Your views on Horizons Math/Phonics? Please?

[Guest blessedmama]

I'm a newbie. I'll be 'officially' starting to HS our little guy (4) in Sept. He's a smart cookie and I'd like to get going on some more challenging phonics and math programs.

 

I've looked at the Horizons curr. online and it looks pretty good.

 

Any one tried it? Love it/hate it? Why?

 

I'd be looking at the K level.

 

Thanks!!! :)

[8filltheheart]

I love Horizons math and have used it repeatedly with my children. However, I would not use Horizons K with a 4 yr old.

 

I purchased their phonics program one yr and I didn't like it and it has only ever been used when the kids "play" school.

 

 

The why to both questions is the same. Horizons is a fairly faced paced program. I found the phonics moved fast, required sitting too much, and too much handwriting. Sing, Spell, Read, Write allows for movement, singing, games, and we do most of it orally......a better fit for my philosophy of what little kids should be doing.

 

The math......well, it is a great program. I have 2 thoughts on using it with a 4 yo that are completely personal. First, just b/c a child is bright does not mean they need to spend time doing academics, nor does it mean that by not doing academics that they will be slowed down. (If they are advanced, there is simply no way to slow them down........give them legos, balances/weights, play card games and other mental/strategy games. Learning doesn't need to be a textbook.) The second reason is that just b/c a child is bright does not mean they are ready to make the mental leap to doing math or reading. Some things require brain maturity and it can lead to frustration if they are smart and their brain hasn't reached that point.

 

4 is only once. School is for a minimum of 13 yrs.

[mom2att]

I would not use Horizons K with a 4 yr old.

 

The why to both questions is the same. Horizons is a fairly fast paced program. I found the phonics moved fast, required sitting too much, and too much handwriting.

 

The math......well, it is a great program. I have 2 thoughts on using it with a 4 yo that are completely personal. First, just b/c a child is bright does not mean they need to spend time doing academics, nor does it mean that by not doing academics that they will be slowed down. The second reason is that just b/c a child is bright does not mean they are ready to make the mental leap to doing math or reading. Some things require brain maturity and it can lead to frustration if they are smart and their brain hasn't reached that point.

 

4 is only once. School is for a minimum of 13 yrs.

 

I completely agree with the above post. I used Horizons Math & Phonics K with my k'er this past year, and while the math was okay, the phonics moved way too quickly, covering too much material too early. And both programs do have a good deal of writing, certainly more than a 4-year-old needs to do.

 

Now, I will add that I can relate to the OP's desire to get started early. My oldest was very bright and "ready" for K work at 4, in fact she probably would have done okay with Horizons at that age. But I'm glad we didn't go that route, instead reading lots of books and investigating themes that she was interested in, things like ocean animals and dinosaurs. We checked out a lot of library books, found some related crafty activities, and just had fun.

 

Now, if the OP is looking for some definite school-ish stuff, since some kids really do devour workbooks and WANT to do school, I'd look into Miquon for math. It's hands-on, discovery oriented, and definitely do-able with a bright four-year-old. For phonics, well, if you're really looking for a workbook, Explode the Code is simple and straightforward. Otherwise I'd just concentrate on getting a child that age ready to read. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, or Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading are both great--IF the child is ready, but don't push it. The Leap Frog dvd's are great for teaching letter sounds and blends if he's not quite there yet.

 

Hope that helps--have fun with your little guy!

[mschickie]

I have used both Horizons Math and Phonics and love both. That being said I would not push it with a 4 year old. I did not use Horizons k for Math but did use it for phonics. It is pretty advanced. If you are starting with a 4 year old I would say go very slowly or even wait a year.

[mohsmom23]

I am using Horizons K math with my 4yo dd, and it is going well. She is able to grasp the concepts quickly and the spiral format works much better for her than the mastery format of MUS which we tried first. Sometimes there is a bit too much writing involved for my dd's liking, but overall we really like it. I usually just split up the lessons that involve a lot of writing so she doesn't get bogged down.

[MerryAtHope]

We really enjoy Horizons here too!

 

Merry :-)

[skaterbabs]

You might want to consider CLE. I'm kicking myself for not getting it for Dot last year. It's gentle enough that if you split the (math) lessons to cover two days (one day for the new material and one for the review) your bright 4 yo can easily handle it. They have a phonics program that's supposed to be quite good as well, but Dot taught herself to read two years ago so we haven't used it. The CLE Language Arts does cover some phonics though in the spelling lessons.

[Annabel Lee]

I use Horizons math because of what I consider it's medium easy-going pace (JMO, keep in mind this is in comparison to ABeka). It's still rigorous and ahead of my ps district's math. K will cover addition and subtraction concepts with some other ideas such as indtroducing perimeter, etc. thrown. I use Horizons because it doesn't overwhelm my sons and they really love the colorful pages & illustrations. Knowing now what I do, I would have definately started the K math when they were 4 1/2. They were both hungry for math at that age though and loved it. The pages didn't take long at all at that age for my guys. IF it were taking a large chunk of time, I'd have put it aside. With my older son I used it more as a guide for what to teach w/ hands-on activities. We did the problems with marbles or base ten blocks/rods and played alot of math games. HTH!

[FO4UR]

I tried Horizon's k with my ds when he was 5yo. It was a flop, and he is pretty quick with math. It flopped for him b/c it was too much pencil/paper and not enough hands-on (concrete). It was not at all geared for his learning style.

 

Miquon materials and Cuisenairre Rods!!! ;)

 

I've never seen their phonics stuff.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, I can't say whether or not to use it with your 4yo. I typically think that they don't need a formal program at that age. However, if you're going to use something, using a kindy level at 4 isn't necessarily bad. I told my stepmom, "It doesn't take any longer for a 7yo to do high school math if she is ready for it than it takes an average 7yo to do 2nd grade math." In fact, in our case, it took less time. A lot of people do SOMETHING with their 4yos so 15 minutes of Kindy or 1st grade math is no different for the kid that is ready for it than if they do 15 minutes of preschool math. My own daughter had done a good bit of several levels of Abeka Math by age 5 <shrug>. Whatever works.

 

But it is important not to be too schoolish even with a bright advanced 4yo. All 4yos learn well through play, through interests, naturally, in life, etc. You can have fun playing with fractions and science concepts rather than colors and counting beans to 5, but they need to have plenty of opportunity to learn in developmentally appropriate ways regardless of what they are learning.

 

Anyway, so that is my opinion. Pretty mixed really. As the parent of an accelerated kiddo, I wasn't going to hold her back, but we were extremely laid back when she was young (elementary age) also.

[Tweed]

I've not used their Phonics program, but I've used their math with all 4 kids. I think it really depends on the child. I had one smart cookie who started it at 4 and he's done great (now using their grade 4 at almost 8 years old), two children that started K at 5 and are doing very well, and then last year I started K with my 5 year old and it was way too advanced for her. We've gone through a few math programs looking for something to fit her, and Horizon's K is by far more advanced than any other math program I've run across. I really think it is like most 1st grade math programs. It's an excellent program, though. My only complaint with it is that the teacher's manual is really no help at all, and if you are math challenged, it can get sticky in the higher grades. :001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

Whatever phonics you choose, here's how and why not to teach sight words:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

 

And, my instructions for how to teach a young child to read:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/newstudents.html

 

One thing that I haven't added to that yet that I have found useful is working from a white board for a young child, writing the words very large in uppercase. This really holds their attention well and helps keep them focused on sounding out words instead of squinting at little tiny words. PP has big enough words for a young child, but I still prefer to work from a white board, it just holds interest more. It also emphasizes the L to R direction of writing and sounding out words. Uppercase is easier to write neatly and also helps prevent B/D confusions (very common in children learning to read.)

[angela in ohio]

We use Horizons Phonics for my youngest ds. Dh did his graduate work in phonics and teaching reading, and he went with me to the homeschool store and picked it out as the best. It is advanced. Before they start the K program, they should probably already know the sounds of the lettes and definitely how to write them. It moves very quickly, almost as if it is review and not teaching new concepts. This works for my kiddo, and we were relieved to find a program that keeps pace with him.

 

The math program is fine if you do it as intended. There is not enough instruction for the student to figure out concepts alone, so you cannot just hand a dc the workbook. The workbook is intended to reinforce concepts taught by mom. That is the way the program is intended.

 

We are academically serious, and I would not start a 4 yo in the kindergarten program, as it is already a year or so advanced. Spend the next year reading aloud great stories, taking many, many field trips, and doing hands-on learning (games, art projects, nature study, math manipulatives,) combined with about a half hour (up to an hour) of seat work a day. Ths will build the background knowledge of the world necessary to excel, as well as building up his stamina for writing.