Horizons Math users

[Twilight Woods]

Pros/Cons of the program? Does it only go to 6th grade? Is it challenging compared to programs like Saxon/SM/MM?

 

I like the spiral method with lots of review this will be perfect for DD. Will will be starting with 4.

 

 

TIA

[AK_Mom4]

Someone just told me about Horizons pre-Algebra set. I haven't had a chance to check it out myself yet.

 

Horizons moves quickly without a ton of review. Saxon has more review. We liked that it moved right along and was a workbook format. We only used grade 4 and 5, but it worked well. Explanations in Horizon were pretty simple and straight-forward and it teaches things the same way I learned them back in the dark ages. We had difficulties with Singapore because I couldn't get my head wrapped around the explanations (DD had no problem...).

 

Horizons has Christian stories and verses sprinkled thru the math text. Word problems about Noah, puzzles for decrypting verses, that sort of thing.

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

I used grades 1-4 and part of 5 with my older children. It didn't teach math conceptually but instead taught them how to "do" math. One child was unable to cope because he couldn't memorize what to "do" fast enough. One child looked great because he has an awesome memory and would get 100% on everything but had no idea what he was doing. After a brief stint with Saxon (which was even worse) I found MUS and started them over in Alpha to rebuild their math foundation. Nobody could pay me to use Horizons or Saxon again. I recommend a conceptually based program like MUS or MM. With my younger children I am using MUS with the Blue Series of MM but either program could be used by itself (with MM that would be the Light Blue series). When Life of Fred's lower elementary series comes out I'll likely be using MUS with LoF in elementary. My older kids are in high school and I use MUS with LoF.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

I disagree with the review that said there wasn't a lot of review. Most of the time we end up crossing off half the problems because there is SO much review... and that is the great thing about spiral is that you will hit it again and again and again... you get the point ;-) We have done K, 1st, 2nd, and are working on 3rd as of a few weeks ago. It is easy to teach in my opinion. Sometimes I wish there was better teacher instructions. I have felt this maybe twice and I just hopped online and looked up a way to explain it better. I do agree that it doesn't teach conceptually... but I also think some children were born to think that way and some weren't and if they were they are going to pick it up themselves and not have to be taught it. I thought about switching to RS and did half of level B with my son but it was a waste of time because it was too easy for him for the most part. I know it gets much harder in level C (RS) but like I said I think all the mental math stuff kid of comes naturally or it doesn't. Just my two cents, but from what you described wanting in your post I think Horizons would work great for you.

[MerryAtHope]

We really like Horizons here--it's colorful, my kids like the verses, plenty of review (sometimes too much, we cross off some problems), it uses pictures to demonstrate concepts, and in levels 4-6 the instructions are written to the student (which I find easy to teach from).

 

Cons--levels 1-3 expect you to teach without much instruction/teacher help. I've not found the TM's very helpful when I was stuck on how to teach something--I came online for that. The TM's have added background info but not much on how to teach what's in the workbook.

 

It's not as strong on concepts as MUS, but I found it easy to add in those things in the elementary years, using cuisenaire rods, base 10 blocks and other manipulatives.

 

Pre-algebra wasn't out yet when we started this year, so my oldest is doing MUS pre-algebra. I've appreciated the different ways concepts are presented in there and feel it's been a great transition for us.

 

HTH! Merry :-)

[Mrs Twain]

We also are very impressed with Horizons math. If one uses the TM, there is a fair amount of concept explanation and use of manipulatives, as well as a lot of flashcard work, speed drills, and review. There are also supplemental worksheets in the TM to help reinforce new concepts. Horizons math is one of the advanced math programs if you look at the scope and sequence.

 

Two reasons IMO that some people do not do well with it are that one must use the TM for the program to be successful (which is unappealing to some people), and the TM is not scripted. People who are not comfortable with math or who do not feel that they can teach the basics concepts well may want to look for something that tells them exactly what to say when they are teaching.

 

My husband and I are both math/science people, and we are impressed with the Horizons program. My children also like this math program and enjoy doing it.

[8filltheheart]

Pros/Cons of the program? Does it only go to 6th grade? Is it challenging compared to programs like Saxon/SM/MM?

 

I like the spiral method with lots of review this will be perfect for DD. Will will be starting with 4.

 

 

TIA

 

I have had 5 kids go through Horizons and on into alg w/o any difficulties at all. I love Horizons and it has served my family well.

 

That said, for the first time over 15 yrs I am actually changing one of my kids to a different elementary math. My 9 yod is extremely bright. (I have had 3 other extremely bright kids use Horizons, so that is not the reason. ;) ) BUT.....she has this personality trait where she shuts down and refuses to engage if she actually has to think. W/ Horizons she doesn't have to think hard the majority of the time, so when she actually hits something where she has think, she just starts guessing randomly and zones out.

 

So, I have switched her to Math in Focus for now. I'm not sure how it will ultimately work for her. She has breezed through the beginning of the book w/ a pleasant personality even if it has been something she has to actually think about. We'll see if that continues when the novelty wears off.

 

FWIW.....I have no plans to change with my 5 yod.

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

We also are very impressed with Horizons math. If one uses the TM, there is a fair amount of concept explanation and use of manipulatives, as well as a lot of flashcard work, speed drills, and review. There are also supplemental worksheets in the TM to help reinforce new concepts. Horizons math is one of the advanced math programs if you look at the scope and sequence.

 

Two reasons IMO that some people do not do well with it are that one must use the TM for the program to be successful (which is unappealing to some people), and the TM is not scripted. People who are not comfortable with math or who do not feel that they can teach the basics concepts well may want to look for something that tells them exactly what to say when they are teaching.

 

My husband and I are both math/science people, and we are impressed with the Horizons program. My children also like this math program and enjoy doing it.

 

I did use the teacher manuals and am a math/science person (and my dh is a math person) and we were very unimpressed. My biggest regret is trying to make it work for so many years.

[Chelli]

We love Horizons as well. We are about to finish up the first grade books and I am astounded at how much math my dd knows! I do supplement with MM just because my dd is very mathy so I thought that a different way of looking at math would be good for her. She REALLY doesn't like MM, though.

 

One thing that did surprise me about Horizons once I started supplementing with MM is that I had to use some worksheets from the MM 3rd grade book to cover the same stuff that dd was covering in Horizons first grade.

 

We do like the spiral review because my dd feels very confident about math when she can grab her math worksheet (which has just the right amount of problems at this level, IMO) and do most of it by herself. Math is her favorite subject and I know that a lot of that has to with the confidence that Horizons has given her.

 

I am planning on supplementing with CWP from Singapore next year instead of the MM worksheets just because Horizons is a little light in the word problem category, but I see no reason that we would change math programs in the future. We really love it!

[erinu]

It didn't teach math conceptually but instead taught them how to "do" math. One child was unable to cope because he couldn't memorize what to "do" fast enough. One child looked great because he has an awesome memory and would get 100% on everything but had no idea what he was doing.

 

This quote sums up my experience with Horizons completely. We switched to MUS...the best move we ever made!

[Ali in OR]

We use Singapore as our primary program and supplement with Horizons. Obviously I must think there is something good about Horizons if we supplement with it. I think my dds benefit from the constant review. If we only used Singapore, they would learn long division in 3rd grade and then never see it much unless it comes up in a word problem. With Horizons, I know that they will keep practicing the basic skills that they have learned. Horizons also has a good breadth of problems. They will encounter geometry, graphs and visual display of information, Roman numerals, time, etc. This is good preparation for the standardized tests we have to take. So I am very happy that Horizons is part of our math program here.

 

As a former math teacher, I do have problems with Horizons that would prevent me from making it our primary math program. It does not build the conceptual understanding of math that Singapore does. And a conceptual understanding is not just mental math as implied in a previous post. It is really understanding what is going on in an algorithm and not just applying it as a magic trick. So first grade Horizons will teach kids double digit addition with what I call the "line 'em up and add" method. No discussion of place value, no "why" you just carry the 2 to the other column, no learning to do it in your head first like Singapore. This does not build any kind of real understanding of what is going on. My 5th grade daughter's text just introduced cross products yesterday with no explanation as to why or what was going on--it's just a magic trick.

 

I also think Horizons pushes algebra too young with insufficient explanation. There is no reason second graders should be solving equations with variables. While they may be able to figure out the answer, they are not learning algebra concepts that will serve them well in the future (isolating a variable, order of operations, an equation being balanced, etc.). There is no discussion of these things, and really they are topics that will be understood much better at a later age. I talk my kids through some of the algebra problems so that they have some exposure to them, but mostly I cross them out. We'll cover those topics much more rigorously and thoroughly at a more appropriate age.

[Crimson Wife]

As a former math teacher, I do have problems with Horizons that would prevent me from making it our primary math program. It does not build the conceptual understanding of math that Singapore does. And a conceptual understanding is not just mental math as implied in a previous post. It is really understanding what is going on in an algorithm and not just applying it as a magic trick.

 

If a parent wanted to use Horizons as a "spine" and then add in the conceptual explanations herself, what would you all recommend for this? Khan & Maria Miller's videos? Something else?

 

The reason I asked is that I have ordered Horizons Pre-Algebra for whenever my DD finishes Singapore 5A. She's doing well with Singapore but is starting to complain about the repetition of topics from book to book. The S&S for Horizons Pre-Algebra looked like it covered everything in Singapore 5B-6B plus some additional topics all in a single book. I also like that it's in a workbook format so that she won't have to copy problems from a textbook like she would with Saxon 8/7 or Lial's Pre-Algebra.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

If a parent wanted to use Horizons as a "spine" and then add in the conceptual explanations herself, what would you all recommend for this? Khan & Maria Miller's videos? Something else?

 

The reason I asked is that I have ordered Horizons Pre-Algebra for whenever my DD finishes Singapore 5A. She's doing well with Singapore but is starting to complain about the repetition of topics from book to book. The S&S for Horizons Pre-Algebra looked like it covered everything in Singapore 5B-6B plus some additional topics all in a single book. I also like that it's in a workbook format so that she won't have to copy problems from a textbook like she would with Saxon 8/7 or Lial's Pre-Algebra.

 

Of course we aren't to that grade level yet, but I would think you could do this easily with either searches online or something similiar... maybe a mental/conceptual math book from the library or amazon. That is what I have been doing and it is working well... although I have to admit we only do this on Friday's M-Th is strickly just the Horizons workbook and TM Fridays are our "Fun Days" with just games and such.

[Chelli]

As a former math teacher, I do have problems with Horizons that would prevent me from making it our primary math program. It does not build the conceptual understanding of math that Singapore does. And a conceptual understanding is not just mental math as implied in a previous post. It is really understanding what is going on in an algorithm and not just applying it as a magic trick. So first grade Horizons will teach kids double digit addition with what I call the "line 'em up and add" method. No discussion of place value, no "why" you just carry the 2 to the other column, no learning to do it in your head first like Singapore. This does not build any kind of real understanding of what is going on. My 5th grade daughter's text just introduced cross products yesterday with no explanation as to why or what was going on--it's just a magic trick.

 

I am curious about this and have been for some time...does it really matter? Not trying to be rude just really curious. I have no idea why a lot of the processes in math are done the way they are; I just learned the rules not the conceptual understanding. That being said...I am very good at math. I made A's in Algebra I, II, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus in high school honors courses and did great in college courses as well.

 

So I guess my questions is this: Will not learning the conceptual understanding really hinder anybody in their math ability?

 

ETA: Especially if you don't care why...I always wanted to know how to do the problems. I don't like math, but I am good at it, so I never wanted to learn the why.

Edited May 1, 2011 by pw23kids

[8filltheheart]

I am curious about this and have been for some time...does it really matter? Not trying to be rude just really curious. I have no idea why a lot of the processes in math are done the way they are; I just learned the rules not the conceptual understanding. That being said...I am very good at math. I made A's in Algebra I, II, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus in high school honors courses and did great in college courses as well.

 

So I guess my questions is this: Will not learning the conceptual understanding really hinder anybody in their math ability?

 

ETA: Especially if you don't care why...I always wanted to know how to do the problems. I don't like math, but I am good at it, so I never wanted to learn the why.

 

Regardless to posts otherwise, Horizons does teach concepts. It does not teach math the way Singapore does. The difference between Horizons and Singapore is that Horizons is direct teaching whereas Singapore is more of a discovery method.

 

Horizons teaches regrouping as well as expanded form. These are the concepts that apply to "why" you carry when adding/subtracting. I always wonder why people think those exercises exist in Horizons when they state that no "concepts" and only "rote" are being taught.

 

LOF otoh, does teach "rote" in the fractions book. Jeepers, that anyone would say that book teaches conceptually leaves me :confused: . Definitely not a book I would recommend for actually teaching the whys behind fractions.

Edited May 1, 2011 by 8FillTheHeart

[Jennefer@SSA]

We are in our 6th year with Horizons and are very happy with the program overall. I have found that, in the past, my dissatisfactions were due to my not following the suggestions in the TM. That is where most of the activities that build the conceptual understanding are found as well as the directions for the teacher to constantly be drilling math facts. If you just hand your dc the lesson and a short explanation they won't have that strong foundation and most likely won't understand why they are doing what they are doing (unless they are natural math kids who just get it). In many of the threads that deal with Horizons this tends to be a theme. It is laid out so simply that it is tempting just to tear out that lesson and hand it to them with maybe a short explanation. The TM is seen as "optional" by some. Yet, it is not optional if you really want to get the most out of this program. Know that going in if you do decide on Horizons.

 

I also chose to supplement with Evan Moore Daily Word Problems starting this year because my son is an Aspie and needed that extra practice with word problems. I was very lucky that his conceptual understanding of math is very strong even though I didn't follow the TM too closely but a decade of teaching ps helped me there. ;) Now not drilling the math facts the way I should have has really come back to bite me. :001_huh: I won't make the same mistakes with ds#2 and #3. I will stick with Horizons with them though as I have found it to be an excellent program for my family.

Edited May 1, 2011 by Jennefer@SSA

[Ali in OR]

If a parent wanted to use Horizons as a "spine" and then add in the conceptual explanations herself, what would you all recommend for this? Khan & Maria Miller's videos? Something else?

 

The reason I asked is that I have ordered Horizons Pre-Algebra for whenever my DD finishes Singapore 5A. She's doing well with Singapore but is starting to complain about the repetition of topics from book to book. The S&S for Horizons Pre-Algebra looked like it covered everything in Singapore 5B-6B plus some additional topics all in a single book. I also like that it's in a workbook format so that she won't have to copy problems from a textbook like she would with Saxon 8/7 or Lial's Pre-Algebra.

 

I wish I knew how to multi-quote, but since I don't I'll be responding to a couple of messages sequentially here.

 

We have not hit pre-algebra yet in our home school, so not sure if I can help much. I can explain what I think I will do personally but it might not be helpful or possible for someone who hasn't taught math. I know how to recognize and fill in gaps just because I've taught Algebra several times and have also seen the pitfalls kids fall into. In our house I would have another algebra source in the house and I would go through it myself. Horizons pre-algebra is brand new--no one has experience with it yet and no one can tell you where they are weak. There are well-respected algebra texts that are mentioned here frequently and it may be worth having one around. Dolciani, Foerster's are two--I recently ordered Singapore's NEM and Discovery Mathematics just to check them out. But then I like to have multiple sources around for many subjects--that's just how I teach. I have heard good things about the Khan videos but haven't watched them myself.

Edited May 1, 2011 by Ali in OR

[joyfulhomeschooler]

We are in our 6th year with Horizons and are very happy with the program overall. I have found that, in the past, my dissatisfactions were due to my not following the suggestions in the TM. That is where most of the activities that build the conceptual understanding are found as well as the directions for the teacher to constantly be drilling math facts. If you just hand your dc the lesson and a short explanation they won't have that strong foundation and most likely won't understand why they are doing what they are doing (unless they are natural math kids who just get it). In many of the threads that deal with Horizons this tends to be a theme. It is laid out so simply that it is tempting just to tear out that lesson and hand it to them with maybe a short explanation. The TM is seen as "optional" by some. Yet, it is not optional if you really want to get the most out of this program. Know that going in if you do decide on Horizons.

 

.

 

:iagree: Horizons teaches place value very well with the activities in the TM. I have done the same where I have to go back and look in the TM and realize oops I should have done the activity to go with it. We will then do the activity or I will explain better with the help of the TM and WALLA we are good to go. I think the TM is very essential if even if you are a math person. Just my opinion though.

 

To the other poster who commented about mental math and conceputal math being different. I do realize this and meant either mental math or conceptual math. I was not trying to imply they were the same thing :-) Sorry for the confusion.

[Ali in OR]

Regardless to posts otherwise, Horizons does teach concepts. It does not teach math the way Singapore does. The difference between Horizons and Singapore is that Horizons is direct teaching whereas Singapore is more of a discovery method.

 

Horizons teaches regrouping as well as expanded form. These are the concepts that apply to "why" you carry when adding/subtracting. I always wonder why people think those exercises exist in Horizons when they state that no "concepts" and only "rote" are being taught.

 

 

 

Horizons does not develop ideas to the same degree that Singapore does. Double digit addition was introduced right after learning the basic addition facts. There was no discussion of regrouping first. The approach was more, "Well, now you can do 2+3 and 5+4, so you're ready for 52 + 43, lined up so you can see it is just 2+3 and 5+4. And you can't add anything that would go over 9, so you won't see those problems." That is a very different, and I think conceptually weaker, approach than Singapore, where you spend a semester making tens, adding ones and tens separately, and really understanding what is going on with the numbers before you learn the "line 'em up and add" algorithm. And I get very frustrated when Horizons throws something out there with no explanation like the cross products problems the other day. I'm not frustrated because I don't know how to do it, I'm frustrated that they don't show why cross products works--they don't prove it mathematically. If you don't explain the WHY, there are kids who will never master it and be able to apply it correctly. I have seen kids try to multiply a numerator and a denominator in a fraction multiplication problem because they confuse it with cross products. I would put the topic in a study of algebra when you talk about equations and keeping an equation balanced by doing the same operation on both sides of the equation. In a 5th grade book as Horizons presents it, it is just a magic trick.

 

I do use both programs (Horizons and Singapore) and think that both have their strengths and weaknesses. For teaching concepts and learning how to think mathematically, Singapore is definitely the winner in my opinion.

[Ali in OR]

I am curious about this and have been for some time...does it really matter? Not trying to be rude just really curious. I have no idea why a lot of the processes in math are done the way they are; I just learned the rules not the conceptual understanding. That being said...I am very good at math. I made A's in Algebra I, II, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus in high school honors courses and did great in college courses as well.

 

So I guess my questions is this: Will not learning the conceptual understanding really hinder anybody in their math ability?

 

ETA: Especially if you don't care why...I always wanted to know how to do the problems. I don't like math, but I am good at it, so I never wanted to learn the why.

 

A couple of thoughts on this:

 

I think for a lot of kids it DOES hinder math ability. Some mistakes are careless ones, true, but I would argue that mistakes usually or at least often indicate an incomplete understanding of the topic. My dd did a subtraction problem that was something like 61-54, and when she saw the 1-4 in the ones column, she simply did 4-1 instead. That is not a careless error, that is a conceptual misunderstanding. If you don't have enough ones, what is a mathematically true approach to resolving that? We discussed place value and renaming again. At the high school level and college level, I would argue that mere algorithmic competence limits where you can go with your skills. I see evidence of mathematical illiteracy all of the time in newspaper or magazine articles, and I believe our society would be stronger if more people were comfortable with mathematical ideas. And really understood them.

 

I think this topic could also touch on educational philosophy. We are trying to develop our kids' minds to the fullest extent possible. I want them to truly understand math, just as I want them to understand how to use the English language beautifully, or read Latin, or join the Great Conversation. I think one's life is richer to fully understand the beauty of any subject you are studying. Simply being able to do algorithms without understanding why they work isn't the level I'm aiming for.

[Chelli]

A couple of thoughts on this:

 

I think for a lot of kids it DOES hinder math ability. Some mistakes are careless ones, true, but I would argue that mistakes usually or at least often indicate an incomplete understanding of the topic. My dd did a subtraction problem that was something like 61-54, and when she saw the 1-4 in the ones column, she simply did 4-1 instead. That is not a careless error, that is a conceptual misunderstanding. If you don't have enough ones, what is a mathematically true approach to resolving that? We discussed place value and renaming again. At the high school level and college level, I would argue that mere algorithmic competence limits where you can go with your skills. I see evidence of mathematical illiteracy all of the time in newspaper or magazine articles, and I believe our society would be stronger if more people were comfortable with mathematical ideas. And really understood them.

 

I think this topic could also touch on educational philosophy. We are trying to develop our kids' minds to the fullest extent possible. I want them to truly understand math, just as I want them to understand how to use the English language beautifully, or read Latin, or join the Great Conversation. I think one's life is richer to fully understand the beauty of any subject you are studying. Simply being able to do algorithms without understanding why they work isn't the level I'm aiming for.

 

In the example you gave, I understand that you cannot take 4 units from 1 unit, so you need to take some from the tens place. I was taught that in school (which was why we called those problems "borrowing"). I understand what you are saying that you want your dc to know the whys, I guess I'm naturally teaching Horizons that way. We are only on 1st grade math, though, so maybe it will make a difference later (?).

 

When they started the double digit addition (line'em up and add!), I quickly corrected my dd when she started doing those problems by starting with the 10's place, then moving to the one's. I explained to her that when doing math problems you always start in the one's place because sometimes we have to use the 10's place to help the one's place out, which she would learn a little later. We also talked about place value a lot and how even if the number is just "9" there is still a "0" in the tens place eventhough we don't write it.

 

I asked my question because I'm always worried that I'm messing up my dd by using a certain curriculum or approach. I like Horizons; she LOVES Horizons, and I haven't really noticed it lacking. But like I said, I'm not a math lover, so when I see people who have an extensive mathematical background saying that Horizons doesn't teach math well, I get nervous!

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Wow! I think that some people use curriculum different ways... they must because I have never seen the negatives in Horizons as described here. I have never seen it jump from knowing 5+2 to 45 + 32 or whatever the example was. My son is NOT a gifted child when it comes to math and sometimes his grasp on it and conceptual understanding amazes me. So I guess, to each his own :-) It is working great for us and has many of the same activities as singapore does (at least from what I have seen) they teach differently, yes, but I think Horizons is conceptual if used correctly.

[momto3innc]

We have used Horizons for K and 1 and now 2. We supplement with Singapore. Horizons has been a great fit for my son. He loves the spiral approach and each concept is always "fresh" for him and they cycle through everything quite often.

There is plenty of review. I'm not sure what the PP was talking about. There are plenty of problems on the actual lessons plus the teacher's manual has a bunch of extra worksheets for extra practice if needed.

I think a lot of people don't like the TM because it is not scripted (I personally am not a huge scripted fan), but if you look through it they do offer quite a number of ideas and suggestions for hands on ideas and teaching conceptually. It may not be totally spelled out like some programs but it is there.

Combining it with Singapore has been a great fit. He is incredibly far ahead of his public school friends and does understand math conceptually and not just as a "do this, do that, and get the answer". We have used TONS of manipulatives for Horizons. I think if you do just open the book each day, do the next lesson, and move on, you will be dissatisfied. However, if you look at the suggestions for the day in the teacher manual, do some of their suggested activities, and then go over the lesson, I thinnk it is a great program. For us, adding the full Singapore program as well has been a nice supplement, but I would not want Singapore for our only program.

[Roxy Roller]

Thank you for all of these posts.

 

I am currently using MUS, and I am wanting to supplement with a workbook for review. I was all set to order Horizons for my children, now I am not sure. I would have them go through the Horizons books a year behind MUS. Would this be a good progression for independent spiral review?

[Ali in OR]

Thank you for all of these posts.

 

I am currently using MUS, and I am wanting to supplement with a workbook for review. I was all set to order Horizons for my children, now I am not sure. I would have them go through the Horizons books a year behind MUS. Would this be a good progression for independent spiral review?

 

This is how we use Horizons--it is great for reviewing concepts previously learned. I think this is what keeps my girls' skills sharp. It is a nice mix of different topics each day. And you can get a good amount of review without doing all of the problems. I cross out some of every lesson to keep my dds' total math workload reasonable since we use Singapore also. Instead of 6 multiplication problems, I might cross out half since 3 problems is enough review for dd (but I usually assign all of the fractions problems since that is still a weak spot). I really do like Horizons for this reinforcement.

[Annabel Lee]

If a parent wanted to use Horizons as a "spine" and then add in the conceptual explanations herself, what would you all recommend for this? Khan & Maria Miller's videos? Something else?

 

The reason I asked is that I have ordered Horizons Pre-Algebra for whenever my DD finishes Singapore 5A. She's doing well with Singapore but is starting to complain about the repetition of topics from book to book. The S&S for Horizons Pre-Algebra looked like it covered everything in Singapore 5B-6B plus some additional topics all in a single book. I also like that it's in a workbook format so that she won't have to copy problems from a textbook like she would with Saxon 8/7 or Lial's Pre-Algebra.

 

This (above) is how I teach Horizons math. It is by far both of my son's "favorite math" of the handful of methods/curricula I've tried. :confused: Go figure. I think it's b/c it's what they're familiar with. I've used K - 2 twice now and 3 & 4 once. Sorry, I don't have any experience w/ the higher levels. Someone linked an excellent site that showed the "why" and "how" behind the algorithms used for dividing fractions... I think it was on the logic stage board. If you get the Horizons book, look through it, & aren't happy with it, you could return it.

 

Anyhow, just for kicks, here's my addition to the conversation:

I started out with Horizons K demonstrating everything with manipulatives and a kit from Calvert called Primary Math Manipulatives (not to be confused w/ Singapore's Primary Math). It has a large, blank place value chart on which I had dc solve problems using base ten blocks. Then we translated the problems into the abstract; the written numbers & algorithms. I now also get most of the manipulatives from the sets sold by Sonlight, except I piece my own together from RR.

 

I've got Singapore Primary math on my shelf, but it was a dud w/ my boys. I learned from it though, and it heavily influences the way I teach math, even though my boys see me with the Horizons TM. We still do some SM problems on the whiteboard and they do the CWPs. They've practiced mental math strategies and I've shown them why and how the math they're doing works.

 

I'll just echo what 8FillstheHeart said about Horizons building up to a new concept. My younger son's worksheets have had him regrouping 10's into the 1's (or units if you prefer) while keeping the number equal. This is to build understanding for the "borrowing" (or regrouping, etc.) in subtraction he's about to learn. I'm sure he'll roll his eyes and tell me he already knows it. I've had him doing it with base ten blocks to demonstrate that he knows what's going on. I don't see that Horizons just pulls a topic out of thin air without any foundational knowledge and throws it at the kid. I'm glad that we all have so many choices to address our varying preferences though, unlike those who paved the way for us.

 

You can teach any math program using any method (perhaps I shouldn't say any, someone will come running to correct me!). I have a friend who uses SM but tosses out the mental math component, finding it annoying. She simply teaches her dd from the textbooks and workbooks alone, using the traditional way she's familiar with. Different strokes and all...

[learningmama]

We will be starting Horizons 3 this fall with my dd (she's 7). We've done Rightstart A, B, and part of C. I love RightStart, but she needs lots of review and actually likes doing worksheets. She's not really into mental math which is a problem in RightStart. She does great with the abacus and loves the math games. So hopefully Horizons will work out well. We'll probably go back and finish the lessons we skipped in RightStart C within the next year too. I've heard good things about Horizons and the price wasn't too bad. I wanted something more "traditional" this time and not another totally new math concept program.