We just love Math With Confidence(aka MWC) in our homeschool. When I was first researching MWC I came across videos, comments, and forum posts all saying the same negative down side about it: the stuff needed for the curriculum is just too much, too hard to organize. I didn’t let that sway me, mainly because my child needed the games and fun that MWC has, but also because I love a good organizing challenge. Now that we are on our third year (!) using this curriculum, I feel confident in how I have been organizing all the things and can’t wait to share my easy set up with you!
MWC overview
All levels of Math With Confidence have 2 to 3 sizeable books, along with Blackline Masters that need to be printed and kept somewhere, and all the manipulative/game pieces. Most of these items are needed daily, which is why this curriculum can be seen as difficult to organize or clumsy to handle. But, hopefully, I can help give you ideas today that might help keep everything organized and at the ready for lessons!
organizing the books
For the MWC Instructor Guide and Student Workbooks I found it easiest to put them upright in a book bin. This not only keeps them tidy and together, but makes it so that they can easily be taken out everyday for lessons and everything is in one place. I think having one container (of any sort!) is best in this situation because often the lessons call for extra paper (or we use a dry erase board for most of those times) and/or a blackline master and I don’t want to have to keep getting up and getting stuff off the shelf. So when it is time for lessons, I just take the whole book bin and set it on the table so that everything I need is within reach.
For the books, we just use a sticky note to mark the page we are currently on. We have spiral bound the books in the past, and that does make playing some of the games easier so that the pages lay completely flat and the counters don’t slide off the page.
For most of the instances that the curriculum calls for something to be written on paper I use a dry erase board. Sometimes though, actual paper is required and it is helpful to keep some in the binder with the blackline masters.
The curriculum recommends printing the blackline masters and putting them in page protectors in a binder, and I have loved this idea! They are easy to take out and lay on the table, and can be written on with dry erase markers.
base ten blocks
Starting in second grade MWC requires base ten blocks to be used for lessons. These are the ones I purchased, and we love them. When I first opened them I was worried about how to store them though, because all I could picture was all of them jumbled together in a basket. I dug through the closet that holds extra school stuff, and came up with this!
It is a 3 compartment small storage caddy with a handle. I think mine originally came from the Target dollar spot long ago, but here is a similar one I found on Amazon. It works perfectly. Everything is easy to get out and put back, and it all stays in its own space.
manipulatives
The different levels of MWC have differing amounts of manipulatives that need to be stored. I have found a small basket to be perfect for housing them, but any small container will work. My opinion is that simpler is better here, if you get too organized with it, things will take way too long to get out and put back.
Currently, in 3rd grade, our required manipulatives are: 2 packs of playing cards, some form of counter, assorted coins, play money, 2 dice, a judy clock, and fraction tiles. I have also added to our basket: a dry erase marker and eraser and some blank flash cards. These items are for the times when the instructions call for something to be written on a piece of paper, and it just depends on context for which I choose to use.
our shelf set up
The important thing here is to make sure that everything is close to where it will be used. We homeschool in our dining room, and the homeschool bookshelf is right next to it. We have the upright book bin for the books, the plastic organizer for the base ten blocks (not necessary for first grade), and the small basket for the manipulatives. Thats it. And it all fits in a 16″ by 16″ area of the shelf.
how we make it work
To give you an idea of how this works day to day, I will talk you through my routine. First, I pull out the book bin, put it on the table, and get out my instructors guide to see what else is needed for the lesson. This info can be found at the very beginning of each lesson in the box at the top of the page. Then, I pull off the shelf the other bins that are needed. Sometimes this is both the basket and the base ten bin, or sometimes it is just one of them. I put everything on the table and start the lesson, pulling things out when they are needed. It really is simple.
So, what do you think of our set-up? Did you glean anything that might help your homeschool? Do you have any ideas or thoughts to share with me and other readers to make it even simpler?! I always love to hear from you!
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