Preschool Math at Home: Simple Activities to Build the Best Possible Foundation for Your Child (Math with Confidence) Paperback – Illustrated, April 15, 2016

Great math program for both my 4 and 2 year old!

Im a homeschooling parent who also works full time. So I am always looking for quick and easy things I can do consistently to keep my almost five year old learning happily. He was 4.5 when we got the book.I adore this book, and as we wrap it up, I've already bought the K level. As a parent who has math anxiety, I not only found Kate's approach to be easy to teach, I actually learned a lot myself. Kate focuses on teaching math sense, no just bludgeoning a kid with math facts they have no foundation for.Things I loved:Didn't need to buy any supplies (we used stuff we had around our home)It took virtually no prep on my part. I reviewed the lessons in advance and would briefly reread the specific section the morning before we did it. I found it easy to implement quickly.Kate included notes about possible hiccups or ways kids would do things that I would have panicked about, but gave me peace of mind.I could easily assess if my kid was ready to move on.I could do it consistently because the activities took very little time per session. And I could combine sessions if something felt easy for him.Things I didn't like:Really not much. There were some placeholders for the appendix pages that didn't get replaced by page numbers, but outside of that, I have no changes I'd want to see in the book.I truly can't say enough how happy I've been with this book and I look forward to checking out the K level work!

The book is well written and worth the pennies. This curriculum will work well for even parents who are weak in math. It gives you all the ideas and method in introducing concepts to a young child.

For context, I got this book for my 3.5 year old son, who has recently show interest in counting (and asking "how many days until my birthday?" ten times a day). I think you could probably start this book with an interested(!) older 2 year old. Your child does not need to know any numbers or be able to count before starting this book, although they obviously need to be decently verbal so you can discuss the activities. This book is not a workbook, or set of worksheets, it is a logical progression of simple activities and games you can play with your child that build from beginning counting to simple addition and subtraction.What I like:-The activities take zero prep and really only require some "counters".-The activities are totally age appropriate! This is huge! They are simple and can be done in only a few minutes. They are fun - my son loves "math time". They do not require any writing, which is the downfall of many early learning books.-It is well thought out and has taken us through some concepts I may not have thought of myself, like the difference between counting and counting out items, and subitizing.What I don't like:-The price: the book is a thin paperback and I was expecting a weightier volume for the price. It's possible that Amazon has just spoiled me. If you think of it as "curriculum", the price is reasonable.-The author takes a very linear approach to building math skills and stresses mastery of each chapter before moving to the next. This is not necessary, in my opinion, and may eventually bore a child if he/she gets stuck on a particular skill. All the skills she presents are important and should eventually be mastered, but, for example, I don't think it's necessary that a child have all the number symbols memorized before being introduced to any concept of addition. Not a big deal - if you're doing it at home, you're in charge of when your child moves on!Bottom line: We've really enjoyed working through this book. I'd recommend it.

Half way through it and my 4 year old is enjoying learning with it.

Math with confidence is my favorite math curriculum and this book is no exception. My preschooler and I both love the activities!

Kate's blog has been a valuable resource while making math decisions for my older homeschooled kids. My 2nd grader went through her Addition Facts that Stick program and now knows his addition facts to the point of automaticity. Now, Preschool Math at Home has made it easy to teach my 3 year old basic math concepts on her level in Kate's friendly style that has worked well for my older kids. At 3, we do math only when she asks and for the last few weeks that has been nearly every day.The book teaches math concepts through finger play and counting the toys or objects the child can see. We've easily turned these lessons merely into play. For instance today we used counting bears in two colors in a row, first five yellow bears followed by a small space and then five green bears to count to 10. Then, I removed some of the green bears and we practiced counting on from five knowing that the yellow bears continued to total five. This will prepare her to recognize the same sorts of games played on the five and ten frame (a favorite of Kate's I believe). My 3 year old thinks she is just playing 'How many bears are at the birthday party now mommy?' but she is getting a solid foundation in these early math skills.As long as they are age or level appropriate for my kids, I will be using Kate's materials in my homeschool and I continue to recommend her products to my friends. Three families in our co-op are now using this book as their preschool math curriculum.

This is wonderful - gives easy to do and quick activities that are appropriate for preschoolers. A little young for my son but I plan to work through it to solidify skills then try Math with Confidence Kindergarten.