Way before my dear daughter (DD) started Kindergarten, back when I first discovered Charlotte Mason (CM), I’ve been scouting for a Math curriculum and have decided then to go with RightStartTM Mathematics based on rave reviews by its users.
And if my dear husband (DH) is alive, it’s probably what we’d be using for Math. Unfortunately, my DH is no longer around to buy RightStartTM for us and, for reasons I honestly don’t know, I am not confident making a major purchase for a curriculum so I made do without it.
Main curriculum
And settled for Mathematics Enhancement Programme (MEP).
And it’s okay, I’m not complaining.
Because MEP is a solid, comprehensive, and rigorous Math curriculum, and it’s free!
It’s a Math course developed by the Center for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching (CIMT) which, according to its website, “the center is a focus for research and curriculum development in Math teaching and learning, with the aim of unifying and enhancing mathematical progress in schools and colleges”.
MEP is actually a (new) Math course developed based on teaching strategies in Hungary and other mathematically high performing countries.
It has been trialed in primary schools in the UK and has been successful in enhancing mathematical progress of its users. Early stage test results showed performance of trial schools to be at least as good or even much better than the national average.
MEP aims to make students math thinkers and make math lessons challenging and fun.
(I got the above description of MEP from its website).
Additionally, it is scripted so it is quite “easy” to teach it.
If you want to know more about MEP, try to check out this blog which discusses it in more detail.
While MEP may be considered as an open-and-go math curriculum because it is scripted (it actually tells you what to say and do every step of the way), it is not completely open-and-go, in a sense, because there are some things you need to prepare for it, like gathering a few materials, such as counters, manipulatives, etc., and printing off the activity sheets.
Printing the lesson plans is optional, however (if you are trying to save on ink and paper). Me, I just referred to them on my phone/tablet.
Of course, you need to be familiar with and have an understanding of what you would be teaching, so you need to study the lesson ahead of time because you want to come prepared for your child.
My DD found the Reception Year fun. (Reception is a level not exactly but roughly equivalent to Kindergarten). She loved it, actually, but I found it to be boring for myself. Haha.
MEP Reception Year sample lesson
Supplements
We also did mental Math exercises using Arithmetic for Young Children, a book that consists of questions designed to help a child manipulate numbers and solve word problems mentally.
My DD hated doing this at first. Just the sight of me reaching for the tablet to start a lesson made her whine and groan to show her hesitancy.
Using manipulatives (e.g., counters) is highly recommended here. I used what I could freely gather at home like rocks, sticks, toy blocks, etc. A few times I used treats such as Skittles, M&Ms, marshmallows, nuts, etc.
I asked very few questions at a time, averaging 5 to 10 minutes every school day during breakfast. Eventually, she warmed up to the lessons and ceased to complain.
We also moved the activity to our Morning Time after breakfast instead of doing it during breakfast.
At the latter part of the school year, we also started Life of Fred (LOF) since my sister handed us down (half of) its elementary series. I also included it in our Morning Time but did it in a rotation, not everyday.
In spite of progressing in mental Math, I noticed that my DD is not yet very good in doing even basic math operations. A simple question such as “five minus two” or “four plus two” would still take her several seconds and she would still count with her fingers to answer.
So to make her improve, I bought a set of dice and drilled her daily for a few minutes by throwing two pieces of dice quickly and asking her either to add or substract the numbers.
She isn’t there yet but slowly, she is progressing.
Featured image by Kaboompics.com.