Math advice - 6th grade - not sure about Horizons now

[HilJoy14]

This is our second year homeschooling.  My 5th grade, 11-yr-old daughter finished Saxon 6/5 in February and we started Horizons 6 (skipping the first 40 or so lessons) at her request, as she was tired of Saxon and hoping for something she liked better.  She will be going into public school next year, so we don't anticipate finishing this math book, so I was fine with the switch.  Or so I thought...

 

I'm really disappointed with the lack of problem solving in Horizons.  All problems are just laid out for them.  As in, it just says:   456.75 - 12.23, not "Jack had xxx money and spent yyy, so how much does he have left", for instance.  She doesn't ever have to figure out whether to multiply, subtract, etc.  All problems are lined up properly for them with decimals, etc.  I feel like Saxon just gave them so much more room - to figure out the problem, to make/solve mistakes, etc.  And I'm worried that the lack of problem solving could adversely affect her going forward.  Also, there are just so many of the same problem.  Why does she need to do 10 of the same problem for review on every lesson??

 

BUT, it's just for 3 months (rest of this year).  Would you:

 

a) Spend the money to go back to Saxon (7/6) and just give up on Horizons?  (We can afford it, if we must - not like I want to throw away the money, but I want what's best for my daughter.)

 

b) Double-up on Horizons lessons, maybe, having her do less of each type of problem that she has already mastered?

 

c) Maybe in conjunction with b) - add some problem solving in?  I looked at Zeccaro's Challenge Math, but I'm not sure it was right for us.  Or maybe I looked at too high a level?  Not sure what else to use...  I thought maybe even just open her old Saxon book and have her do a problem or two from that every day.  Even if it's from old lessons, it might keep her problem solving skills fresh?

 

Anyone have any thoughts/ideas???

[SilverMoon]

How about playing on Alcumus daily? It's free on the AoPS website. They're the sort of problem they don't want you to blindly calculate, but rather think through. There's a lot of teaching in the solutions after the problem is solved.

 

Another option on the AoPS website (free, again), are the old AMC8 test problems with full solutions.

 

 

FWIW, my kids who used Horizons for years have thrived in AoPS materials and Math Olympiad competitions. Their super solid basics and comprehension let them jump right into the harder math.

[freesia]

I wouldn't worry about it. Dd went from Horizons 6 to Saxon 87 with no problems at all(getting a strong A) and my first Ds went from Horizon 5 to Pre-algebra (not Horizon) with no problem. We're only talking a few months anyway.

[Juliegmom]

I would not spend the money to go back to Saxon, but would try to find a combination of free or cheap resources to finshes out the year. I liked the suggestion from Silver Moon. You could also use Khan Academy. We hit a bump in the road with Horizons 5 last month. I've decided to shelf it and downloaded Book B for Mammoth Math 5. So far it's working well and I think we found our new math curriculum for next year. They have several free sample pages and worksheets, by grade or topic, that may help you finish out your year.

[HilJoy14]

Thanks for all the advice.  I'll look into those websites - good to have more resources!  And I'll just try not to worry so much...   :)

[Kuovonne]

I'll share what happened to my DD. Your mileage may vary.

 

I switched DD to Horizons math in 5th grade. I noticed that her ability to solve word problems *tanked* with the change.

I kept her in Horizons anyway (and did not supplement) because it was the right thing for us at the time.

 

Then in 7th grade, I put her in Saxon 87, and she does fine with the word problems in it.

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I wouldn't change for just three months, but it wouldn't hurt to supplement with something fun like Zacarro, LOF or Beast Academy.  The new 5a level is more challenging than the average fifth grader.  The AOPS website wouldn't be a bad idea either.  

[...................]

Horizons 6 is the worst book we've used with horizons. The first half was pretty good but the second half really went downhill for my dd.

 

We moved to Derek Owens and it's going well.

 

If you plan to go back to Saxon you could just buy the next level and start there because it'll review everything from the ground up!

 

FYI though that Saxon algebra 1/2 and 8/7 are aooooo different! Alg 1/2 is really interesting with a lot of logic type word problems and beginning algebra and is very light on arithmetic review (Ike only 30 lessons)

 

8/7 is very long, daily lessons are very long and almost the whole Book is arithmetic review until the last 40 lessons. The word problems are about zero on the logic or interest scale BUT if you take it slow and steady you could use it for the rest of this year and all of next year to finish up all arithmetic to be ready for algebra.

 

However you would want to probably do only half a lesson per day because it is really really long daily lessons

Edited March 16, 2016 by Calming Tea