best math program with lots of manipulatives...

[lurve]

Long story short, my family is horrible with spatial relations. I would like to introduce manipulatives to my daughter as soon as possible. So I was wondering what math program has the most and best manipulatives. Thank you so much!

[theretohere]

Originally Posted by lurve

Long story short, my family is horrible with spatial relations. I would like to introduce manipulatives to my daughter as soon as possible. So I was wondering what math program has the most and best manipulatives. Thank you so much!

You will probably find either Right Start or Miquon a great fit.

[ChinaDoll]

We really like Math U See

[yllek]

You didn't mention your daughter's age, but I'm going to assume that you are looking for a math curriculum suitable for the early learner.

I actually have three math curricula (for which I have paid entirely too much money ), and my son is in kindergarten. I have Miquon, RightStart and (because we receive assignments from ds's classical academy which he attends two days a week), Sadlier-Oxford's Progress in Mathematics. I will say right off, the SOPIM program is just awful! It is worksheet-based, not at all developmentally appropriate for kindergarten IMO, has confusing instructions, and has little to no support for real manipulatives. Instead, they have some ugly online manipulative games that are a poor replacement for the real things.

I want to like Miquon math, but sadly, I do not understand it at all. Also, it seems to do everything with just Cuisenaire rods, which are cool and all, but we like variety.

I had very high hopes for RightStart, but was disappointed to discover that it handles manipulative-based instruction in a highly, almost rigidly structured way. There is a script for the teacher to follow. The child is supposed to work with the manipulative (abacus, mostly) in a very particular way. Really not my idea of the constructivist experience I wanted my son to have. (I am also a big believer in direct instruction, teaching math facts, etc. but I also feel that early learners who are still at the preoperational and beginning concrete-operational stage should have lots of direct experience in exploring and building number concepts.) RightStart was just not doing it for us.

So now, I'm really very excited about a couple of resources. They are either free or low-cost, which is a huge help, since I've already spent so much on the other curricula.

I love, love, love the math activities in the FREE Math Their Way Summary Newsletter. More importantly, ds loves them too. I try to match the activities to the scope and sequence of the dreaded Sadlier-Oxford worksheet assignments. It's giving us a better handle on the concepts too.

The activities in Developing Number Concepts are also great.

I have high hopes for Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics, but I haven't reviewed it in detail to really form an opinion yet. I just thought I'd mention it. i

And there are some really nice activities at this site: http://mathlearnnc.sharpschool.com/c...pageId=5048438

The one thing that may be a deal-breaker for some mamas is that I'm finding this way of teaching to require quite a bit of planning and preparation and engagement. However, for me, it's so much more rewarding that I'm really happy to put in the time.

Best of luck, OP! I hope you find something that meets your needs.

[meetoo]

We are using McRuffy which is very manipulative based. Most lessons are taught using manipulative, then followed up with a worksheet.