Supplement for Horizons Math?

[Cherryanne]

Hello everyone!

 

This is my first post here. This is our 2nd year of homeschooling. We used Horizons math last year and are using it again this year (3rd grade). My son seems to enjoy Horizons but we have gotten into some concepts he isn't grasping, no matter how I explain them to him. Unfortunately the Horizons teacher's manual is far from helpful. I don't know why I bothered purchasing it this year. I'm hoping someone can recommend a good supplement I can incorporate into our lessons. I'm really looking for something that explains the concepts or tells me how to best explain them. I was eying Teaching Textbooks as a possibility for a replacement for Horizons but the more I've read the more I've found reviews from people saying it isn't rigorous enough. My husband suggested we use it as a supplement but it seems awfully expensive for supplemental use. I would really appreciate any advice. My son was doing so well in math. I just don't want him to fall behind because I can't explain things in a way he understands.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Cherryanne

[abbeyej]

What specifically are you having trouble teaching?

[TracyP]

The Math Mammoth Blue series has topical units you can buy to teach whatever concept you need help on. Beware...you may like it so much that you completely switch (I did).:001_smile:

[Tylianna]

Hello everyone!

 

This is my first post here. This is our 2nd year of homeschooling. We used Horizons math last year and are using it again this year (3rd grade). My son seems to enjoy Horizons but we have gotten into some concepts he isn't grasping, no matter how I explain them to him. Unfortunately the Horizons teacher's manual is far from helpful. I don't know why I bothered purchasing it this year. I'm hoping someone can recommend a good supplement I can incorporate into our lessons. I'm really looking for something that explains the concepts or tells me how to best explain them. I was eying Teaching Textbooks as a possibility for a replacement for Horizons but the more I've read the more I've found reviews from people saying it isn't rigorous enough. My husband suggested we use it as a supplement but it seems awfully expensive for supplemental use. I would really appreciate any advice. My son was doing so well in math. I just don't want him to fall behind because I can't explain things in a way he understands.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Cherryanne

 

 

I find that it helps to go back in the TM to where that concept was first taught. That is where the true help comes. Or look it up online. I also supplement with books from the library. When DD was having problems with fractions, I bought fraction books that teach using stories and activities.

[Aludlam]

We use Horizons as our main math. We do it at "full" speed. We also use MUS, which we do at "half" speed. I don't try to match up the topics. For the first time ever, we are really enjoying math. I have also started reading Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics by Liping Ma. I haven't gotten very far into it yet, but it makes lots of sense. I also spend a bunch of time at the white board, and with manipulatives (store bought and stuff we have around the house). My dd9 is a light bulb learner. You work, work, beat your head against the wall, work, work, more beating and then one day ---- click!

 

hth

[MerryAtHope]

I used Base 10 Blocks to demonstrate most concepts to my kids, and that helped a lot. Sometimes a visual is what a child needs to grasp a concept. That and occasionally asking for ideas online was all the supplementing we used for Horizons. (Well, my dd also used a variety of other manipulatives we had around). I agree that the Horizons TM was not that helpful until we got to the point that it was faster to look in the answer key than to figure the problems myself for grading, LOL! Then I used them.

 

BTW, Levels 4-6 have instruction in the workbook, written to the student--MUCH more helpful!

 

Merry :-)

[Aludlam]

I agree that the Horizons TM was not that helpful until we got to the point that it was faster to look in the answer key than to figure the problems myself for grading, LOL! Then I used them.

 

 

:iagree:

[Jayne J]

We are supplementing with Math Mammoth at the same grade level (2nd) I have found that ds likes the colorful, fun and spiral (different things on one page) work in Horizons, but we also do MM daily--it explains things differently and sometimes I can see the mental "click" that Horizons didn't give. For example, carrying in addition. He knew *what* to do with Horizons, but no matter how I tried he didn't really understand the *why*. Something about the way the MM book explained it clicked for him and now he gets it. I dare say it works the other way too, (from MM to better understanding in Horizons), but this really stands out for me as an example. Plus MM is pretty cheap, and as another poster noted, you can target specific skills instead of buying the whole level if you choose.

 

But there is little to no *teacher* guidanance--the "how to teach this" stuff. MM is designed to be a teaching workbook--the instructions and teaching is incorporated into the worksheet.

[Cherryanne]

I'm sorry for not replying sooner! Thanks so much for your help guys! I'm super relieved to know that Horizons has instructions for the students in 4th-6th. I'm going to look into Math mammoth as well.