I worked with corn kernels (concrete) with both Viola and Zeb, separately, on numbering and not counting for approximately 15 minutes. I've decided to start Viola at the beginning despite the fact that she is wildly beyond this in math; all the same though, there are nuggets of learning in this manner of learning in which even I could use remediation. This approach to math is perfect for Zeb: concrete -- mental -- written. I can't say for certain if we will use Ray's as suggested by the EMOM or by Beechick in her guide, or just as my intuition dictates, but here we gooooooooooooooo ...
I hope to use some of the brilliant concepts and ideas I learned from the EMOM and from Ms Mason with our math lessons, but I foresee Mae pining for MEP, which she has loved from Year 1. It's hard for me to allow the messiness of several different maths happening in my home, but then I step back and remember that is precisely why we home school.
ETA ~ We are pressing forward with MEP for Mae and Life of Fred for Viola and MEP for Zeb ... I mix in some Ray's story problems, but we're best right where we're at presently.