How do you supplement Horizons with Singapore?

[Dinsfamily]

My ds1 will be 5 this month and we are starting K in June. He tested into Horizons 1 easily, but I'm going to start him with Horizons K just as a "review" (we haven't done any formal math, so I want to start him off easy and fill in gaps) and let him work through it as fast as he wants. He loves to do math and asked for addition and subtraction flashcards in his Christmas stocking.

 

So, since we are going to let him go through math curriculum at his own faster pace, I'd really like to add some depth to it. We've already done the Singapore EB series. If I'm supplementing with Singapore, what do I need? Should we just do the whole curriculum with TBs and WBs? Just the IP or CW? I'd prefer not to spend too much money on a supplement, but since it's his favorite subject, I'd like to take advantage of his interest. Would we do Singapore 1A/1B with Horizons K or wait until we get to Horizons 1? Should I mix things up throughout the year or finish Horizons for the year and then start Singapore? We will be schooling year-round with minimal breaks for the 3Rs.

 

I know a lot of you have done this and I'd just like to learn from your expericences :001_smile:.

 

Thanks,

Edited March 3, 2009 by Dinsfamily
Messed up my sig

[AudreyTN]

I haven't done it, but I've used both programs.

 

Honestly, we hated Horizons and we're on our way back to Singapore.

 

If you really want to use them together, I'd wait until 1st grade and add the Challenging Word Problems. There weren't a lot of word problems in Horizons.

[jonnia]

I've been alternating work between the two in an effort to supplement Horizons with Singapore with my 6 yr old. Over the past few weeks, I've been leaning more and more on Singapore and have just decided to switch over completely. My son seemed to be benefitting more from the supplement than from the main curriculum! I like Horizons very much and it works well for my son. Singapore just seems to work better for us. Just our experience :)

[plain jane]

I've been alternating work between the two in an effort to supplement Horizons with Singapore with my 6 yr old. Over the past few weeks, I've been leaning more and more on Singapore and have just decided to switch over completely. My son seemed to be benefitting more from the supplement than from the main curriculum! I like Horizons very much and it works well for my son. Singapore just seems to work better for us. Just our experience :)

 

 

:iagree: With this as this has been our experience as well. I started off by initially supplementing Horizons with Singapore and alternating work between the two but have now switched around to supplementing Singapore with Horizons. We do Singapore every day and I'll add in a few problems from Horizons that either weren't covered in Singapore or that dd needed more practice with. It's working great so far.

 

This is my second year using both programs simultaneously. In grade 1 I alternated Singapore one day, then Horizons the next. I did this until the 1st set of workbooks for each were completed. For the second term I had dd finish the Horizons book by itself and we worked through Singapore 1b over the summer. This worked nicely as well since she was able to maintain the skills she learned from Horizons while learning to do more mental math over the summer months.

[DarlaS]

I have a 5 yo finishing Horizon's K, and am also debating whether to use Singapore or Horizon's 1 next year. I do feel that whichever I choose will be enough. I also feel that a quick way to kill a child's love of math may be to have them do LOTS of it. :001_smile:

 

I'm leaning toward Singapore right now, as I have recently given him the 1A books and he's whipping through. He was ready for these last fall.

[Dinsfamily]

I see what some of you are saying with picking one. If I did that, I'd probably pick Singapore and then use some of the supplements (CW or IG). However, I HATED the EB series. I know, I'm one of the few. I feel like my ds didn't learn anything from it and he would have finished it in a couple of weeks if I'd let him do as much as he wanted. He liked it fine, but it was more of just a fun workbook for him. We did skip many of the conceptual pages b/c they just didn't fit his learning style at all and he knew the concepts anyway. He as 3.5-4 at the time. Has anyone else had this experience?

 

I'm okay with just doing Horizons, but I'd really like to reinforce the concepts with him as we go along. That's why I thought Singapore would be a good fit as a supplement instead of the main curriculum. Just to add a little depth to the subject.

[DarlaS]

That's why I thought Singapore would be a good fit as a supplement instead of the main curriculum. Just to add a little depth to the subject.

 

Have you thought about just using them for a little break once in a while? Alternating? Or is that what you meant in the first place? :lol:

 

I hated the Early Bird books too. The first grade books are quite different.

[Ali in OR]

We use Singapore as our main program and supplement with Horizons. I like Horizons for the breadth of problems and review--I think it will prepare dds for the occasional testing we have to do. For developing real mathematical thinking however, I don't think it compares to Singapore. It's just a bunch of problems--no real explanation or discussion or development of ideas (but I don't use the TM so maybe that's in there). My 3rd grader does a Singapore exercise per day and maybe half of a Horizons lesson. I cross out the sections to skip or choose maybe 5 problems to do from a section of 20. For Singapore, we go through the textbook together, then she does the exercise in the workbook. I would never just turn a kid loose with Singapore but discuss the way they approach the problems. The text shows kids thinking about how they go about the problems--those are important to go over.

 

My K'er finished the EB books last spring. There is a significant jump in level of difficulty and expectations in 1A. I chose not to use it for K this year. We are doing Horizons K. Then for first next year she will use the programs like her sister--a full Singapore lesson and some Horizons to supplement.

 

If you really want to develop mathematical thinking, I would use the 1A/1B textbook and workbook with your child. That really builds a strong base for future math work. Your child doesn't memorize 8+6=14, but learns how to "make a ten" by taking 2 from the 6 to add to the 8, then add the leftover 4 from the 6 to 10 to get 14. May seem like the long way, but you learn to be able to do this in a fraction of a second and it is a skill that then transfers to harder problems like 78+6 or 78+16 later on. There are lots of problem-visualization/problem-solving strategies like this in Singapore, but nothing like it in Horizons.

[DarlaS]

It's just a bunch of problems--no real explanation or discussion or development of ideas (but I don't use the TM so maybe that's in there).

 

It is. Sort of. Horizon's teacher manuals are rather... ummm... concise. Yeah, that's it. They're also a little too classroom oriented (in my opinion) whereas Singapore's textbooks make how the concept is taught pretty clear. They give you the language of teaching math. The Home Instructor guide (which does not assume you have several students) are great.

Edited March 3, 2009 by darlasowders

[Dinsfamily]

We use Singapore as our main program and supplement with Horizons. I like Horizons for the breadth of problems and review--I think it will prepare dds for the occasional testing we have to do. For developing real mathematical thinking however, I don't think it compares to Singapore. It's just a bunch of problems--no real explanation or discussion or development of ideas (but I don't use the TM so maybe that's in there). My 3rd grader does a Singapore exercise per day and maybe half of a Horizons lesson. I cross out the sections to skip or choose maybe 5 problems to do from a section of 20. For Singapore, we go through the textbook together, then she does the exercise in the workbook. I would never just turn a kid loose with Singapore but discuss the way they approach the problems. The text shows kids thinking about how they go about the problems--those are important to go over.

 

My K'er finished the EB books last spring. There is a significant jump in level of difficulty and expectations in 1A. I chose not to use it for K this year. We are doing Horizons K. Then for first next year she will use the programs like her sister--a full Singapore lesson and some Horizons to supplement.

 

If you really want to develop mathematical thinking, I would use the 1A/1B textbook and workbook with your child. That really builds a strong base for future math work. Your child doesn't memorize 8+6=14, but learns how to "make a ten" by taking 2 from the 6 to add to the 8, then add the leftover 4 from the 6 to 10 to get 14. May seem like the long way, but you learn to be able to do this in a fraction of a second and it is a skill that then transfers to harder problems like 78+6 or 78+16 later on. There are lots of problem-visualization/problem-solving strategies like this in Singapore, but nothing like it in Horizons.

 

The mathematical thinking is what I'd like to develop. I really like your method and I think that might be a good fit for us. Thanks for sharing! We will do Horizons K starting in June, but when we get to 1st grade math, I like the idea of using Singapore with Horizons as a supplement. I knew there was a solution out there :D.