Math with Confidence Curriculum Review
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Choosing a new curriculum can be daunting. Especially when you have multiple subjects to consider and even multiple grades. When I first began preparing to homeschool my oldest child, I spent months scoring the internet for reviews of various curriculum trying to decide what would work best for us.
I hope this review will help you on your journey to choosing the best math curriculum for your child. Here are my thoughts about Math with Confidence…
Why I Chose Math with Confidence
Our homeschool journey started 4-5 years ago as I began preparing for my oldest child to enter kindergarten. We had just made the decision to homeschool while Covid was in full-swing. Cue the online research…
For our first year math curriculum I landed on Singpore Math’s “Dimensions” curriculum. It was (and is) a fantastic program. I love the way they focus on presenting information in a concrete way followed by the pictorial and then the abstract. I had been impressed with the incredible mathematical abilities of the students who came out of Singapore’s (the country’s) program and wanted to emulate their math strategies with my kids. I also wanted to use an advanced math program to try to help push my child forward quickly in his math skills.
Funny thing, Kate Snow (author of Math with Confidence) was a big part of my decision to use Dimensions Math in the first place. Her MWC curriculum was brand new, and she had several articles on her website with reviews of the Singapore math method. Interestingly, to my understanding, she brings many of the Singapore-style methods into her own curriculum.
We used Dimensions Math levels K and 1 with my first kid. It worked beautifully for kindergarten, but as we got into first grade I felt like it moved too quickly through the math facts and on to other topics without giving sufficient time and practice to let the facts sink in. So mid-first-grade I paused the program and spent a number of weeks working through Kate Snow’s “Addition Facts That Stick” book. Then, we returned to the curriculum to finish out the year.
My main frustration with Dimensions as a teacher was that I had to change everything to work with one kid rather than a whole class. I know they have a homeschool edition of that program, but for some reason (that I can't now recall - but I had a good reason. LOL) I preferred to use the regular classroom teacher's guide instead.
As I began to plan for the following year, in which I would have a new kindergartener as well as a second grader, I decided to explore some other options. I wanted to find a curriculum that was even easier to “open and go” especially with an additional student. I also wanted to try a program with a somewhat gentler approach, while still being robust and thorough.
After doing more research, I decided to try Math with Confidence (MWC) for kindergarten and second grade last year - and it was a huge hit. The shorter, game-based lessons went over well with both of my boys, and I really appreciated the instructor guide set-up (more on that below).
Math with Confidence Overview
Math with Confidence is considered a "middle-of-the-road" program (rather than being “advanced” like Dimensions), and it's written with the homeschooler in mind. The games are all intended to be played one-on-one.
However, it is not in any way “dumbed-down” or incomplete. The curriculum covers the topics needed for each grade in a way that makes it fun and engaging. And it helps develop a deep number sense in students so that their foundation in math is laid for the higher levels.
I appreciate how Snow follows the Singapore method in many ways, by having the students practice the concepts in a “concrete” way and then moving on to representing them in the “abstract.”
She also focuses on using the 10-frame (like the Singapore method does) to help students visualize the math facts and teaches helpful strategies for memorizing the facts and thinking through the problems.
In the Author’s Words
On her blog Kate Snow explains the gist of MWC’s appeal:
“- Scripted, open-and-go instructor guide
- Playful, short, and hands-on lessons
- Colorful workbook pages that reinforce learning
- Picture books and real-life enrichment activity suggestions that make math come alive ”
Lesson Structure
You will need an instructor guide and the student book. Don’t try to do this curriculum without the instructor guide as the student book does not contain enough information to actually teach it.
Good news - you don’t have to purchase the instructor guide again for younger kids! You can just buy a new copy of the student book(s). Since I haven’t mentioned it before, MWC is a very economical curriculum. I’m so thankful not to have to shell out a ton of money for it!!
Each lesson begins with a brief warm-up to review previously taught concepts. These warm-ups usually only take a few minutes unless it includes a game (like “Go-Fish to 10”). Occasionally I will skip the game or even the warm-up if we are short on time (or patience). During the warm-up, there is often “memory work” review. The complete list of memory work is included at the extra pages at the end of the instructor guide.
Next, the new lesson activities are introduced. In the earlier levels, the instructor guide will have all of the material for this - or specifically point you to the student book for a particular activity (like a game). Starting in 3rd grade, the student book includes one page that aligns with the new activities and is intended to be used daily along with the instructor guide. These new activities are very hands-on and build on what was previously learned. Lessons rely heavily on the BLMs and the manipulatives that are recommended for use.
Finally, each lesson concludes with practice page(s) in the student book. The number and independence depends on the grade.
Following is a break-down of each grade’s setup…
Details Grade by Grade:
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Lessons
The Kindergarten chapters are divided into five days, but the fifth “day” is an optional enrichment lesson. (We usually skip this.)
Student Workbook
Kindergarten gently introduces young students to math study with 1 student page per lesson. These are completed with teacher help as needed.
NOTE: There is no student workbook page for the fifth lesson, instead this enrichment lesson includes optional activities and supplemental books to read.
Assessments
There are no assessments included in kindergarten. For my records at the end of the year I pull sample pages from somewhere around the beginning, middle, and end of the book and stick them in the portfolio. (See this article for more info.)
At the end of each unit Snow provides a "checkpoint" to help you determine whether your child is ready to go on to the next unit.
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Lessons
Like Kindergarten, the First Grade book is divided into 4-day weeks with an optional 5th lesson. This 5th lesson includes enrichment activities and books to read.
Student Workbook
First grade steps it up a notch with 2 workbook pages per lesson. Again, these are completed with teacher help as needed (but seem to be perfect for independent practice).
The first page is typically a practice of the current lesson concepts. The second page is generally review of previous concepts.
Assessments
There are no assessments included in first grade.
But, at the end of each unit she continues to provide a "checkpoint" to help you determine whether your child is ready to go on to the next unit.
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Lessons
The Second Grade lessons follow the same format as the first grade - four lessons per week with an optional fifth. And the weeks are grouped into units.Student Workbook
Again, like in first grade, they have 2 student pages to complete each day. The first page typically practices what is taught in the lesson. This page may need close adult supervision (esp. depending on the reading level of your kid). The second page generally reviews previously taught concepts.
Assessments
There are no assessments included in second grade.
But, at the end of each unit she continues to provide a "checkpoint" to help you determine whether your child is ready to go on to the next unit.
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Lessons
Starting with Third Grade, Snow no longer divides the book into “chapters” and instead only uses units. These units are approximately 9-10 lessons long each.
While the chapters in previous levels were intended to be completed weekly, this level does not break it into weeks.
Student Workbook
Third grade ups the requirements with 3 student workbook pages per lesson.
Page 1 - The first page in each lesson shows a 2-person icon because it is completed as part of the lesson along with the teacher's guidance. She even suggests that the parent may want to write down the answers as they discuss it to give their kid less writing to do. I generally write on the first page unless my kid asks to do it himself.
Page 2 - The second page is a practice page for the current lesson's concept. It is intended to be completed independently. However, because it is practice for a brand new concept, I try to be available to help and answer questions as needed.
Page 3 - The third page of each lesson is a review of previous concepts. This is intended to be completed independently and often can be - unless it is reviewing something my child is still struggling with or has forgotten. Generally I have him complete this review page by himself before we do the lesson together. This way I can work with my younger children first and then meet up with him to teach his new lesson.
These student activity pages can be torn out of the workbook if desired; however, because there are 3 pages per lesson there is always another lesson's page attached to one of the pages. So we generally keep them in the book.
Assessments
Third grade introduces formal assessments. They are not called tests - she calls them "Unit Wrap-Ups," but they work perfectly as an end-of-unit test to see what your child knows. I plan to use these as independent tests and then review missed problems together. I will keep this in the portfolio at the end of the year. (This article explains how I keep records.)
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I haven't taught it yet, but from looking at the video flip-through the Fourth Grade structure looks like it is set up just like third grade. This includes the 3 student activity pages as well as the unit assessments.
What I Would Change
Of course no curriculum is perfect, so I have a few things that I would love to change. However, in the scheme of things I don’t think these are a very big deal.
1 - Color - I wish the instructor guide was in color. This may seem silly, but I really like books that are attractive to look at and would appreciate it aligning with the student workbook in that sense.
2 - Quality - The paper in the instructor guide is thin, so images will sometimes show through from the other side of the page. And occasionally I find pages where the ink appears smudged (for lack of a better description). It doesn’t bother me enough to affect my view of the program.
3 - Binding - I typically spiral bind most of my teacher’s manuals because this enables me to fold them back on themselves and not take up as much room at the table. I wish this book were already spiral bound.
However, I realize that if they printed in color, spiral-bound the book, and used thicker paper they would also have to raise the price of the curriculum. So, I do appreciate the cost-saving aspects of cutting these corners.
Final Thoughts
We are loving Math with Confidence. Now in my second year with my first and third grader, both my kids and I are enjoying it. They love the games and the brevity of it. I love the open-and-go aspect as well as the deep understanding that Snow’s methods develop.
Where Can I Buy It?
You can get Math with Confidence from lots of places. And there are probably more places than I even know about! Here are a few…
Amazon - I actually never have bought it from here because the prices are often better elsewhere.
Christianbook.com - I’ve bought from here before as well as Rainbow Resource (below). I like to price-check for the best deal.
Rainbow Resources - They often have a good deal on it and if you buy at least $50 you usually get free shipping.
Used Options - I haven’t purchased this curriculum used, but the Instructor Guide could be reused, and of course people occasionally buy a curriculum they don’t ever use. So, you could always check some Used Book Sources (see this article for recommendations).
Further Reading
From TeacherTutorMom.com:
How to Prep Math with Confidence So It’s “Really” Open-and-Go
This article is my step-by-step method for prepping the curriculum at the beginning of the year.
Homeschool 101: How to Plan Your Homeschool Year
Planning your homeschool year? Check out this article for my best advice!
Other Resources:
Math with Confidence Resource Area
This includes the flip-through videos by the author as well as downloadable samples, and even alternate workbook pages for color-blind students.
Math That Makes Sense: Free Elementary Math Video Teaching Library
Kate Snow has provided FREE lectures for parents to teach them how to teach math.
Kate’s Homeschool Math Help Articles and Reviews
Kate’s website is a wealth of knowledge. Check it out for helpful reviews and articles as you make informed math curriculum decisions.
