It has finally happened, that my almost 4 year old is ready for more “table work.” She is a hands on learning kind of girl, but more than anything she loves to write and do school like her older siblings; coloring, blocks, and puzzles just won’t do all the time. She wants to be big. So we have been using the 200 Essential Math Skills for Kindergarten, a Mathseeds workbook from Reading Eggs.

Reading Eggs (and Mathseeds team) is a trusted online literacy and math program; they also have beautiful, fun workbooks to go along with their online program. These can be used without the online program, or right along side it for added comprehension. We received both the K math workbook, and an online subscription; these compliment each other perfectly! The online program allows your student to take a short placement test to determine the level at which they should begin online; it is much more customized than I expected. My daughter will be 4 next week, and while she can identify numbers, count very well, knows colors and shapes, and understands 1:1 correspondence, she cannot identify number words, and needs more basic foundational number sense. The online program is great for solidifying these concepts.

200 Essential Math Skills for Kindergarten: How We Use It

Our homeschool may look a bit different than yours (most likely a lot different), but chances are if you are teaching a child math at the kindergarten level you have scoured the internet and homeschool websites looking at every math workbook, textbook, and curriculum on the market. Ask me how I know …

But really, y’all- this is the real deal! The 200 Essential Math Skills for Kindergarten workbook is a solid program. Not only is it solid, it is easy to use, simple, comprehensive, and includes:

• Year Planner at a glance map- this is so convenient, easy to follow, and takes off any pressure you may have for checking boxes
• Hands on Learning Activities to help reinforce concepts and add more fun for young learners
• FULL color but clean pages-my favorite part of this workbook is how tidy the pages are. You know what I mean! It is beautiful, high quality, and colorful, but the pages aren’t so full they’re distracting. Each question is clearly labeled with a highlighted number making it easy for children (and adults) to find the next question on the page.
• The Mathseeds K book covers:
  • numbers
  • operations
  • patterns
  • geometry
  • and measurement

I also really like how the entire page is used for learning- the top corner of each page has a picture of the learning focus, for example-the number 8 with 8 dots, a short pattern, shapes, 3D shapes, etc. These are simple, small learning cues for my daughter but they give me reminders to talk about what we have been learning- That may be as simple as asking, “what shape is this?” “what letter sound does that begin with?” “read this pattern to me!” It is a fun way for us to connect before and after a page has been completed.

I think Miss’s favorite part of this program are the fun illustrations- they’re so clear, easy to understand (if you’ve used workbooks of any kind you know what I mean-what are some of those pictures supposed to be?!), colorful, and cheerful. She is a very happy girl and would be 100% bored to death with a black and white sheet of paper.

I really do appreciate how easy the pages are for both of us to glance at. Without overwhelming the senses, each page brings delight to learning math using color and pictures. All this, while using large blocks of background color to separate sections and make looking at the page easy for young learners (and tired mamas).

At the end of each lesson is a section that allows you and your child to mark off what they have accomplished! (see image below)

I *love* this feature because often times as homeschool parents we feel like we are just going through the motions. We don’t want to give tests or kill our young children’s love for learning and growing, but we also want to see some progress. This section at the end of the lessons give you a chance to acknowledge what they have accomplished in their lesson, and sort of recap everything.

I take this opportunity to go over what we have been learning by allowing my daughter to narrate what she has done, learned, and enjoyed in that math lesson- it is surprising the details little children can remember! It is sort of our Charlotte Mason spin on a math workbook.

We also enjoy acting out some of the lessons using manipulatives; we will place blocks on top of the page once it is completed and she can “teach” me all she has learned and done. We are really excited about this program; it is so simply, straight to the point, and takes no time at all to complete a lesson! I appreciate the easy transition it has given us into a little table work. While my 4 year old begs for table work like her older siblings, you may know that sometimes that can be very short lived, but not with the Mathseeds Math K workbook. She would work in this book as long as I would let her (I think we will have to pick up their reading workbook, too).

There are also “just for fun” pages, and certificates of completion for each map (focus) section. They have really thought of everything!

Click HERE to purchase your workbooks! Use the code: WK10GSD6TMB to get 10% off your purchase. Click the banner below for 4 free weeks of online learning from Reading Eggs!

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