IS MATH WITH CONFIDENCE TOO COMPLICATED? | Using Multiple Levels: HOW LONG DOES LESSON PREP TAKE?

Our family is currently using Kindergarten Math with Confidence as well as 2nd Grade Math With Confidence. I'm sharing what daily lesson prep looks like. I hope this helps show the realities of what using multiple levels of Math with Confidence can look like.
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I'm Rachel, a mom of three and the oldest in a family of 8 kids. I'm a second-generation homeschooler who is passionate about education. I'm originally from Michigan, but am living overseas. My two young boys and teaching homeschool lessons to my youngest sisters keep me busy, but I make time for writing and for making KZbin videos, too! On this channel, you can expect videos featuring books and homeschool curriculum, homeschool tips for hard days, our journey raising bilingual kids, and vlogs about the intentional adventure that our homeschool lifestyle allows! Subscribe to join our family here:
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[@ThisHomeschoolHouse]

Using this for three kids this year (kindergarten, 2nd & 3rd). It's super simple and easy to use. The more you use it, the smoother it gets. I also find that after a while, I learned the specific manipulatives that each child needs/enjoys and we just use those. We rarely use all the manipulatives listed for each lesson.

[@cm6037]

We’re using the same levels as you this year! I agree, it gets easier over time and we don’t use all the manipulatives every time either. Sometimes I just show my kids the printed example of the manipulatives in the teacher manual.

[@SevenInAll]

I absolutely agree that it gets smoother and easier to use the longer you've used it, so those who are new to the curriculum shouldn't feel like the beginning is how it will always be. Also, I saved all the index cards, etc, that we wrote the first time we did kindergarten, so I haven't been re-making them with my younger son, I have just been using the ones we already made.

[@cadykelly247]

This is helpful! We are using this exact set this upcoming fall. Reusing the kindergarten sheets is such a great tip!

[@SevenInAll]

I am very glad I set up the Kindergarten book that way! I've been able to use it with both boys, but also each one has been able to repeat pages, easily erase when they're trying to trace a number more carefully, etc.

[@sandylawrence3704]

We have used MWC for the last year and it has been wonderful! Multiple levels feel very doable! I love the fun mom element of playing maths games, since that is not my natural bent. So thankful to have found this! I do love the way MUS teaches addition facts, and I have some kids that enjoy it more than the visualising on the 10-frame. Like the sucking noise for 9 wanting to be 10😂 a classic, and unforgettable. So I teach the math-u-see concept with the blocks, and then I might do some oral/whiteboard examples. And then when those come up in the MWC pages we just do the problem using the MUS approach, if that makes sense.

[@SevenInAll]

Yes, I appreciate that MWC makes it easy for me to be the "fun mom" that I am not by nature, and gets me playing math games that they really enjoy. We definitely blend in the MUS approach as well.

[@cm6037]

I have a 3 kids using MWC right now - we’re using level K, 2, and 3. I have a little bin where I keep all of the manipulatives and it’s made everything really easy to manage. I love that the lessons are so simple and straight forward. We love the math games!

[@SevenInAll]

Great to hear from someone using 3 levels simultaneously! I may get to do that some day if Kate Snow releases all the programs up to 6th grade. :) And yes, the math games have been a bit hit.

[@cm6037]

Ooh that’d be fun! 🤩 yeah we really love this program!

[@SoyAnnySandoval]

We are currently going through preschool Math by Kate Snow and love it because I glance at it 5 mins before I sit down and it has worked out well. I was hoping K and forward would be the same 🤪because I too had the impression it might be a lot of prep work. Now I don’t think I’ll need to do much, although I think you’re such a natural. You make it look easy! I’m a complete newbie 😅so thank you!! This was so helpful to watch. 🎉

[@SevenInAll]

Aww, I'm glad this was helpful! And yes, everything gets smoother/easier with time. This is my 2nd time through the K level, so most of the games/lessons are very familiar, which probably does make prep a little bit faster, but yes, I'd say it basically requires just glancing through the lesson a few minutes before calling your child for a lesson, and pulling out a few supplies from the math box or from the toybox, etc.

[@anaf.848]

(This may seem critical, but it's absolutely not meant that way) Have you considered using a dry-erase board (i.e. "whiteboard") when solving math problems? It might save you from having to search out, and use up, random pieces of paper. I use a small-sized whiteboard with my daughter during MWC lessons, and it's so helpful!

[@SevenInAll]

That's a great idea, too! I don't tend to use a whiteboard all that much (might be a lefty prejudice, always have to be a little more careful with little lefties and whiteboards), but that is efficient!

[@Sandyyyyyyyyyy]

I pretty much do the same thing. I have a shelf near my dining table with the manipulatives and I just grab what's on the list when I grab my teacher's manual to start the lesson. I don't worry too much about using all the manipulatives if my kids don't need it. Sometimes it's just too clunky and unnecessary. I do use a notebook for my scratch notes because I seem to always lose scratch paper and I've laminated the blackline masters for ease of use. All in all, teaching 2 kids using different levels of MWC isn't at all time consuming. If I work with both kids back to back we'll be done with math in 30 minutes.

[@SevenInAll]

I use the Gentle + Classical Kindergarten Binder with my little one, which already has pages with a 10 frame, double 10 frame, for use with MWC, so because of that I didn't make extra blackline masters, but yes, thank you for pointing those out, definitely handy to laminate them or put them in a binder for easy access. And I definitely streamline when it comes to manipulatives. My younger son needs them more, so I use them more at his (K) level, my oldest doesn't need them as much. It's great to think about how much your individual kids need the visuals vs. just the curriculum.

[@faithfullyinfertile]

We are still LOVING Math U See although this is another really good option for math. I did about the first 10 lessons of Kindergarten level with my youngest last year. I feel like MWC does a great job building number sense in young children, which I feel is lacking so much in so many math curriculums. I wonder if it is the lack of manipulatives in some programs that is crippling children in their number sense knowledge? After starting Math U See, I have learned how imperative it is that young children be able to SEE the concepts being taught. I think MWC accomplishes this well and is a great option for a homeschool parent who doesn't mind having all the moving pieces (I mind - haha) and who prefers to not stick to one topic all year long (like addition & subtraction in Alpha). I must say your practicality with anything homeschool related (and probably anything in life!) shines through with this video too. I find when I use a scripted curriculum I think that I have to do everything just as written in the book, but I am getting better about venturing out in this and making the curriculum practical for me as teacher and to give myself permission to only hit the parts my particular student needs. For example, I am zooming through Logic of English Foundations A with my youngest and every day I tweak something because he just doesn't need to do it exactly like it is written in the book, but it is full of phonemic awareness exercises/activities that I want him to have to lay a good foundation for spelling in the future. Plus, it's my second time through the curriculum, so I know what is being taught and don't necessarily need to rely on the script as I did the first time I took my older through LOE and learned so much about phonics MYSELF! ha! Anyway- just some observations about curriculums and how we use them that came to mind to me as I watched this video on MWC.

[@SevenInAll]

I also think MUS is an excellent program (and both boys continue to use it), but we have found this to be delightful to use and I think it has a very, very strong foundation in number sense and really understanding what's happening with numbers. In K and the beginning of 1st Grade, it focuses a lot on really getting comfortable with understanding the pairs that make 10...now in 2nd grade, almost every day my oldest is saying, "See? This is so easy to solve because I know that 7 needs 3 to be 10!", etc- because paying attention to that is a big part of mental math solving skills. And yes, I realize that this video kind of highlights my lifelong-homeschooler approach to curriculum - here's what it tells me to do, I understand the point we're supposed to learn is this, so here's what I'm actually going to do. And oh, yeah, it is a good idea to review ____, I wouldn't have thought of it on my own. I love a scripted curriculum that gives me ideas that I don't have to think of or plan in the moment, but that I can adapt to the child in front of me. Some of the things I love most about MWC are 1) it tells me to review stuff. I don't do every bit of the review (esp with my oldest), but it's a good visual reminder to REVIEW SOMETHING...I do not naturally tend to remember to do this. 2) Games. I would never naturally want to play a math game. But the curriculum tells me to, so I do, and my boys love it and they learn a lot from the repetition of games.

[@jerilyn-ourhomeschooltable]

I picked up the Preschool Math at Home book to try with my little guy. I kind of wonder if I will move on with Math With Confidence after that for him. I have used Math U See with my daughter, but I only started with her when she was in Kindergarten. So I have never done preschool. 😊 I like your idea of saving the workbook in sheet protectors. That’s how I saved All About Reading too.

[@SevenInAll]

With how little writing there is in the K level, I'm also glad I did the sheet protectors, plus, with their little hands, they like writing with a nice fat marker at this level. And both of them have done some of those K pages repeatedly, so it's been well used.

[@lisaroper421]

I mean, if it ain't broke 🤷‍♀️😉

[@lisaroper421]

It's funny that you skip the gray box at the top, since I love giving that a glance to see if everything we need is in my math box. To each their own! But I agree that for a teacher led program this is about as open and go as I can imagine. It's worked really well for us so far!

[@SevenInAll]

I just like to skip straight to the activities, to see if I actually need those supplies or if I'll simplify something. I have been very impressed with the depth of this program and also with how easy it is to use with very minimal prep pulling supplies out in the mornings.

[@lisaroper421]

@@SevenInAll Oh for sure! I have really enjoyed it.

[@RockSimmer-gal4God]

I don’t do weekly prep just get the books up on my phone and get the supplies out!!! I look at the activities as well!! I get the workbooks out as well and the binder of blackline masters!!! I only have one binder tho for ease!!! I put all in that we use!!! I don’t follow instructions to the tee unless I need to!!! We only do review when needed!!! I didn’t think of randomly put them in!!! We play the games more often!!!

[@SevenInAll]

Glad you've found a rhythm that makes it work well for you!