All About Math will eventually be a five-level program for kindergarten through about fifth grade, and Level 1 is the first to be published. All levels should be available by the end of 2026. The first two courses overlap traditional grade levels with Level 1 covering content for kindergarten and part of first grade. Level 2 will complete first grade and cover all content for second grade. The last three levels correspond more closely to grade levels. Students are to achieve mastery of each level before moving on. Lessons are completed at the student's pace, so some levels might take more than a year.
Each level has a Teacher’s Manual and a student packet. The student packet includes an activity book, a set of cardstock math tools (e.g., numeral cards and an addition and subtraction mat), and stickers. A one-time purchase of a set of Math Manipulatives is also needed. Additionally, parents need to provide a whiteboard and dry-erase markers.
The same set of manipulatives will be used for all five levels. The manipulatives kit, packaged in a plastic storage bin, contains counting bears, connecting cubes, two-color counters, Base Ten Blocks, fraction tiles, a ruler, a protractor, and a dry-erase pocket. Some of the cardstock math tools, like the addition and subtraction mat, are placed in the dry-erase pocket so students can write with markers and reuse the tools.
This is a multisensory math program with frequent interaction and discussion between teacher and student. Lessons are taught from the Teacher’s Manual, with the activity book pages and manipulatives used as supportive tools. The Teacher’s Manual provides preparatory instructions for each lesson in a "Before You Begin" section, letting you know the objectives and required manipulatives and math tools. They also explain any new concepts, such as subitizing, and summarize what will happen in the lesson and why. These explanations help parents understand the program at a deeper level, even if they have a poor math background themselves.
The lessons are scripted—parents read the lessons, direct activities, and ask questions following the step-by-step lesson plans. Parents need to read the Before You Begin section of each lesson ahead of time so they understand new concepts and have the required manipulatives or math tools on hand.
Students learn new concepts through concrete learning experiences, then transfer learning to pictorial and then abstract ways of working with the concept. Children are gradually introduced to standard formats for problem solving. Practice and review to ensure mastery are often accomplished with manipulatives and games, and optional activities are available at the end of each lesson for students who need more practice.
Parents are provided with two resources for tracking student progress, both found in the activity book. The “Daily Review Tracker” is used to track introduction and mastery of the skills taught in each course, and children affix a sticker to the “Progress Chart” as they master each lesson.
The multi-page lessons often take more than one session to complete, either because they require more time to cover the material or because the student needs more time to practice and master concepts.
Every lesson includes a brief “Math Reflection” with scripted questions to prompt a dialogue with students. For example, parents might ask students to explain what strategy (or strategies) they could use to figure something out or what concept they want to practice more. These reflections help solidify learning and also help parents know if children have gaps in their understanding.
All About Math is very thorough, taking into account many common problems children encounter. For instance, Level 1 uses a mixture of styles for writing numerals to prevent children from confusing numbers like 6 and 9. Six is written with a curved line coming down to the left and then forming a circle, while 9 is written in a ball-and-stick fashion. This seems like an insignificant detail, but it can be important for children who have trouble differentiating the numbers.
Summary
All About Math provides a thorough conceptual foundation for math through the use of manipulatives, games, and interaction. The scripted lessons make it easy for parents to teach without prior training. Suggestions and extra practice ideas are included to help parents be sensitive to the needs of each child and make adaptations as needed.
Level 1
Before starting Level 1, students need to be able to count to five and should be at least in the beginning stages of writing letters and numbers. Among other developmental prerequisites are the ability to follow multi-step directions, a 10-minute attention span, the ability to speak clearly and be understood, the ability to play games like Chutes and Ladders, and the ability to trace, copy, and draw simple shapes.
Topics covered in Level 1 include counting, one-to-one correspondence, identifying and writing numbers to 100, comparing amounts and numbers, addition (with sums up to 99), subtraction, place value, story problems, composing and decomposing numbers, counting by 10, and measurement with non-standard units.
The first half of Level 1 focuses on kindergarten concepts, while the second half focuses mainly on first-grade material. Lessons begin at a higher level than some kindergarten programs, so some kindergartners might need to move through lessons slowly at first. The first few lessons teach the skill of subitizing, “the ability to quickly and accurately recognize the number of items in a small group without needing to count them individually” (Level 1 Teacher’s Manual, p. 35). Children learn to do this for up to five items, using dot cards, counting bears, connecting blocks, “five frames,” activity pages, and games. Later, they will use “ten frames” and other resources for subitizing beyond five items.
The 516-page Teacher’s Manual explains how the course works and provides the thoroughly scripted lessons. Parents are encouraged to spend about 20 minutes daily on lessons and progress at their students' pace, so it's appropriate for lessons to take more than one day. Among the lessons are five titled “Show What You Know,” which are used rather than tests to assess student knowledge interactively. Appendices at the back of the book include the scope and sequence, a simple way to construct a game spinner, “Guidelines for Using Manipulatives and Drawings,” number reversal solutions, a glossary, and an index. The “Guidelines for Using Manipulatives and Drawings” lets parents know that children don’t need to complete every activity if they have already mastered a concept, especially those with hands-on resources. Even though lessons are scripted, parents are free to adapt to the needs of each child, sometimes skipping or adding multisensory elements.
The 395-page student activity book, titled Hop into Math, is heavily illustrated and is printed in full color. Pages are perforated for easy removal. Some pages are used for games or are used with manipulatives, and some require writing numbers. Pages 5, 7, and 8 of Hop into Math have the progress-tracking resources used throughout the course, which parents will remove and keep handy.
Brinda the Bunny accompanies children through this course, appearing on pages in the Teacher’s Manual and on the cover of Hop into Math. In addition, every lesson includes a “Brinda’s Math Fun” game-like activity. These generally use gameboards, cards, and other resources found in Hop into Math, and sometimes also use cubes, counting bears, or other manipulatives.
Levels 2 through 5
Specific details for the other levels will be added as they become available.