Whatcha Teachin'?: Kindergarten & 1st Grade Math

Math and I have not had a good relationship.  I'm one of those severely right brained people whose standardized test scores always made the "W" shape with math being one of the valleys. 

Needless to say, the thought of teaching my kids math - even at an elementary level - was not very exciting.  The truth is...I'm relearning math, myself.  The way I was taught was just not efficient enough to stick with me.  One thing I knew for sure, is that I did not want to pass the torch of dreading math to my boys.

So when looking for a curriculum, I made sure to factor in a good fit for not just my boys but for me as a teacher.  The answer...Math U See.

Math U See Primer
This could easily be called "Math 4 Rinnagades."  This is not your traditional math program.  How excited was I when I found a hands on math program with visuals and tactile accessories?  How excited are the boys to build during math?  They have spent almost an equal time playing with the bricks in their "off time" as they have doing the work.  Although this is not specifically for special needs, I have not seen a better math program for kids with autism.

The Primer is the first book of the complete K-12 curriculum.  This book is intended for Kindergarten or earlier, but currently all three boys are using it.  The twins are finishing it up from last year and will start Alpha, the second book, in a couple of months.

The Primer goes over very general math skills including counting, place value, reading and writing and recognizing numbers, addition, time and more.  The children are also introduced to the manipulative block system. 

Alpha moves specifically into addition and subtraction of single digit numbers, as well as other topics.

Math U See stands out among other programs for four main reasons, in my opinion.
1. The video teaching
Included with the teacher's manual is a DVD.  The creator of the program, Steve, teaches an introduction to the lesson.  I love this, especially in anticipation of the more difficult years ahead!

2. The manipulative bricks
This surely is where the curriculum gets its name because it is literally math you can see. 
3. It is a mastery program
This is the opposite of spiral, which most of us are familiar with from traditional school.  In the mastery program, your child works on a topic until it is mastered before moving on.
4. Stewardship
Although it is not until high school, one of the books is on Stewardship.  That alone will ensure we stick with the curriculum long term :).

Numbers Review
In addition to Math U See, we use flashcards with individual numbers as well as a page with numbers 1-100 out of order to review numbers once a week.

Daily Elementary NotebookCalendar, time, and more are covered on a daily basis with this notebook.  It even has place value for the days in school in the same fashion as Math U See.

Starfall Calendar
This is back by request!  I had taken it out of our schedule thinking it was redundant with the new notebooks and that the boys would be sick of it after 2+ years but nope!  When we get to the calendar portion in our notebooks, I click to Starfall and we do the interactive one together.  It's also much easier for the boys to see the laptop on the table and copy the date instead of looking up to the whiteboard for everything. 

Patterns/Puzzles
Once a week we alternate patterns and puzzles.  We LOVE Melissa & Doug's pattern blocks.

Weekly Chore Chart with Commissions
Friday is payday in our house for the kids.  They earn $.10 a ticket for chores they've done and tickets they've collected throughout the week.  One child has already made the connection and declared, "I love payday." 

Classical Addition CD
I play this in the background, usually during art or puzzle time.  There is a great book that goes along with it but we are currently only using the CD.  The idea is to memorize math facts.  Most of us memorized times tables, but this line is available for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.