Kindergarten Math with Confidence Review

curriculum
Written By Emily
 
 
 

What is MWC?

Math with Confidence (MWC) is a homeschool math program for elementary grades. The books are written for a parent (or tutor) to work one-on-one with a child rather than in a classroom setting. At the time of writing this I have used levels K-3 with my children and am preparing to repeat K and 2nd and start 4th next year with my three kids.

 

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I have written a number of articles about MWC and am writing one for each grade as we use them. (I’m currently catching up on the 4 levels we’ve used.) You’ll find my list of related articles at the bottom of this page.

 

Samples

The Kindergarten MWC lessons take about twenty minutes per day, 4-5 days a week. Each day you will use the Instructor’s Guide (IG). The IG is written in a way that you can just read directly from the book as you work through it with your child. If you are reading this article to help you decide whether to buy it, you can download PDF Samples by following the instructions in the box below.

Go to: www.welltrainedmind.com/mwc

Scroll down slightly to the Kindergarten section.

Just under the video you’ll find samples in red boxes.

Download the Kindergarten Instructor Sample, Including Blackline Masters AND the Kindergarten Student Sample.

 

Below I’ll explain the structure of each book, the units, chapters, and lessons, as well as give suggestions and tips from my experience using it with my kids.

If you want to watch a 5-minute video of the author talking about this curriculum, check out the video that is linked in the box above.

 

The Math Kit

When you order Kindergarten Math with Confidence you will receive two paperback books - the Student Workbook (SWB) and the Instructor’s Guide (IG). You will also need to gather, or purchase, some supplies to create a Math Kit that will be used every day as well as gather some Household Items that are used randomly throughout the year.

The supplies you will need for the Kindergarten Math Kit are:

  • 100 small counters

  • Pattern blocks

  • Coins

  • 2 packs of 100 blank index cards

  • Blank paper

  • Pencils

  • Blackline Masters #1, 4, 5, 8

I have written an article on how I prep my Math Kit that you can check out if you want to see what this looks like.

 

Student Book

Structure

The Student Workbook is only useful if you have the corresponding Instructor Guide. Only using the student book is not a complete math curriculum. The Instructor’s Guide provides all of the actual instruction as well as games and activities.

In Kindergarten MWC there is only 1 workbook page per lesson which is intended to be completed with parent help as needed. However, your child may often be able to complete them alone after you have taught the lesson.

The pages are perforated, but because each lesson only has one corresponding page (or rather, one side of a sheet) there will always be another lesson’s worksheet on the back. We have torn out pages and kept the workbook intact with various grade levels of MWC and haven’t had any trouble with pages coming out unintentionally. Also, my left-handed kid did not have a problem writing in the workbook since it is not spiral bound and lays fairly flat. (You could tear out one week or one unit at a time if you want to because there are always an even number of pages (4) per week.)

Kindergarten includes 10 units with 2-4 chapters (called “weeks”) in each unit. Each chapter has four lessons labeled 1.1, 1.2, etc.

Each unit, is color-coded with a bar at the bottom of the page in the order of the rainbow. This can be helpful in quickly finding your place esp if your kid knows they are on the “green” unit, etc.

There are four front-and-back sheets per week (one page per day). The week and lesson number is included on the bottom of the page along with a page number.

 

The Math Problems

Each workbook page in the Kindergarten level starts with tracing numbers at the top of the page. The first half of the workbook reviews the numerals 1-10 over and over in various groupings. Later in the book they begin tracing 2-digit numerals. And over the final five weeks they trace every number from 1-100 by tracing 5 per day.

After the number tracing there is usually one more written activity. This activity often only has 3-4 “problems.” The worksheet really shouldn’t take more than about 5 minutes on most days.

The instructions for the student are very simple, like “Match” or “Write how many.” Some become “wordier” such as “Draw a longer pencil.” But at this age, I go over the instructions with them to make sure they know what to do and am available nearby (if not sitting next to them) if they have questions. So, they don’t have to know how to read yet to complete this math program!

 

Requirements

The student book contains instructions for the practice problems but as I mentioned earlier, it is not intended to be used alone. All of the games and actual “teaching” is found in the instructor’s guide.

If you are just looking for a math workbook for your child to review math you would be better off finding a stand-alone Kindergarten math workbook. Don’t spend your money on this curriculum unless you plan to use the games and manipulatives (at least most of the time)!

MWC K is intended to be a complete math curriculum with lots of hands-on activities to help kids move their learning from the concrete to the abstract. Young children need to physically experience something and then begin to understand the connection between that and written depictions, and eventually symbols.

I LOVE the way Kate Snow (the author) explains not only what you should tell the kids and how to teach them but she tells you exactly why - and what is going on in their brains as they are developing mathematically.

 

Instructor’s Guide

Introduction and General Info

The Instructor’s Guide is just over 450 pages. Unlike the student edition, it is black and white. I really wish that they used color in the teacher’s book too, but that’s just a personal preference that would also mean it would cost a lot more.

But, I usually get my instructor’s guide spiral-bound at FedEx so that I can fold it back and it won’t take up as much space on our crowded school table.

The Instructor’s Guide is very well-organized and includes a TON of useful information for parents who want to understand what and why they are teaching certain concepts to their kindergarteners. I definitely recommend reading her introduction thoroughly. It is also available in the PDF sample that you may have downloaded above.

Within each of the “weeks,” the fifth lesson is a optional. This lesson can be used as enrichment or just skipped. The picture books referenced in the Instructor’s Guide list are used for these lessons. I typically skip these because we usually have a co-op that takes up one full day of school every week.

 

Unit Structure

Each of the 10 units begins with an intro page that includes a brief Overview of the unit, including each chapter’s title. The Overview is followed by “What Your Child Will Learn” where the unit’s learning objectives are listed.

 

Weekly Structure

Despite her use of the term “week” in place of chapter, you do not have to complete a chapter per week. You can finish lesson 4.3 and 4.4 on a Monday and Tuesday and then continue on to lesson 5.1, etc. In some ways I like that she has four lessons per week plus an enrichment option. But, in other ways that can just cause needless frustration if you feel like you’ve gotten behind. (Note: Starting with 3rd Grade MWC she switches to chapters with varying numbers of lessons. So, the “week” format is only from K-2nd.)

The beginning of each week has a page or two of information for the instructor. Here the author briefly explains the concepts taught in that particular week and lists all of the week’s lesson titles.

Next, she provides tips she calls “Teaching Math with Confidence.” I would highly recommend reading or at least skimming this section each week. The info she provides here is like getting little workshops on teaching math from an expert. She often explains the steps a young child’s brain has to go through to process what seems like just one step to an adult. She also ties the topic in with what has previously been taught as well as what will follow. (For example, from week 5: “Next week, in week 6, she’ll use similar reasoning as she learns the key attributes of….”)

Below this Snow lists Household Items Needed For Week x. This does not include the items from the “Math Kit” (which are explained on page 8 of the Instructor’s Guide). Rather these household items are only used occasionally, often just once, during the year. A complete list of the household items needed for the year is included on page 434.

 

Lesson Structure

Each lesson in the Instructor’s Guide begins with a black-and-gray box that includes any materials needed as well as the learning objectives for each part of the lesson. The box is subdivided into Review & Warm-Up, Activities, and Workbook. Then she lists the objectives (under “Purpose”) and the “Materials” for each.

For each lesson you will need to have the Instructor’s Guide, Student Workbook, Math Kit, and any other materials for the lesson at hand. I keep my math kit in a box (see this how-to article) and the Blackline Masters (BLMs) in plastic sleeves inside a binder nearby. Any math manipulatives that don’t fit in my math kit box go in the cabinet with all of our other school supplies.

 

Do you have to do the lessons in order?

They are definitely intended to be completed in order. HOWEVER - I have found that there are times that you can skip ahead to go over another concept and then come back. For instance, if a kid is really reluctant to do a topic or is particularly frustrated by it I might want to give them a break by moving ahead.

Kate Snow does a fantastic job of really mixing up the chapters so that your child isn’t spending five or ten solid weeks just belaboring a concept. She sprinkles in various math topics in a way that gives your kid a break to just review while learning something new. This is so beneficial as they move into higher grade levels and are learning more difficult or tedious math concepts.

 

Appendices

At the back of the Instructor’s Guide (pp. 430-451) are a number of important Resources. Following is a list of the items found in the appendix as well as my notes about how I suggest using or preparing them.

 

  • Scope and Sequence - (pp. 430-431) This is a broad overview of what is covered in Kindergarten MWC. Each unit has several objectives listed. The Scope and Sequence is helpful when comparing math programs so see what concepts are covered. It also can be helpful for record-keeping if you need to demonstrate the math concepts that you have taught.

  • Complete List of Math Books of the Week - (pp. 432-433) She gives one picture book suggestion for each chapter. This list is strictly optional as these tie in with the enrichment lesson (#5) for each week. You can copy these pages and take the list with you when you’re shopping or visiting the library.

  • Materials List - (p. 434) This list has two sections. You can see it in the PDF download mentioned at the top of this article.

    • What You’ll Need in Your Math Kit tells you a list of items that are used throughout the book and should be easily accessible for every lesson. You can see how I set up my math kit here. The math kit is used with very few changes throughout the program from Kindergarten up. So, I created one math box and have used it for all my kids. Each school year I confirm that it has what I need for all upcoming grade levels (and can get rid of any items that are no longer needed).

    • Other Supplies contains a list of items that are needed throughout the book but only once or twice. I like to make sure these are nearby and available, or purchase them ahead of time so I don’t have to find them the week of.

  • Blackline Masters - (pp. 435-451) The Blackline Masters (BLMs) are used throughout the curriculum as learning tools and manipulatives. Following are my suggestions for each BLM and how I’ve used it I put BLMs 1, 4, 5, 8 in sheet protectors in a small binder that I keep near our math supplies. These four are used all year long.

    I HIGHLY recommend using the Sample Download (referenced at the top of this article) to print out the BLMs. This will give you a much cleaner copy of each rather than trying to copy the BLMs from the book.

    • BLM 1 - Ten-frame - (p. 435) This is one of the most used items all year long. I put mine in a sheet protector. Occasionally I will even draw on it with a dry-erase marker because that’s faster than setting out counters.

    • BLM 2 - Play Money for Families Outside the US - (p. 437) Since I live in the US I actually just collected real coins to use and put them in our math kit. If you decide to use these in place of real or fake US coins, be sure to print them on cardstock so that they will hopefully last longer. Another option is to buy a set of pretend coins something like these. OR - you could use some of your counters and write 1, 5, or 10 on them in permanent marker (assuming you have plenty). Either way, you WILL NEED something to use for the many coin activities she includes in this program.

    • BLM 3 - Pattern Block Templates - (pp. 439-443) I purchased a set of pattern blocks. But, if you want to use these instead, be sure to print them on heavy paper (cardstock) and possibly color them or print them on various colored papers.

    • BLM 4 - Double Ten-Frames - (p. 445) Definitely put this in a sheet protector so you can use it throughout the year. You can even write on it with a dry-erase marker. You could print it on cardstock too just for durability, but it should be ok in the sheet protector.

    • BLM 5 - Number Examples - (p. 447) Again, put this in a sheet protector so that it can be traced with a dry-erase marker. Or, it could be hung on the wall like a poster to show how to form the numbers.

    • BLM 6 - Apparently this was a mistake, but there is no BLM 6 in the Kindergarten book. I think they just skipped it accidentally.

    • BLM 7 - Centimeter Squares - (p. 449) These are not used until week 21, and are provided to use in place of centimeter cubes only for those who use the metric system. So, you do NOT have to use this or buy centimeter cubes if you don’t use the metric system. HOWEVER, if you wish to buy centimeter blocks, I would recommend purchasing something like these base-ten blocks (that are actually centimeter sized) because you will need base-ten blocks in future grades.

    • BLM 8 - 100 Chart - You’ll use this frequently, so put it in a sleeve protector and stick it in your binder or math box.

 

Assessments

There are no formal assessments (aka tests) included in Kindergarten. But, she does include something she calls “Checkpoints”…

Checkpoints

At the end of each unit (so approximately every 4 weeks) you will find a "Checkpoint" to help you determine whether your child is ready to go on to the next unit. I find these incredibly helpful to decide whether my kid needs further review or can move on.


The Unit 1 Checkpoint is included in the sample Instructor’s Guide download mentioned above. Here is what it says, so you can see how these Checkpoints are structured:

 

Unit 1 Checkpoint

What to Expect at the End of Unit 1

By the end of Unit 1, most children will be able to do the following:

• Recognize most of the quantities from 0 to 10 on a ten-frame without counting. Many children will still have trouble recognizing 7 and 8 at this point.

• Recognize most of the written numerals from 0 to 10.

• Tell how much a nickel and some pennies are worth (up to 10 cents). Many kindergartners will need you to remind them how much each coin is worth before finding the total value.

• Identify the combinations that make 10. It’s fine if your child still needs the ten-frame and counters to find the combinations.

Is Your Child Ready to Move on?

Your child does not need to master all of the skills from Unit 1 before moving on to Unit 2. Units 2 and 3 focus on shapes and patterns, but they also include lots of review of the numbers from 0 to 10. This will give your child many more opportunities to practice recognizing quantities and written numerals up to 10 before beginning to compare numbers in Unit 4.

 

Conclusion

I have used and loved this curriculum with my kids. Although my oldest child didn’t start using Math with Confidence until second grade, I have used the kindergarten level with my middle child and loved the simple, open-and-go format. The lessons are short enough not to be overwhelming and include lots of hands-on learning that makes math more enjoyable for active kids.

 
Emily
Next

Third Grade Math with Confidence Review