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So I was reading a book the other day, and what does it mention but Cuisenaire rods! Anyone else remember these from grade school? I remember being so excited when the teacher got these out. They're so cheerful and colorful and the sound they make when you pour them out is so satisfying. It's fun! It's a toy!
Then we'd do stuff like this:
Yawn. It always seemed like the teachers weren't exactly sure how to use these things. They'd make a half-hearted attempt to weave them into a lesson about fractions, then they'd give up and let us mess around for a few minutes.
Now we're talking! I just loved to move them around, click them against each other, sort them, and enjoy the colors.
Then, a few years ago, I came across a set of them at the thrift store. For $2.50, I got a complete set of the rods and three workbooks. I think my grade school teachers might have benefited from the workbooks.
I especially like this book, Spatial Problem Solving:
Don't get me wrong, I had great teachers in grade school, but they really missed the boat with the Cuisenaire rods! Oh well. I'll just play with them now.
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6 comments:
Those look like so much fun! I have never seen or heard of them before. Are they wooden?
My son (9) would have a blast making things with a set like that. He loves matching things to the pictures in a book. I will have to keep my eye out for them.
Robin, the set I found is plastic, but they have wooden ones too.
I looked them up online, and they aren't as expensive as I thought they might be!
I had a wooden set too when I was just starting school, I haven't seen any for years, Not sure where mine went either!!
I totally remember those rods, so much fun. Our teacher would bring them out only on rainy days, and the room would get quiet enough to hear the rain and the click click or the rods. glad you found a set to play with, fun!
Oh my! I am recently retired from teaching first and second grade for many years. I loved using those rods for beginning math, but I also allowed the students to play with them after lessons. What fun! Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories!
Holy cow, total flashback to second grade in 1979 to 1980 in Quakertown, PA....these little guys were the only thing I liked about math class, besides the drawings of coins in our workbooks.
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