Reading Rods®
"With 2 kinesthetic learners (who have difficulty with handwriting due to fine motor delays), finding a product that could be manipulated with three dimensions was importance...Before taking "pen to paper" there were able to practice spelling words, vocabulary words, and successfully write sentences and stories. This adaptation has greatly increased their ability to work on grade-level topics without needing grade-level handwriting!"
R. LynetteHomeschool Educator
Knoxville, Tennessee
"Tactile, hands-on activities for word-building and concrete reinforcement of phonics lessons has benefited my children. {They} love the colors, and love playing with blocks, and Reading Rods combine both!"
S. ShellingHomeschool Parent of 6
Auckland, Alaska
"The manipulative appealed to me because of my children's learning style. It is helping in my first-grader's phonics, and teaching my third-grader grammar the easy way. It will reinforce parts of speech for my older child and be an invaluable asset to my beginning reader."
S. PowellHartville, Ohio
Cuisenaire® Rods
"We started homeschooling 14 years ago and were introduced to the Cuisenaire Rods and [accompanying] teaching materials. The flexibility was attractive and I have used the rods to teach everything from beginning number concepts to fractions to algebra and higher math concepts. I have used them to monitor my children's developmental progress toward understanding abstract ideas. Over the years, I have purchased and used other math products and used a variety of curriculums, but I always find myself coming back to the rods!"
D. RigelHomeschool Mom of 4
Orlando, Florida
"I purchased [Cuisenaire Rods] seven years ago, and have used the rods as a math manipulative for visual and kinesthetic value to make abstract math concepts more concrete. This was useful for the early years of learning, and I still hang on to them and put them out when the children get stuck; it helps them work through problems. It has helped the children 'see' and 'feel' math as opposed to just having a nebulous concept in their heads."
K. HoltgrieveHomeschool Teacher
Springfield, Virginia
"I have been using Cuisenaire Rods since the early 1980's. They are so versatile! I especially like the Connecting Cuisenaire Rods and plan to develop an entire multiplication/division sequence based on these connecting rods."
V. StrawdermanHome Math Help
Marietta, Georgia
"I love that the kids can play with it as well as it being a teaching tool. It really has made math more fun. The kids were building a structure with the rods and one of my young kids said 'Look 4 and 1 are 5!'"
M. GoldmanHomeschool Mom
Dunwoody, Georgia
Cuisenaire Rods and Base Ten Blocks
"Many children have trouble in the early grades as they begin to explore our base ten system. Cuisenaire Rods, and flats and cubes of base ten blocks help kids understand place value and learn to 'carry' and 'borrow' and to work mentally. I've been using these math tools to teach homeschooled children and to tutor kids for about 10 years. They're wonderful at making numbers come alive in children's minds."
J. HenningHomeschool Math Tutor
Brooklyn, New York