AFthfulJrney Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 My children are 8 & 6 years old. We've been using Horizons math and have been pretty happy with it, but it's a constant, daily, struggle to get my kids to sit and actually do it. They complain that there are too many addition/subtraction problems every single day! They are "bored" with it, they say! I'm wondering if a mastery program would be more fitting for them. Is there a way to tell before I invest the money in something else, or is it like anything and I just would have to purchase and see? Is there a math program that is a mix of both spiral and mastery? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 My DD in the second book of Horions math 2 says that too. I turn a deaf ear to complaints, require every problem of every lesson, and add fun math resources on the side that make the regular book seem more palatable. Beast Academy 3, apps, and such. My older two Horizons users were getting deep into fun prealg topics by the second half of grade 5 (Keys to Alg, Alcumus, etc), but I still made them finish 5. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Well I do just cross out problems...sometimes it's just out of control how many there are. But, If you're going to switch check out Math in Focus. It's Singapore with all the hand holding you need. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparrowsNest Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I have crossed out problems in Horizons. But I have to say, we finished testing today and I am actually glad for all the problems they did, and maybe I won't cross off quite as many as before. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 My son is 6 and he was having the same issues with Singapore math. I spent YEARS researching the perfect curriculum for him and then after 1.5 years of trying to get him to like it, it wasn't working. :( He was in tears and so was I most days. It was AWFUL as my hubby has his PhD in biochemistry! He clearly had to at least like math and at one point I had wanted to become a doctor (bad teachers in high school knocked that out of me) so it wasn't in his genes to be crying at math already! I took a step back and really thought about how my son learned (kinetic) and went forward from there. I researched again but I didn't have the benefit of a lot of time. I gave him the Saxon math placement test and ended up in tears myself. I felt like he learned NOTHING in the 1.5 years with Singapore. So then I gave him a placement test with Shiller Math (under the heading Free Stuff on their website) and finally I had a plan to address the areas he is weak on and to skip by the areas he is strong in. :D There are no exhaustive worksheets in the Shiller system. A child works on something as long as they need, not that some educator decided they needed. We got Shiller at the beginning of April and my son is about 3/4 of the way through the first book, as he wasn't doing spiral based with Singapore. Shiller works as a spiral based/mastery system. You do a section, test, repeat what wasn't understood and test again till you get 100% on the test. You then move on. Best of all my son LOOKS FORWARD to math everyday now! HUGE improvement in the mood of the house and I couldn't be happier. I don't know if my story can help you, but I learned that if it isn't working, don't try to force a round peg in a square hole! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 If you are basically happy with it, I'd cross off some of the problems, or make a deal with them: if you get the first 5 100% correct then you don't have to do the next 5. (Says she who has hopped math programs so many times it would make you dizzy!! ) But I'm doing Horizons and am happy with it, and planning to stick with it. My dd complained about every math program. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I crossed out problems when we did Horizons, but we ultimately switched to Singapore. It has worked better for my kids. I really wanted Horizons to work for us, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dramorellis Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 My oldest started with Horizons, went to school where they did Singapore and we have been doing MiF at home for the past 2 years which we really like. My DD is still in Horizons K but I do skip stuff. We also do BA and LoF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I am another mean mom. We did Horizons through 6th. (Yup...every problem, 95% of days).It's a great curriculum and I'm glad we stuck with it. Sorry! :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northwoodsmama Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 We've tried Singapore and Horizons but this year switched to CLE, so much better for us, and my kids are actually learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I mark off problems with Horizons. It was kind of a shock coming from Math in Focus to Horizons how many more problems there are on the Horizons worksheets than there were on the MIF ones. Any way, if I know she knows how to do it, I mark off about half of them. For every one that she misses, though, she has to go back and do another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 DD hates math. It doesn't matter which program we used (and we did use some others over the summers). We used Horizons with DD from K-6. If I knew she had mastered a concept, I only had her do about 5 of the problems for that concept and she moved on complete all of the problems for a new concept. If she missed one in the mastery concepts, she had to go back, correct the missed problems and then do the rest in that set. She just got an A- on her 6th grade final, for which she had to complete all the problems. I did purchase the Horizons Pre-Algebra set, however, we are going with Tablet Class for her main math program next year. I believe she'll need the live instruction to help her over the hump moving into Algebra because she has a phobia about it. However, we'll use Horizons as a back-up if needed. I really loved this program and wish they had the higher maths. This is the ONE program we've never changed until now -- out of necessity for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakelly Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I crossed off problems on Horizons math, sometimes there were just too many problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 PS My dd does almost every problem every page but not all...Horizons strength is the practice...but there have been several times where it's something so easy but multi step, and then there are 15 or 20 of them, so I do cross out now and then. Another options is to slow down and do just two pages ...you are the teacher and the book is the tool, if you don't use the method the way it was written at all then you would have problems but also being beholden to it like a robot is not necessary either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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