Ella Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 My kids have been doing Saxon since the beginning. They would like a workbook format and at least 2 of the 3 would do better with a program that provides more practice in concepts before moving on, which Horizons seems to do. Currently they are in Saxon 3 (2nd grader), Saxon 6/5 (4th grader) and Saxon 7/6 (5th grader). I gave my two oldest the placement test. The 5th grader tested into Prealgebra and the 4th grader tested into 5th grade. I have not given the placement test to my 2nd grader yet. She hates the timed fact sheets in Saxon and shuts down, yet loves to do multi-digit addition with regrouping, etc and almost seems to remember her math facts better when using them within a more difficult problem. I just wanted to see what you all think about switching and if there is anything else I should consider. I am not sure if we will do Algebra in 7th or if we will do another more challenging Prealgebra (such as AOPS) and wait on Algebra for 8th grade. I figure we will see how it goes this year. Is there any reason I should have her do Horizons 6 instead of Horizons Prealgebra? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 If she hates the timed drills, don't time them. CLE Math would be my suggestion. Horizons does NOT explain things well enough or have enough practice of new concepts before moving on. This is from a friend of mine's son who had used Horizons from the start. Saxon is much better. We like CLE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ella Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 I actually have stopped timing them, but she still hates doing the fact sheets and melts down, says she can't do it, etc. But she is happy to do a page of adding 3-digit numbers or more and seems to remember her math facts better in the middle of a more complex math problem than just alone. I am not too worried about Horizons not explaining as I feel I can do that, but I have looked at CLE also. It seemed like a ton of problems and I think the colorful format of Horizons would appeal to her. Horizons has way more practice of items than Saxon does-every problem on the Saxon 3 worksheet is different almost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 The Horizons placement test on the Sonlight website was spot on for my kids. We've had great success with Horizons. Fwiw. DS/6th went from the beginning of 6 to AoPS prealg this year. He's thriving. I was adding Keys to Algebra at his request before the switch. Horizons doesn't need supplementing; he was just ready for more. I think the exposure to negatives send exponents, combined with the solid arithmetic base Horizons gave him made a great preparation. (I've heard the AoPS placement tests are not very good predictors, however.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Horizons does NOT explain things well enough or have enough practice of new concepts before moving on. Obviously your mileage may vary, but this has not been our experience at all. DS/6th above felt like it was too much review, but he is a pretty strong math student. DD/4th (5 book) and DD/1st (2 book) are in their second year of Horizons. Mostly it seems like just the right amount, though there are times DD/1st feels like "get on with the story already!" I have her do every problem anyway, and she's doing great. DD/4th says it covers concepts so well it seems easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ella Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 Obviously your mileage may vary, but this has not been our experience at all. DS/6th above felt like it was too much review, but he is a pretty strong math student. DD/4th (5 book) and DD/1st (2 book) are in their second year of Horizons. Mostly it seems like just the right amount, though there are times DD/1st feels like "get on with the story already!" I have her do every problem anyway, and she's doing great. DD/4th says it covers concepts so well it seems easy. Thanks. Have you used it on grade level or are you saying you used it a year ahead? Do you know anything about coming into it from Saxon? My 2nd grader definitely needs something different for next year and my other two would really like something different also, although they are doing okay with Saxon. Do you have any thoughts on Horizons 6 vs. their Prealgebra? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Thanks. Have you used it on grade level or are you saying you used it a year ahead? Do you know anything about coming into it from Saxon? My 2nd grader definitely needs something different for next year and my other two would really like something different also, although they are doing okay with Saxon. Do you have any thoughts on Horizons 6 vs. their Prealgebra? My girls are using it a grade ahead. DD/4th is ahead across the board. DD/1st worked her way there. We school year round and she usually doubled up lessons when she was in the 1 book. I couldn't really compare it to Saxon. I had a brief experience with the 6/5 - 7/6 area when DD/9th was a few years younger. I haven't seen Horizons prealg, but there are a few pretty good reviews on it in the logic stage forum. It's a consideration for my girls if they're not ready for AoPS when they get there. Prealg in general shores up all the arithmetic you need for algebra and adds negatives, exponents, and such. Which ends up being a repeat of 6 with more depth and difficulty. Whether a kid needs both should be decided on individually. In the fall DD/4th asked me if she'd do AoPS prealg like her brother or Horizons 6 when she finishes 5. I told her I didn't feel equipped to make that decision until she was close to the end of 5. *shrug* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Were you planning on finishing the year or switching now? Going from Saxon 7/6 into pre-algebra seems totally reasonable as the next step in the Saxon sequence would be 8/7, which is also pre-algebra. If you were planning on finishing the year I'd retest your 4th grader after she finishes 6/5, but if you just want out! now! I'd go ahead and start 5th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I just switched to Horizons from Singapore and BA. I thought seriously about Saxon though. The deal maker for me was the color of the workbooks (mine is in 3rd grade) and the fact that they continue AFAIK through 6th grade. DD would have gone into 5/4 in Saxon with the textbook and having to write things out and that would have not been good. So far, so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ella Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 My 2nd and 4th graders will finish the year with Saxon, but I will start something with them new next year. My 5th grader could switch now. I was planning on having her finish Saxon 7/6, but today she is really dreading it and wants to think about switching to something else now. I am willing to consider it as she has worked very diligently through Saxon for many years. I am looking at CLE as well, and also McRuffy for my 2nd grader going into 3rd as the color, spatial emphasis and one page worksheet would suit her very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 If you're finishing the year with your fourth grader I'd strongly recommend retesting afterwards for placement. She may end up placing into 6th grade instead (although I would not push her if she does not). MaryAnn: Horizons now goes through Algebra 1. It's a solid course, has good reviews from the people who've used it. A student who's used it should be able to do pretty much any alg 2/geometry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ella Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 If you're finishing the year with your fourth grader I'd strongly recommend retesting afterwards for placement. She may end up placing into 6th grade instead (although I would not push her if she does not). MaryAnn: Horizons now goes through Algebra 1. It's a solid course, has good reviews from the people who've used it. A student who's used it should be able to do pretty much any alg 2/geometry. Thanks, I will retest her after she finishes 6/5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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