Thank you all for your input!
From what I've read I love the way Math is talked about in Charlotte Mason. Beauty, awe-inspiring, discovering God in his created order... The way a child is led to discover answers for himself, treated as capable to be able to grasp concepts, not to have things dulled down or to give him prodding, hints, leading, or telling him the correct answer.
I love that the SCM program is simply a non-consumable hardcover book with a gridded notebook for my daughter. Manipulatives can be buttons or sticks, and I picture myself reading from the book while we sit outside on the picnic rug and use nature as ways of discovering math concepts, ie. bundling sticks in 10's, finding symmetry in leaves... it seems so beautiful and poetic! I love the idea of that.
I really do not like plastic, prepared manipulatives, such as the massive plastic RightStart kit, and really, I love the idea of not relying on manipulatives too much at all. It seems the only other options are programs that use workbooks, which, though visual, can be very unappealing aesthetically with corny cartoons and an overload of busy pictures. To use a CM term, the "twaddle" of illustrations for me! I like the idea of how teaching math may have looked before we had all these plastic manipulatives, cheesy workbooks (my opinion!), and online resources and options...
So, my picture of using the SCM program is beautiful, but, does it teach my daughter mathematics WELL!? I don't know if I'll know ahead of time and may just need to give it a go! I have three children younger than my first grade daughter, and it feels overwhelming to spend a long time with math, so I love the idea of the short lessons in CM. It's just when I compare the program to others, it seems like, surely it must be lacking something?! But, maybe it isn't!