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Any opinions, good and bad, on Horizon's preAlgebra? Algebra?


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I already have the TM and AOP is having a sale on the 31st. Horizon's has worked well for us so far, and we like the workbook format. 

 

But no one here mentions it. I worry maybe it is not that great? 

 

I had originally planned to just go on and use Jacob's Algebra again, which I already have. But have liked the format of Horizon's enough that I thought I would use their Algebra too. However, I know that AOP LifePacs is generally a lacking program. Is Horizon's better? Or will I still get the gappy product that AOP put out in LifePacs?

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We used Horizon's Pre-Algebra and liked it quite a bit.  Dd liked the way the material was presented.  I liked how formula driven it is.  The concept of writing a formula to solve a problem was presented early and reinforced through the book.  I wasn't thrilled with the small print in the TM however (but I wear multi-focal contacts so maybe it was just a factor for me). 

 

I chose not to continue with Horizons for high school.  I wanted a complete program that included Algebra 1, 2, geometry, and perhaps Adv. Math or pre-calculus.  Last summer when I was researching high school math, AOP didn't have a print date for any additional texts.  They said additional texts should follow, but customer service couldn't give me any other info. 

 

Horizons is a solid math program IMHO.  I like it better than LifePac (just my 2 cents for what that is worth). 

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We're using Horizons Pre-Alg this year.  Between last year and this year, we have also completed or are using Horizons 1-6 math.  I love the program, including Pre-Alg.  The kids love it too--as much as they can love something they don't want to do in the first place, but that goes for just about all their subjects.  I have not used any other programs though, so I do not have anything to compare it to, other than lots of time looking at samples of different programs online/in person.  I always came away with wanting Horizons.

 

As of right now, Horizons does not have anything past Algebra 1, which I am really bummed about.  And from reading websites and reviews, it looks like it makes for an easier transition to Algebra 2 if you use the same program for Algebra 1, but I don't know how much easier.  We're not there yet.

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Well, we used Horizons 1-6. I kept second-guessing myself and strayed to some other programs, but we kept coming back to Horizons. Now we've tried a couple of different prealgebra (Lials, AOPS, and Joisting Armadillos), but we're back with Horizons and doing quite well. I intend to do prealgebra for the remainder of grade 6 and into gr. 7, so we'll keep the others as supplements.

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We're using Horizon's Pre-Algebra, and I really like it.  It seems to introduce just one idea at a time, but it also includes review problems to keep stuff learned fresh.  I do use the white board and my own "flair" to teach, plus I do not own the TM (I'm a math major and my kid is a VSL so TM's aren't usually that helpful to me anyway), but it's going really well for us. 

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The algebra's new so a lot of people haven't used it yet.

 

If you like horizons I wouldn't switch away. A lot of people switch programs between algebra 1 and 2, and the only really big issue would be if you were transferring from a weaker one to a stronger one.

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We did not like Horizon's Pre-Algebra here.  Sometimes it seemed too long before it reviewed a concept and then we would have to revisit it.  Then, it would give a lot of repetition for each of the 3 or 4 concepts it did review, rather than say, 2 or 3 problems each of 10 different concepts which I think would have kept things fresher for us without boring repetition.  (Not sure if I'm explaining well - we didn't need 5 - 10 of the same kinds of problems in one day - we needed those spread out over several days or a week.)  Also, I didn't particularly like the formula approach.  It seemed we were always looking up the interest formulas again, and I really didn't feel like he understood how they worked.  It's possible we could have worked differently to make the program work better for us, but our experience with Saxon this year has been much better.

 

 

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However, I know that AOP LifePacs is generally a lacking program. Is Horizon's better? Or will I still get the gappy product that AOP put out in LifePacs?

 

Horizons Pre-algebra and Algebra 1 are definitely both more robust than the LifePac ones. 

 

A homeschool dad I know had used Horizons 1-6 and then Saxon Algebra 1/2 & up with his first 6 kids, and is now using Horizons Algebra 1 with one of the younger kids (currently in 8th).  It seems they are pretty comparable...both are honors-level, challenging courses with good explanations of math concepts, and both are spiral in their organization.  The one thing Saxon has over Horizons (re. prealgebra & up) is the option to get video lectures on CD-ROM.  But if your student is comfortable learning from the book's explanations, then either should be fine.  Horizons is more colorful, too.

 

So, no, you won't get the gappy LifePac product with the Horizons math series.

:)

 

HTH!

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