Math with confidence?

[Homeschoolz]

Hi, I am considering switching to math with confidence at 2nd grade level and possibly the preschool book for my youngest. Has anyone used them? How did you find them? Is it easy to do it with 2 children? How are they doing with mental arithmetic, do you feel they really understand the numbers? Word problems?

 

My school aged children are K and 1st grade aged and are at the same level for math, they will likely finish SCM 1 later in the month. It was the first math curriculum I ever did with them, and they do very well with math orally and very good at mental arithmetic and word problems. They understand place value etc. But they really struggle when it is written down past 10 and we have to get manipulatives out to figure out the number is. Most ot the time they choose to do sums without manipulatives. There is a lot of disparity between their understanding of numbers/ mental arithmetic and recognising the numerals.

I just don't think there was enough to practice with the numerals. My plan was SCM Arithmetic 2 as I am impressed with their mental arithmetic, plus picking up a cheap grade 2 workbook for extra practice in areas I felt were lacking. But then I have been investigating other options and love how games based  MWC is, it seems to have the right balance between hands on learning and worksheets. I know there are some things in MWC K+1st we haven't covered, but I think we'll be okay jumping into the second grade, possibly with extra worksheets / books or games to help. 

Im also tempted to get MWC Grade 1, as 'review' and probably working through it quickly and skipping over some things, but would give extra practice with numerals and a few areas SCM didn't cover.

I would really love to hear others experiences with MWC. (Maybe SCM if anyone found the same but it resolved itself?)

Also, does anyone know how high the program will be going? I think I saw Grade 3 would be out soon?

[Nm.]

Some people love it but I found it hard to get to it everyday (I have 5 children), and that is most important- to do math everyday.  It is a great program if you know you can follow through with the games and demonstration everyday.  It will go through grade 6.  Consistency isn’t a problem in preschool.  

Edited February 5, 2023 by Lovinglife123

[countrymum]

Grade 3 should be out this spring.

I have used most of preschool part of kindergarten and all of 1st grade. I tried piolet testing 3rd, but I ended up dropping it not due to content but do to having to always print units ectra...piolet stuff. 

Preschool I love. It is all short and hands on. Great math foundation. I am on my 2nd one using this.

Kindergarten I don't like as well. It seems kinda slow maybe? I think it is a good program though. My sis in law uses it in a small private school for kindergarten and then goes into 1st with kids who go faster so that's an option.

I really love 1st. It doesn't take too long and the games are better than Rightstart in my opinion. My son likes his math and doesn't find it too hard. He is learning right along with it and doing well. I spend like 20 min or so on math with him. It is not hard for me to get to (I have 5 kids too....and am pregnant....the lessons are more consistent and discrete than RightStart). Then he works for like 10? Minutes on the sheet. He claimed to not like the like 6-8 equations that are on the sheet, but he has them mostly memorized now;)  I love that there is review on the back of the sheet. Place Value is covered well and completely in 1st grade. Both the Reading and writing of 2 digit numbers. It has some story problems. You could always make up a few more if you wanted to. I would really start here with your kids. There are only 4 required days a week and some units are measurement or graphs, so you could likely go faster.

I have 2nd on my shelf I can look at it and answer some specific questions if you want.

3rd is a big ramp up from 1st (I imagine 2nd bridges this). It is on par with RightStart (I've used A-part of G with older kids). Like 3 pages a day, still short hands on oral lesson with Mama then practice. Her math fact introduction and practice are targeted and very good. She says algebra in 8th is the plan(so her last book 6th should prepare for prealgebra). So k is very light for little kids and it builds slowly from there. It is a good mix of oral hands on and drill both with games then on paper. Number sense is very well developed.

 

For comparison other programs I've used are Rightstart and this year math mammoth for 2 bigger kids. Incidentally for 1 child I have to spend at least 30 min a day teaching math mammoth and the cluttered pages are a bit hard. For the other, I spend like 10 or 15, then she's off.. I looked at SCM math and decided against it as the person who wrote it was not a mathematician who loved math. She was struggling with it with her own kids and found Charlotte (and others) methods helpful. I'm not saying it's bad or anything....I buy lots from SCM.....I just wanted an author who really loved it and understood it for her or himself....The love of math shines through in RightStart, math with confidence, and math mammoth. 

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by countrymum
Clarity

[Nichola]

I really like Math With Confidence. So far I’ve used part of Preschool, all of K, all of 1st, and part of 2nd. In my opinion, their teacher manuals are the most user-friendly math teacher guides I’ve come across. Everything is straightforward, and because the curriculum is written for homeschoolers, there is less need for adaptation than with curriculum written for the classroom. The manipulatives are mostly household objects. My favorite part about MWC is that it incorporates math facts into the daily lessons and workbook pages. Some math curricula expect you to teach math facts on your own, and it isn’t addressed much in the daily lessons. With MWC, it’s built in.

The 1st grade book covers addition and subtraction facts up to 20, and it also gets into simple addition/subtraction up to 100. Based on your description of where your kids are, I think the 1st grade book would be the place to start, although some of it might be review. You could get the PDF version so that you can just hit the parts you need. 

I haven’t had a problem teaching two MWC lessons on the same day when I’ve had two different kids in it. The lessons are relatively short, and you don’t have to teach every part of every lesson every day. It’s also okay to break a lesson in two if it’s taking too long. 

Edited April 24 by Nichola

[Homeschoolz]

Thank you everyone.
I've decided to switch to math with confidence. It seems like a really great program and I think we can make time for it. SCM is pretty hands on and parent intensive too. The zero worksheets with SCM means they haven't had enough familiarity with the numerals. Though otherwise have a great understanding of numbers. And I think the worksheets mixed into MWC will be better. Also feel like time and graphs should have been added in by now.
Now I'm really torn between first and second grade. They could tell you, without manipulatives (taking a brief moment) say the answer to 72 + 26 however it was worded. But if presented with say 12 + 11 on paper, they'd need to use manipulatives to 'read' the number, using place value and again use the manipulatives to figure out how many tens and ones to write the answer. It is a huge disparity and I think I've made an error not adding in worksheets before now to practice and solely using the curriculum. I do think it's something they will be able to do after more pracrice/ exposure to it.
We haven't done time, graphs etc, I think they'd pick them up fairly easily, possibly moving a little slower when needed and adding in extra resources if needed.  Is there a big jump with that sort of stuff between first and second?

I have looked on the Kate Snow website, they would be placed in grade 2 except for: "Read, write, and compare 2-digit numbers.". I'm not sure how much of a hinderence this would be? I think they'd probably pick it up quickly after more exposure and hopefully won't need manipulatives as much. Or perhaps I should print off a bunch of two digit addition and subtraction worksheets before starting MWC 2? Or just do MWC 1 quite quickly and probably skipping some stuff?

If the kindergarten book is quite slow, would it better to skip the preschool and jump straight into K? (When ready - which isn't yet!) 

[Nichola]

I looked at the 2nd grade MWC again. It starts off with a review of addition and subtraction within 1-10, but then it ramps up pretty quickly into bigger numbers. You could always start there and then back up or supplement if you need to. There is some focus on writing equations in 1st grade MWC, which I thought was helpful. I think they understand equations better mentally after they've had practice writing them. 

With clocks, K teaches telling time to the hour, 1st grade adds in half hours, and 2nd grade teaches quarter hours.

On the Kindergarten book, I think it depends on the kid. When I was working through Preschool Math at Home with my 4-year-old, we started the K book before we finished with Preschool because she has been picking things up from older siblings' math lessons. She loves Kindergarten MWC so far and was so excited to get her own workbook! We only do it a couple of times a week, but she asks to do it and usually wants to do more than one page. Definitely depends on the kid though. I don't think every 4-year-old would be excited about a workbook!

Edited April 24 by Nichola

[countrymum]

I'll try to look at 2nd later today. I wouldn't skip preK as it's totally developmental and all oral..  you could start k with a 4.5 yr old or 5 yr old and just go her/his speed. I really like the play in the preK book if you have time. I've used it with 3 or 4 yr olds depending on child. I do not really think slow K is bad ... And it's easy to excellerate.

[countrymum]

Just read the other reply....I agree totally don't have to finish PreK. My little one will do either RightStart A or MWC K in the fall as a 4.5 yr old weather she's "finished" preK or not;)

[Nichola]

8 hours ago, countrymum said:

For comparison other programs I've used are Rightstart and this year math mammoth for 2 bigger kids. Incidentally for 1 child I have to spend at least 30 min a day teaching math mammoth and the cluttered pages are a bit hard. For the other, I spend like 10 or 15, then she's off.. I looked at SCM math and decided against it as the person who wrote it was not a mathematician who loved math. She was struggling with it with her own kids and found Charlotte (and others) methods helpful. I'm not saying it's bad or anything....I buy lots from SCM.....I just wanted an author who really loved it and understood it for her or himself....The love of math shines through in RightStart, math with confidence, and math mammoth. 

 

That's so true! There's a popular math curriculum that I've looked at several times because people often recommend it, but I can't understand its appeal. To me it seems like the creators don't like math themselves, and they don't expect children to like it either. Each page is full of colorful pictures and stories and random facts, to the point that it's hard to tell where the actual math problems are. Based on their samples, I assume their philosophy is that the only way your child will enjoy math is if they fill the pages with stuff-that-isn't-math. But there are no areas (at least in the samples I saw) where they lead the child into creatively exploring math, just for the enjoyment of it. There doesn't seem to be any expectation that a child might like math for its own sake. Sorry for going off-topic, but this comment struck a chord with me. I agree--the author's enjoyment of the subject matters, and it's also important that they expect that your child can enjoy it too.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Nichola

[Homeschoolz]

I have MWC Grade 2 and the preschool book in my basket. If I think it's too much when it arrives, I'll get Grade 1 but fairly sure they can handle it. They're totally sound on why they write sums and they've done that as part of SCM Arithemtic. But they definitely need manipulatives to figure out 27 is 27. I have found the opposite to be true, mental arithmetic and understanding has come well before writing out the sums without manipulatives. Probably because our choice was very heavy on mental arithmetic and the book is done orally - so was lighter on other areas they needed more work in. They're fine recognising under 10, so will get through the first part easily. I think they'll quickly master decoding numerals, we just need to do a bit more work with them.

Haha! I have the sort of children who are excited by a workbook too!! My 3 year old does a little dance when they spy their workbooks! (Preschool one that covers a bit of everything, pen control and cutting!) I have tried to set up some sensory bins etc and call it school work, but that resulted in tears and demands for proper school work. Absolutely hates to be left out. But I think the activities from MWC Preschool will go down well, especially if it looks somewhat similar to the games my elder 2 are doing.

[Momof4sweetkids]

A fun way to recognize two-digit numbers would be the card game Rack-o. Very simple rules, but it requires putting 10 cards (between 0-60) in order from lowest to highest.

[Homeschoolz]

6 hours ago, Momof3sweetgirls said:

A fun way to recognize two-digit numbers would be the card game Rack-o. Very simple rules, but it requires putting 10 cards (between 0-60) in order from lowest to highest.

Thank you - in my basket to order on pay day too!

[Malam]

On 2/5/2023 at 4:14 PM, Homeschoolz said:

My 3 year old does a little dance when they spy their workbooks! (Preschool one that covers a bit of everything, pen control and cutting!) I have tried to set up some sensory bins etc and call it school work, but that resulted in tears and demands for proper school work. Absolutely hates to be left out. But I think the activities from MWC Preschool will go down well, especially if it looks somewhat similar to the games my elder 2 are doing.

Have you looked at these? https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/11304/Preschool-Activity-Series.html

[Homeschoolz]

2 hours ago, Malam said:

Have you looked at these? https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/11304/Preschool-Activity-Series.html

No - I hadn't! They look great. 

She is currently using the Schoolzone Big Preschool workbook and really enjoys the mazes and things in it. Obviously that is very colourful but I prefer plainer resources. I might order these to add into the mix. 

Thank you!