1st Grade Math

We're only a few weeks into MFW 1st Grade, but I thought I'd share with you how we are doing math.  Squirrely Girl (6) has been working on her addition and subtraction facts since Spring, but it's been more laid back.  Bear (4) is still working on her numbers, but is able to do some simple addition and subtraction with the help of manipulatives.

I've seen quite a few people saying that they didn't care for the layout of the Math for first grade.  Personally, I don't mind the way the topics are arranged, but we are definitely supplementing because right now much of the work is just too easy for our little Squirrely Girl. 

We've been following along with the MFW lesson plans in The Complete Book of Math.  So far, the lessons are just a review and a little too easy for our 6 year old, but our 4 year old is keeping up well.  For now, this is working for us, but I'm evaluating mid-year if we need to buy something more challenging.

My kids love to do worksheets, so much so that sometimes they even request them on our off days!  So, we've been supplementing their math with worksheets we find online, as well as the Brain Quest 1st grade workbook as well as their Kindergarten workbook for Bear. 

 


In addition to the worksheets, we also incorporate a lot of hands on math practice.  We use our addition and subtraction flashcards along with a manipulative.

Some of our manipulatives include:

• Unifix cubes
• Pattern blocks
• Marbles
• Beans
• Coins
• Shape buttons
• Colored craft sticks
• Number bond bracelets
• Legos
• Dice
• Dominos

I also found this great little Count and Balance Scale at a yardsale!  It has numbers that can be hung on either side.  The girls love using this and seeing how many ways they can make it balance out!


I love yard sales!  We have found some awesome things to add to our homeschool from them!

 

I also made a set of 10 "Ten Frames" for the kids to use!  I did these by hand and laminated them, and as you can see I feel the need to decorate like crazy! I just think they're more fun that way!  The kids like choosing theirs for the day. 

We've used these for counting and adding with manipulatives, but we've also used them alone to talk about tens.  Squirrely Girl has gotten pretty good with knowing how many ten frames she needs to make her numbers, and then she'll grab single manipulatives for the ones.  It's really helped her to visualize place value. 




What do you use for First Grade math?  What manipulatives do you use?