Supplementing Horizons

[lilbean05]

I was reading the thread about how people use their Horizons Math program and saw that some of you choose to supplement Horizons Math with another math program.

 

I started discussing this with my husband, to see if he thought we should look into adding Singapore math or something else, but several questions came up that I am hoping you can answer!

 

1. Why do you supplement?

 

2. Would it just be a bad idea to do Horizons for now and a few years down the road try to supplement? Meaning, would we be so far behind in the OTHER program that we should supplement now if we want to stay on track?

 

3. How does one supplement? We already spend a lot of time on math everyday. Are you actually doing two math programs at the same time?

 

 

Thanks!!

[sweetgeo]

I used to supplement Singapore with Miquon, and once even added in some pages of Horizons...thinking that review and math coming from different sources would help my math-reluctant son. Just the opposite happened though...he hated math all the more. I now have wisened up and just use Singapore, but I work with him more one-on-one to make sure he is understanding the concepts and able to do them on his own. When I was supplementing, it was sorta just giving him the workbooks to complete on his own, overkill of busy work. Now, that's not to say I don't plan to supplement Singapore with Life of Fred in the future, but there's a reason for that!:tongue_smilie:

[Dinsfamily]

1. Why do you supplement? We supplement because my ds is gifted in math. He tested into Horizons 2 at 5yo without using a formal math curriculum before now. However, I prefer not to just whiz through math quickly because he can. So, we started in Horizons K (should've started in 1) and we're on Lesson 95 after 8 weeks of school. I decided to add Singapore so that he would get a good foundation of mental math in addition to the drill-type math that Horizons provides. This way he'll have a deep understanding of arithmetic before we start Algebra.

 

2. Would it just be a bad idea to do Horizons for now and a few years down the road try to supplement? Meaning, would we be so far behind in the OTHER program that we should supplement now if we want to stay on track? I'm too much of a newbie to answer that, but I don't see why you couldn't. You might just have to start him a 1/2-full grade level below because the programs are so different, but it's a supplement, so who cares? They have placement tests on their website, so you wouldn't have to guess where to start.

 

3. How does one supplement? We already spend a lot of time on math everyday. Are you actually doing two math programs at the same ) time? We're schooling year-round so we have a lot of time to finish two curricula. I'm planning on just doing Horizons, Singapore, Horizons. This might change later on as we slow down with math and I get some actual experience doing both. We may end up doing Horizons on schedule (1 lesson/day and add in a few Singapore lessons/week. Then, Singapore only until the school year's out. We'll see. I'm not too worried about it because Horizons is a solid program by itself. I should also mention that I have no problem skipping lessons or crossing out activities if my ds has mastered them. Since we'll never take too much of a break from math, he won't need much of the review that's included at the beginning of each level.

[rafiki]

.

[Sahamamama]

We supplement Horizons Math K because at this level it does not feel like a complete math program to me. I think the lessons are cheerfully and colorfully presented; they are orderly and well-structured; they do seem to build some skills in math (counting, comparing, ordering, adding, measuring, money, time, positional/directional concepts, etc.). At the same time they seem to be too easy and not deep enough for my K'er. She appears to do well with a balance of drill/repetition (counting, skip counting, +/- flash cards, time flash cards, money chants), hands-on work (manipulatives, problem-solving, baking/cooking, measuring, telling time), and direct instruction followed by guided and independent practice (seatwork exercises, problem-solving, number chart work). I didn't feel the Horizons teacher guide taught me how to implement the hands-on portion of a well-rounded math program. Horizons might work for some teachers, but I felt that I needed more instruction in the underlying principles and the hands-on applications of elementary mathematics instruction. So far, these resources have been helpful in teaching me how to bring the balance to our math program -- that is, the why and how of using "manipulatives," the reasons why young children need math to be more "hands-on," and how to develop deeper mathematical understanding in young children (while not neglecting those addition facts, LOL!).

 

A Collection of Math Lessons: From Grades 1 through 3, by Marilyn Burns & Bonnie Tank (there are three volumes, 1-3; 3-6; 6-8). EXTREMELY HELPFUL.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0941355012/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

 

Count On Math: Activities for Small Hands and Lively Minds, by Pam Schiller and Lynne Peterson (presents a developmental approach to teaching and practicing math skills. At first glance, I didn't "get it," but as I work through this with my children, I think this resource is a gold mine for a teacher of young students).

 

http://www.amazon.com/Count-Math-Activities-Small-Lively/dp/0876591888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251040964&sr=1-1

 

Hands-On Standards Grades 1 & 2 (specific activities with manipulatives for primary grades, many appropriate for Pre-K/K level. I understand and can utilize this resource and the accompanying manipulatives much better now, but with only this resource at first, I was still clueless. A Collection of Math Lessons was the teacher training resource that turned the light bulb on for me)!

 

http://www.learningresources.com/product/teachers/shop+by+category/manipulatives/math/counters+-+cubes/hands-on+standards--174--+photo-illustrated+lessons+for+teaching+with+math+manipulatives%2C+grades+1-2.do?search=basic&keyword=hands-on+standards&sortby=bestSellers&page=1&

Edited August 23, 2009 by Sahamamama
typo

[8filltheheart]

!

 

 

 

2. Would it just be a bad idea to do Horizons for now and a few years down the road try to supplement? Meaning, would we be so far behind in the OTHER program that we should supplement now if we want to stay on track?

 

 

 

Thanks!!

 

Since I don't supplement Horizons, I can't answer your other questions. However, I can answer this one.

 

If you use no other math program than Horizons you will absolutely not be behind. It is a complete math program in and of itself. My oldest switched to Horizons in 3rd grade from Abeka. The rest of my kids have used only Horizons. They are excellent math students and have had no math deficiencies in going from Horizons 6 into high school math. (4 have done so already. My 5th one is completing Horizons 6 this yr.)

 

HTH

[Melora in NC]

We do it the other way around, supplementing Singapore with Horizons (and also LOF), but the idea is the same. I supplement because Horizons presents things differently than Singapore and and getting things presented in more than one way has been helpful to my children. I use Horizons at a level somewhat behind where we are in Singapore, so it also serves as review. We do Singapore on Mondays through Thursdays, and Horizons on Fridays. I cross out a Lot of problems, often only doing a few of each type, and skipping exercises that I don't feel we need to review, so we can cover between three to five lessons in our Friday math session.

[lilbean05]

These are all very great ideas, and it is very interesting to see how you are all supplementing in different ways. We have only been going for a few weeks with Horizons 1 AND this is also our first year homeschooling, so I am sort of winging it. We haven't done much of the manipulatives-thanks for all the links! I have seen that the CWP is going out of print, so I better get on that or just wait for the newer versions to come out sometime next year. It is encouraging to know that some of you who have done this for awhile have found that using just Horizons has taken your child into high school math without gaps. You have given me lots of points to discuss with my husband later tonight! :)

[Lovedtodeath]

If you use no other math program than Horizons you will absolutely not be behind. It is a complete math program in and of itself. My oldest switched to Horizons in 3rd grade from Abeka. The rest of my kids have used only Horizons. They are excellent math students and have had no math deficiencies in going from Horizons 6 into high school math. (4 have done so already. My 5th one is completing Horizons 6 this yr.)

 

HTH

:iagree:If it is working for your kids you can feel safe just using Horizons.

 

I decided that we needed more information in the TM because DD is a hands-on learner and gets bored with nothing but worksheets. I needed more hand holding for the teacher because I couldn't figure out what to do other than hand her the worksheet.

[Dinsfamily]

We do it the other way around, supplementing Singapore with Horizons (and also LOF), but the idea is the same. I supplement because Horizons presents things differently than Singapore and and getting things presented in more than one way has been helpful to my children. I use Horizons at a level somewhat behind where we are in Singapore, so it also serves as review. We do Singapore on Mondays through Thursdays, and Horizons on Fridays. I cross out a Lot of problems, often only doing a few of each type, and skipping exercises that I don't feel we need to review, so we can cover between three to five lessons in our Friday math session.

 

I really like this idea. Can you give an example of which levels you use together? I'm planning on starting Singapore 1A when we finish Horizons K (probably in late September). Would you use Singpore 1A or 2A with Horizons 1 as review?

[Annabel Lee]

I was reading the thread about how people use their Horizons Math program and saw that some of you choose to supplement Horizons Math with another math program.

 

I started discussing this with my husband, to see if he thought we should look into adding Singapore math or something else, but several questions came up that I am hoping you can answer!

 

1. Why do you supplement?

 

2. Would it just be a bad idea to do Horizons for now and a few years down the road try to supplement? Meaning, would we be so far behind in the OTHER program that we should supplement now if we want to stay on track?

 

3. How does one supplement? We already spend a lot of time on math everyday. Are you actually doing two math programs at the same time?

 

 

Thanks!!

 

 

1. To supplement a curriculum doesn't necessarily mean also doing another curriculum entirely. I supplement Horizons, *sometimes, as needed*, with hands-on activities, games, and I keep a few other math programs on the shelves for reference.

Why? My kids like to DO math, not just write it on a worksheet. My boys are good at math, although my older son balks at sitting & doing the worksheets - he loves coming up with problems and talking about math stuff in the car. My younger is ready for more than the review pages in Horizons 1 is giving him. They can both already tell time to the minute and count money well. Those two types of math problems in Horizons are lacking for *my* kids - so I ask them what time it is alot, what time it will be in ___ min. or hours, etc.; and we play w/ play money alot. No additional curriculum necessary. My older needs to put math facts to memory more solidly, so he spends extra time on that w/ flashcards & wrapups -- then I drill him for "instant recall".

I am on paperbackswap and had the chance to get a Singapore textbook free - so I did. I liked it and bought some used SM here. I keep those for looking at math from a different angle, and I like how they illustrate things. I showed my boys what division is over the summer using a 2A book and they could see what I was talking about. Now I regularly jump at the chance to get any more SM stuff on PBS (paperbackswap), esp. since it's free. Even if we're not doing the whole curriculum, it's nice to have around - my boys like looking through them & they learn things as I answer their questions about them.

I keep a few Saxon 2 items around for my 1st grader b/c I already have them (I wouldn't go buy them new). When he is bored w/ his Horizons lesson b/c it is review of concepts he has mastered well, I can flip through the Saxon and teach him something "odd" that Horizons might not mention for awhile - like "oblique" for ex.

I'm starting to wonder why I keep the Abeka 3 math on the shelves. It's what I'd *like* to do, but my older son already takes hours to complete math w/ Horizons and Abeka is slightly harder. I thought I was going to draw from concepts taught in Abeka to make sure he was up to that level, but we have some character issues to tackle w/ getting easier work done efficiently before we can dream of going there. Besides, it's all about the same by the end of 6th grade, on the basics like the 4 operations anyhow.

 

Some curricula are stronger in different "extra" stuff. I can see by the Horizons 2 & 3 curricula that it is very strong in geometry & pre-algebra. Some are stronger in English or metric measurements at earlier grades, or stronger w/ harder money & time problems earlier. That's why I mix it up.

 

2. No. Horizons is a solid program when you look at the entire scope from K-6. Now, if you want to do another program alongside in the future, I can't help you there. Programs often have such different sequences that by 2nd or 3rd grade it's hard to align them (I learned this back when I was looking at switching). I think you could still add something as a *supplement* later. Esp. if you do the supplemental program a half-year behind as review, so to give time to get the hang of how that program works.

 

3. How? See my answer to #1. We spend alot of time on math too, sorry, can't help you there. I've tried combining my boys (not their materials/grade levels) for math time, doing it separately, and now I'm trying to get my older started w/ his instruction time 1st, then do my younger's instruction time while older is working independently. Not going well so far. I'm really hoping to work the kinks out in that, b/c doing it separately was taking alot of time. When my oldest son was in K, we spent about 1.5 hrs on math b/c he loooooved it. We played math games for a long time after the lesson. I would not have made him spend that much time if he didn't want to. No, I'm not doing more than 1 full math program at any given time. I pull a book out from another for reference, to show the kids another way to do something, for more practice in a weak area, etc. Never actually doing 2 maths.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Annabel Lee

[Ali in OR]

Singapore is our primary math program and we supplement with Horizons. I prefer the instruction in Singapore and the way they develop mathematical thinking. I add in some Horizons for their breadth of problems and regular review. Standardized testing is a part of our lives and I think Horizons is good for that. But Horizons doesn't really teach the concepts--just throws out different types of problems--so I wouldn't want that to be our only or our primary math program.

 

We use the same level in both programs, so my 4th grader just started Singapore Primary 4A and Horizons 4A. We do all of Singapore including CWP at grade level. For Horizons, I cross out a lot of it. Dd does maybe half of it. I may just have her do 3 problems in a 6 problem section, or if she did a section on rounding numbers yesterday, I'll cross it out for today's lesson. I think you would be okay using a lower level of Horizons. I do cross out things that I think they are jumping to a bit prematurely--much of their equations with variables in 3rd grade for instance. In both programs, we just do the next lesson--I don't try to align topics. Horizons tends to hit topics a little earlier but without the depth of Singapore. Sometimes I'll just skip problems that are on a topic we haven't hit in Singapore yet, sometimes I'll do a quick explanation.

[Melora in NC]

I really like this idea. Can you give an example of which levels you use together? I'm planning on starting Singapore 1A when we finish Horizons K (probably in late September). Would you use Singpore 1A or 2A with Horizons 1 as review?

 

I used Singapore 1A & 1B and Horizons Books 1 & 2 with my dd the past school year. Now we are starting our new year (actually we school year round, but both kids mostly start the next level's work in August) and she is starting Singapore 2A. She is only about 2/3 of the way through Horizons 1B. My ds is about 1/4 of the way into Singapore 5A and is about 2/3 of the way through Horizons 4 book 2.

So I guess my answer would be to start Horizons 1, book 1 a couple months after you start Singapore 1. The programs introduce things at different times, so sometimes we encounter a concept in Horizons before it comes up in Singapore, and this hasn't been a big deal.;)

[Dinsfamily]

I used Singapore 1A & 1B and Horizons Books 1 & 2 with my dd the past school year. Now we are starting our new year (actually we school year round, but both kids mostly start the next level's work in August) and she is starting Singapore 2A. She is only about 2/3 of the way through Horizons 1B. My ds is about 1/4 of the way into Singapore 5A and is about 2/3 of the way through Horizons 4 book 2.

So I guess my answer would be to start Horizons 1, book 1 a couple months after you start Singapore 1. The programs introduce things at different times, so sometimes we encounter a concept in Horizons before it comes up in Singapore, and this hasn't been a big deal.;)

 

Thanks, that really makes sense. I think I'll order both Singapore 1A and the Horizons wkbks next month.

[Lovedtodeath]

1. To supplement a curriculum doesn't necessarily mean also doing another curriculum entirely. I supplement Horizons, *sometimes, as needed*, with hands-on activities, games, and I keep a few other math programs on the shelves for reference.

Why? My kids like to DO math, not just write it on a worksheet. ... My older needs to put math facts to memory more solidly, so he spends extra time on that w/ flashcards & wrapups -- then I drill him for "instant recall".

I am so loving Abeka. I can do the hands on from the curriculum guide and skip the worksheet on some days. On others the worksheet is fine by itself, and on others we do both. Abeka takes care of drill wit htheir speed drills book. I am so happy with Abeka! It covers everything, no supplementing or juggling 2 curriculums.

[MerryAtHope]

Haven't felt the need to supplement here, Horizons is a complete curriculum & my kids do well in math!

 

Merry :-)