In the words of Tina Turner . . .
. . . "They're simply the best."
Cuisenaire rods were invented by George Cuisenaire, a musician, in response to a universal problem: . . . '. . ."Why do children find math such a difficult subject to learn?"
Cuisenaire Rods are the most complete math model ever devised. Unlike computers, cuisenaire rods never crash, don't get overtaken by new technology and are truly interactive. What's more cuisenaire rods are virtually indestructable
A Brief Description
The genius behind the creation of Cuisenaire rods is their simplicity.
Cuisenaire rods are simply 10 colored cuboids of wood or plastic increasing in length by one centimetre from white to orange.
Like a piano, once the basics have been mastered it is possible to create an infinite variety of math shapes, patterns and equations.
Cuisenaire Rods, Math Development and Whole Brain Learning
FACT:When children are stressed they will not learn.
Stress actually creates an electrical strom in the brain making it impossible to think straight. In order to learn effectively children must be in the right emotional state. This means creating an environment that, while challenging, remains stress free. That is why cuisenaire rods are the perfect medium for introducing math to young or older children and adults who have failed to grasp basic math concepts and principle.
The nature of cuisenaire rods allows for open ended tasks and problem-setting that enables your child to develop at his/her optimum learning level - what Csikszentmihalyi describes as the 'flow state'. Ensure Your Child Succeeds At Mathembodies this principle and is supported by50 animated instructional sequences.
Cuisenaire rods reign supreme among math manipulatives. It is a tragedy for our children they are not more widely used and understood in schools generally. One of the 'hidden' benefits of using cuisenaire rods is the enriched sensory stimulation your child receives through plenty of handling and touching. Infants who receive enriched sensory stimulation become more mentally alert and physically stronger. Neurobiologists Shatz at UC Berkeley and Jacobs at UCLA confirm this fact.
One of the brain's abilities is the capacity to recognize color. Color creates an emotional response. Imagine visiting London and trying to make sense of the underground system if the map were in black and white and not color coded.
Using cuisenaire rods children can be introduced to basic math concepts before having to cope with numbers. Number is itself an abstract concept and difficult to grasp. Caleb Gattegno called this approach 'algebra before arithmetic'. This approach is foundational to Ensure Your Child Succeeds At Math
The BIg Picture:
In his book 'The Learning Brain' Eric Jenson states that 75% of teachers are sequential analytical presenters. Unfortunately 70% of their students do not learn in that way. He suggests that a better method would be to start with a global overview and then move to a more sequential approach. Cuisenaire rods lend themselves perfectly to this method and is reflected in Ensure Your Child Succeeds At MathCuisenaire rods will be your child's window on a rich landscape of pattern and relationships.
Not all of us learn in exactly the same way. Basically we are either predominantly:l
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic or Tactile learners.
Ensure Your Child Succeeds At Mathcombines these four learning styles perfectly. Young children are strongly kinesthetic learners as are many boys and will benefit from a 'hands on' learning program. Visual learners will respond to the color of pattern and relationships revealed by Cuisenaire rods. The program is task-driven and the emphasis upon questions to instigate open-ended tasks will appeal to auditory learners.
Common Misconceptions "Will my child become dependent on cuisenaire rods?" Quite the reverse!
Cuisenaire rods are not some cumbersome calculating machine. They literally enable children to 'see' and grasp mathematical concepts and relationships. This empowers children to move more quickly from the concrete to the abstract. This is explained more fully in our program.
"My child's school doesn't use the rods." A shame, but it doesn't matter.
Remember the program does not teach about the rods it teaches math through the rods. If you are looking for a home-school program then I do not believe you will find a better one.
If you simply want to support your child at home then why not do it in the most effective, fun way possible.
"I'm no good at math. How could I possibly help my child?"
Surprise yourself! You are actually much better than you think. Most of use have problems with math because we were rushed into the formal setting of 'doing sums' before we ever understood the underlying concepts.
I have used this program with parents convinced they were useless at math. They discovered, to their amazement, that they weren't. They were even more surprised to find they enjoyed it!
