math, Saxon Math, Making Math Meaningful Time: 13 years Your situation: Home educated 3 children, now adults. Currently ordering Miquon Math for my great-niece! Why you liked/didn't like the book: Yearly my children completed Miquon Math and Making Math Meaningful throughout elementary years. As they entered 6th grade, they switched to/added Saxon Math. They all did well in high school and college algebra, geometry and two had calculus! I like the conceptual, hands on approach as well as the ease of teaching of Miquon and MMM, the repetition and integration of Saxon. We used math daily in cooking, crafts, sewing, gardening, science, etc. also. Now my 8 year old great-niece needs supplemental assistance and I am looking to Miquon to help her out! Any other helpful hints: I used a box of plastic rods that had ones, tens, hundreds and a thousand cube. It really helped the kids with all the Math lessons. What I don't know is where to find it again! pam schumacher Review left July 13, 2012 |
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Time: 6 years Your situation: I home schooled two of our four daughters that are now 21 and 17. I am now home schooling my oldest daughter's 7-year old son and I am using Miquon with him Why you liked/didn't like the book: I wanted to add my review so that people would understand that positive impact that Miquon made on my two youngest daughters. We chose Miquon after doing much research in math programs. This program seemed to be the most promising to give our girls the best opportunity to truly understand math. We began in 1995 with the program. My older daughter is presently a senior majoring in math at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The younger daughter is a senior in high school and during her junior scored a 710 on the SAT in math and made the highest score possible, a 5, on her Advanced Placement AB calculus test. I believe the problem solving skills Miquon teaches are the main reason both of my daughters are extremely successful in Math. Any other helpful hints: Reading and understanding the lab sheet annotations are very important to succeed in this program. Realizing this will not be the way you learned math in school and do not have fear that it will not work. It will seem slower at first. Have faith it does work! cynthia stanley Review left September 23, 2010 |
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Time: 1 year My 7 year old son is good at grasping mathematical concepts but has an incredibly difficult time focusing on a worksheet for very long, and getting him to work through a worksheet completely on his own is just about impossible. For his first grade year I chose Miquon, hoping that being able to wrap his fingers around the rods would help him stay engaged. And if it didn't work we wouldn't be out much money! Any kind of seatwork is a struggle for us. I liked Miquon because the overall number of worksheets was small, yet at the end of the year he is understanding multiplication and division and fractions. I felt that was a pretty impressive feat for a child that struggles with school as much as he does. The pages were simple enough not to be distracting, but engaging enough not to be boring. I feel like he has learned a lot of good thinking skills. And the younger kids always love to play with the rods while big brother does his worksheets. Any other helpful hints: Buy the rod track that goes with the Cuisenaire rods. It's only a couple of dollars but you really need it. Birrd Review left May 30, 2009 |
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Time: 4 years I have been homeschooling for 5 years. Currently I have 2 children that are school aged and another one starting kindergarten this fall. I started Miquon Math because it was inexpensive and because my son needed a lot of hands-on to understand math. I continued using it for my daughter and she had done well in it also. One concern I had was that there seemed to be a huge leap in skill level between 2nd and 3rd grade. So I used AlphaOmega for 3rd grade and than went back to Miquon for 4th grade. I was concerned that this would have held my son back but I think that I'll be able to put him into 5th grade math with just a little extra "catch-up" work. I'm really thankful for the foundation that Miquon has given my children. My son especially can figure out how to do new problems very quickly now. Paula DeBow Review left June 8, 2008 |
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Time: 1 1/2 years My 4th grade daughter was continually struggling with math concepts. Knowing that she would be lost in higher math if she didn't understand basic math, I began my search for help. After researching math programs on this website, the girl who used Miquon in high school as a refresher course, convinced me to try this with my kids. With only 2 grades difference between my kids, I opted to let them do math together. Although, my son was not struggling, I figured it wouldn't hurt for him to review some and learn why math works. Why you liked/didn't like the book: This program had been great. My kids have completed 4 of the 6 books in one year. Although my daughter is still a reluctant math learner and doesn't like to need to have things explained, Miquon had allowed her to enjoy and understand more of what she does. I wish I had used Miquon with her when I started homeschooling her in 1st grade. It has helped being able to get out the manipulatives and explain concepts to her. My son has needed very little explaining, but has picked up most concepts on his own by doing the lab sheets. My only problem is, "What do I do when they are finished with Miquon?" Any other helpful hints: This curriculum is very flexible. You can easily adjust the hands on activities and pace to fit your child's needs. If they pick up math quickly, than the lab sheets do most of the work. If they struggle, than you can make it fun by using the manipulatives and letting them "play" while learning complicated math concepts. Best of of all, this curriculum is INEXPENSIVE! Michele Review left May 6, 2008 |
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Miquon AND Singapore together. Time: 2005-2007
Your situation: We are two math-loving parents homeschooling a mathematical daughter. We wanted curriculum which would be flexible, filled with ideas, and FUN! We have been using Singapore 1A,1B, and 2A, along with Miquon Orange, Red, Blue, and Green. Why you liked/didn't like the book: These two curricula balance each other well. Singapore is structured and teaches a certain thinking process to the point of mastery. The scope of content is somewhat narrow, and incorporates many word problems. Miquon is flexible and encourages independent discovery and mathematical exploration. The scope of content is broad, but does not include word problems. Both curricula are fun, engaging, and well-laid-out. Any other helpful hints: Singapore: most children will need additional review or drill beyond what the series itself provides. Several "additional practice" books are available that match the curriculum. For very mathematical children, though, this curriculum has just enough - they love not having to do twenty identical problems before the next new idea! Miquon: The lab notes are necessary, especially for the first year books. I feel this curriculum best suits math-loving parents who want to share their children's joy of discovery. This curriculum moves faster than others. Most children will need additional review or drill. We are quite happy using Miquon and Singapore together -- they are pleasantly complementary, and provide necessary review, refreshing variety, and a fun, engaging, and confidence-building math learning experience. Elizabeth B. |
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Your situation: I was homeschooled from kindergarten and of course, my mom put me through Saxon math because it was supposed to be the best. All it did, unfortunatly, was make me loath math because none of it made any sense. I was scared to death of ever needing to use math in real life. Finally in 8th grade, Mom got me a set of Miquon mathbooks as a remedial program. For the first time, math made sense. I would say everything I actually remember about math I learned from my Miquon books. Why you liked/didn't like the book: It made math fun and do-able. The books are not intimidating. I liked that they let you discover the principles behind the problems, instead of clouding learning with a bunch of formulas. I also liked the creative layout of the pages. Being a very visual learner, it really helped me focus. Any other helpful hints: Miquon is not just for first through third graders. I would recommend this program for anyone struggling with math comprehension. However, if you prefer neat orderly rows of problems marching down the page, this program will drive you nuts. Miquon is not a conventional drill-focused math program. Lisa Huebert |
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Grade levels used:1-3 Time: about 5 years I have been using Miquon Math for my 3 children and like it alot. I always did poorly in math in school, so I wanted a good curriculum that I could trust to present the concepts well. Now my oldest is in grade 5 and is doing Saxon 5/4 but isn't liking it. It is too bad that miquon stops at grade 3. I really like Miquon Math for the way it presents the information. It lets the child discover the rules through doing the workbook pages. For example it will give a series of longer and longer repeated additions (2+2+2+2+2) and then switch over to multiplication so it is clear that we use multiplication as a short cut in such cases. Helpful hints: The first book has very little written instructions in the workbook. The Lab sheet annotations book is very useful at first till you get a hang of what they should be doing with each sheet. Doug |
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Grade levels used:orange-red Time: this year (2005) My son is in kindergarten and excels in math. He gets bored easily with doing problems over and over, but loves Miquon because it allows him to come up with his own equations and to go beyond what other texts allow. For example, he likes using division and multiplication as well as subtraction and addition. In our experience, this has been a great addition to Singapore Math (level 1A& 1B). I would highly recommend it if your child finds math easy and likes to be challenged to create his own equations and to think "outside of the box." Karen |
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Grade levels used: 1-4 Time: 1 year We love this curriculum. It stresses using creative methods to obtain the answers and to understand the concepts. The books are simple (no fancy colors or pictures) but effective. Manipulatives are used but are not essential (we don't use them). There is no answer key, but there are "Lab Sheet Annotations" which tell how to teach each concept. |
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