Math: Horizons vs MUS

[Mommamia]

Any opinions of either? Has anyone used one and then switched to the other(and why)?

 

Thank you!

 

BTW-This is for the lower years(2 and 3rd to be exact)

[MerryAtHope]

I used Horizons in the lower years, but now that my son has finished H6, he is doing MUS Pre-Algebra. I thought about MUS in the early years but it didn't appeal to me at the time. It was a learning style issue here--my son wanted color, didn't want to learn from a video (I really didn't want to use a video at the time either, I like teaching math, but I was open to it if he wanted), and didn't like manipulatives.

 

One thing I didn't understand when I was choosing is that MUS has lots of review--I thought spiral meant review and mastery methods didn't have review (partially because prior to Horizons we used another mastery program, which didn't really have built in review). However, while I might have considered it more closely, I don't think it would have swayed the issue for me at the time. Also, I really liked how well-rounded Horizons was and all the topics they introduce.

 

I did show MUS to my daughter since my son is switching over--she is doing H5 this year and I thought I'd put her in Epsilon if she wanted to switch. She does like manipulatives a lot. However, she preferred Horizons color, and especially the jokes and puzzles. So, it looks like I'll have her in Horizons through 6 and then decide whether she can do MUS or needs another approach.

 

HTH! BTW, my son easily tested into prealgebra after H6. I bought a used copy of the Epsilon DVD just in case he needs a brush-up on any fractions. Prealgebra has lots of fraction, decimal, and percent review, which is good--I felt my son could use a bit more work in those areas even though he's done a lot with Horizons, just to make sure he's solid before going to algebra. So far it's been a great transition from one program to the next, and I'm pleased.

 

I have a friend who loves MUS and has used that all the way through. Hopefully you can figure out which method will meet your teaching style and your children's learning style the best!

 

Merry :-)

[corbie]

They're both great, for different reasons. They are VERY different. MUS is mastery. The videos are great. Horizons is spiral, lots of review. DD didn't like the videos and the b&w pages. She does Horizons now. She likes the variety and color. I have to say, though, that teaching Horizons would be tougher for me had I not done MUS 1st. It explains how to teach things like place value and regrouping. There is a TM, but I didn't find it too helpful. For me, the best would be to get MUS and then just get the workbooks for Horizons. Horizons has more review and covers a variety of topics.

 

HTH. Sorry I can't give a clear cut answer:001_smile:

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

We did Horizons grades 1 through 5, switched to Saxon for 3/4 of a year and then to MUS (which we've used from Alpha through Algebra 1). Both of my older boys are very different and Horizons was horrible for both of them. One looked great on paper because he has an excellent memory and was able to memorize how to "do" everything. He could go through the motions and ace everything but, unfortunately, he understood very little. My other son couldn't memorize how to "do" math fast enough and because he didn't understand what he was doing nothing stuck with him. He was able to "get by" at first but every year became more and more difficult, basically snowballing. While it was difficult to live through so many tear stained pages at least we could see there was a problem; we never would have guessed our other son had a problem because he looked so great. After Saxon turned out to be a worse disaster than Horizons we found MUS. When my children understood several math concepts just by watching the demo we knew we'd found our new math curriculum. I started them over in Alpha because their math foundation was full of holes. Actually, it was mostly holes. MUS filled those holes by teaching them how to understand math, not just "do" math. Neither were bothered by the black & white pages and were DELIGHTED to leave Horizons and Saxon behind!!

[JoyfulMama]

My dd9 has just started Horizon 5. She started at K book 2 (we skipped book 1 with her). She is awesome in math, and I have NO regrets about the program. My ds5 is doing K now.

 

Now, I have a strong math background, and have never had difficulty explaining new concepts, and there have been a couple times I scrapped the instructions given by Horizon, as I didn't agree with the presentation.

[lisak]

With two very different daughters we have used a variety of programs. My oldest daughter began with Horizons 1, but it was not a good fit for her. We went to Saxon for two years and she did well with this, but when Saxon went to textbook, we looked for something else. We stumbled into MUS using Delta and we haven't looked back. She will be using Geometry this year. She watches the video, goes slow and steady through her work and comes out with a pretty good grade on the tests.

 

Now my younger daughter wanted no part of MUS. It is not colorful enough. She is math-minded, so I gave her Horizons. She has gone through levels 1 through 4. She began throwing fits with book 4 because (1) the print is smaller so there isn't much room for working the problems when you do not write small (2) it is written to the student and she struggled understanding the new concept just by reading it (3) she thought it was way too much review (4) the lesson was too long with being 3 pages as opposed to 2 pages in the previous years.

 

If you have a student who needs mastery learning, I would pick MUS or Saxon in the younger years. Math Mammoth seemed pretty good as well, but we only used a few pieces of this rather then the entire program. If your child does well with spiral review, Horizons is a good fit. I understand Abeka is similar but doesn't have as many problems per lesson.

 

Now next up for the younger daughter is Bob Jones. She liked the looks of it at the used book sale. We shall see when she is having to copy the problems on a white sheet of paper. She will probably copy in colored pencil.

 

Good Luck!

[AlaskaGrownFamily]

We tried MUS for K with DS1, and switched to Horizons for 1st and now 2nd. In my limited experience, MUS was fine for my DS, but *I* couldn't get used it it. I prefer old school math the way I was taught, and Horizons fits that bill, while also keeping DS1 and now DS2 engaged. :)