Over the next couple of weeks, several of our writers will be taking the time to talk about some of the pieces of curriculum that have worked for them this year. So, if you have been trying to piece together your curriculum for next year, be sure to keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks at what works for our writers.
When we were trying to figure out what math program to use, we were lucky to get the chance to see several programs that people brought in for one of our local homeschooling meetings. From all of the programs that I looked at then, Horizons Math (from Alpha Omega Press) caught my eye right away.
What I like about Horizons:
- Instructions are generally very easy to understand, even for the kids if they are working on their own.
- After new concepts have been introduced, there is generally a lot of practice to help kids retain the information.
- Each lesson contains review of concepts that have been introduced long ago.
- The curriculum wasn’t as expensive as many math programs.
A few things that I don’t like about Horizons:
- Sometimes the amount of review problems can be a bit overwhelming (at least for my kids), but this is solved easily in our house because I just cross out some of them, so that my kids know that they can skip over those.
- At least for my kids, they need more manipulatives. There is a manipulatives pack available, but it wasn’t exactly what we were looking for.
- If you want to come up with a grade for anything other than the tests (those come up every 10 lessons), you have to count how many problems are on that page (which is sometimes quite a lot).
Although we did consider changing math programs for next year, we decided to stick with Horizons Math again next year. I realized that it was working for us, and I needed to worry less about what other people were using. We did decide, however, that we were going to buy some of the Math-U-See manipulatives to supplement the program.
Have you used Horizons Math? What did you like? What didn’t you like?
Though Angie’s family is officially done with the school year, they’re still chugging through their math books this summer. When they aren’t busy with that, Angie just might be writing at Many Little Blessings.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
The colors were what really helped us! My oldest is a creative child who craves “fun” ways to learn. I tend to be a more practical learner, so it can sometimes be hard for me to come up with creative ways to help her learn. Horizons scatters fun exercises and problem designs here and there to liven up a review exercise. I have done the same thing when it comes to some of the review exercises – either crossed them out if she has mastered them well or I do them with her.
Great review, thanks for the feedback. We are just starting Prof B Math with my youngest son who is 5, but it is great to have the details about other curriculums that can help add to his learning for next year!
We love Horizons. We have now officially used it from K-6, though not all the kids have done all the books yet. I agree that there are usually too many problems on a page. My kids know that they can do half of all the problems except new concepts (they do all of those) and, if they miss an unreasonable amount, they have to do the other half for more practice (as well as correcting the first half).
I agree about the manipulatives, too. We have some things we pull out from time to time — such as a set of MUS blocks or plastic coins — to help a concept make more sense. That has worked well for us.
Two of my kids will be finishing up their Horizons math books this summer, as well.
We have used Horizons Math for 2 years now & both of my sons have done really well with the books!
We were using Saxon orignally & we are so happy to have switched to Horizons.