Horizons Math questions

[AmandaGRB]

Who uses Horizons Math? What do you like and not like? Have you tried it and tossed it aside? I know the publisher is Christian...are the math materials secular or are there things like God created 2 apples and 2 more apples make 4 apples? Are there scripture quotes on the pages? Thanks for any input!

Amanda

[Momma Aimee]

just here to lisen in

[srlpenny]

I am currently using Horizons K, 1, and 2 with my kids. I am only into Lesson 8 with them, but do not think we will purchase again.
I find it far to parent intensive, honestly. While I don't want to just sit my kids down with dittos and leave for an hour, I do think math is a subject that lends itself to a lot of self-teaching and Horizons does not facilitate that at all.
My son (and I) found the way they use the number line to teach addition to be confusing, I won't go into detail unless you ask but they used 0 which made counting on incorrect. For kindergarten each problem which takes 2 seconds, has separate directions so if your child is a non-reader (as most beginning Ks are) you literally have to sit and do the entire page by their side.
The teacher's manuals I have found to be completely useless.
I knwo it is Christian, and there is scripture in the teacher's manuals but I have not yet come across any in teh student books, but again we are just starting.
For next year I think we are going to look into either Miquon or Singapore both I have heard good things about, I just hate to spend more money now.
Just my 2 cents.

[AmandaGRB]

Is there a lot of prep work for you to get ready for the lesson or is it open the book and go? I don't really mind teacher intensive as long as it is spent on work...I do not like alot of prep work of finding different materials and so forth before it even begins. That tends to drive me mad. I have an only child and I sit with him the entire time he is doing lessons anyway. I would be using the 2nd grade books...does it have alot of number line usage in it? Do you need other materials with the Horizons 2nd grade (like base 10 blocks or anything)?
I feel your pain about spending more money. I feel like I have spent a small fortune on stuff this year and still haven't found what we need. Between the money and time spent looking for other/better things, I feel like that is all I get done somedays.

Thanks for the info!

Amanda

[srlpenny]

I am not really following the teachers' guides, but what I have looked at is not very prep intensive they really do tell you what to do, how to do it and what materials to gather beforehand. We purchased the manipulative kit along with it so pretty much everything is there.

[Lysa]

I have to give another POV here... keep in mind that I am a math geek, and my dd seems to be too.

I really like Horizon Math. I've used K, 1, 2, and 3, and will be purchasing 4 soon. One of the things I like about it is that it is a bit more advanced than some of the other programs I've seen. I will use it for my youngers when they are ready.
There were some things that I prefer to present differently than they have, but I figure that would be the same in any math curriculum. And I have occasionally crossed out an example, and have even crossed out a section here and there, but not frequently at all.
The teacher's manual is helpful for those who need something scripted for them. I have the teachers manuals, but don't really use them, since most times my dd has already been taught a concept by me prior to us getting to it on paper anyway (did I say I was glad it was advanced?).
I do prefer for dd not to do all the review problems, and do tend to cross out a lot of those, but that is my preference for THIS child. I don't know that I will do the same for the others, as I don't know what they will need.
Horizon does stress mastery of math facts/tables as well as counting by every number up to 12s. Some like this, some don't. I like it. I think knowing these well makes high level math easier.
Everything I have seen Horizon present has a view toward using it in the future, for higher level math, which I really like. Of course, this isn't something my dd sees, but I see it as an adult. This makes learning new concepts easier, since it builds on a concept they've already mastered.
I don't think it is super teacher intensive, but the TM does have you go over a problem, then have them complete the rest, then move onto the next section. I have often done the lesson on a separate piece of paper, then had her complete the worksheet. There is not usually more than one new concept on each lesson. Review for other sections is dependent upon your child.
As far as the Christian presence... I think I saw ONCE when introducing ordinal numbers, the days of creation (1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day, etc.).
HTH!

[AmandaGRB]

Srlpenny, thanks for the info. What manipulative pack did you order? I looked at the AO publications website and I don't see any kind of manipulatives there. I don't even see where it says what kind you would need with this program. I was looking at the 2nd grade math set. I think it said it has 2 student books and a 2 part teacher's guide. Also, what kind of materials do you have to gather beforehand?

Lysa, I also lean heavily towards being a math geek and so does my DS. I'm ok with learning math facts. I do think that it helps with higher level math when you are fluent in the facts.

Thanks for the info so far! I had been seriously considering switching to Singapore, but something just wasn't clicking for either of us with that. This one, however, when ds and I were looking it over yesterday, we both felt like it would be something to consider.

Any more input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again for taking the time to let me know how it's working for you!

Amanda

[3momkmb]

We use Horizons, I don't use the teachers guides.

We've used K-2 and DS has been able to do them himself with minimal help from me even though he just recently learned to read. He will somtimes ask me to read the directions on the page for him, but he can even figure it out himself a good amount of the time. It is by far his prefered curriculum for math, we've tried Miquon, MUS and that free curiculum you can get on-line (can't remember the name it has a lot of initials?). DS is very concrete and picks up math quickly.

As for the Christian content, I haven't really noticed much. I am flipping through Math 2, book2 right now and don't see anything obvious. No bible based word problems or scripture quotes or anything I can't vouch for the teacher materials though since I don't use them.

[srlpenny]

amanda,
I ordered Horizons through Sonlight, along with the rest of my curriculum materials and they offer the TG, Wkbook and manipulative kit all as 1 package:
http://www.sonlight.com/2M30.html

[AmandaGRB]

Originally Posted by srlpenny

amanda,
I ordered Horizons through Sonlight, along with the rest of my curriculum materials and they offer the TG, Wkbook and manipulative kit all as 1 package:
http://www.sonlight.com/2M30.html

At first I couldn't find the manipulative kit, but I looked on a couple different pages and foudn it. It is $95. : Do you really use those and is it worth $95? I don't think I found a complete list of what is included, but it really didn't seem like that much...crayons, graph paper, ruler, clock, scale, a few other small things and a bunch of flash cards.

I think I am going to order the Horizons set, but I don't think I want to pay that much for manipulatives. I was thinking of maybe getting a set of base 10 blocks, but we have things to use for counters and that kind of thing. What other items would you have to gather before the lessons?

[laf512]

We have recently started using Horizons K Math with my dd and LOVE it. Previously, we were using MUS which was a flop for her. Dd is always begging to do more worksheets in the Horizons book. She loves the colorful lessons and also that there are a variety of problems in each lesson. I have been using the teacher's manual as a guide. There is very little prep for the lessons. Basically, all you need to do is gather the recommended manipulatives which are listed right at the beginning of the lesson. I do sit with my dd and go over the lessons, but usually she's able to figure out what she needs to do without me reading the instructions anyway.

As far as manipulatives, we have been using things we have around the house as counters and real money for the money sections. I made my own flashcards using plain index cards that I bought at Walmart (only 44 cents for 100 cards!) so I didn't have to buy the expensive ones. I think two things we will buy is a clock and base ten blocks. Most of the other stuff I see listed in the K manual are common household items.

I've flipped through the student worktexts and only saw one biblical reference and that was teaching ordinal numbers and what God created each day. That's it. I haven't come across any biblical references in the teacher's manual yet either, but I haven't read the whole thing yet either.

[AmandaGRB]

Originally Posted by laf512

As far as manipulatives, we have been using things we have around the house as counters and real money for the money sections. I made my own flashcards using plain index cards that I bought at Walmart (only 44 cents for 100 cards!) so I didn't have to buy the expensive ones. I think two things we will buy is a clock and base ten blocks. Most of the other stuff I see listed in the K manual are common household items.

I've flipped through the student worktexts and only saw one biblical reference and that was teaching ordinal numbers and what God created each day. That's it. I haven't come across any biblical references in the teacher's manual yet either, but I haven't read the whole thing yet either.

Thanks for the info.

[Lysa]

Well... things change...
I just got Horizon Math 4 in the mail. The Teacher's Guide has a quote on EACH lesson, the majority being scripture. These are not incorporated into the lesson, and it is stated that the teacher can use them for character building if desired.There are multiple biblical/scriptural references in this level. (And I only really looked at the first 1/2 of the worksheets in detail.)
I don't know why there seems to be a significant change from one level to another, but I wanted to be sure to communicate the difference.

[kgianforti]

This is a good thread...informative since Horizons is an option for the future...

I have Horizons Preschool (to use in Sept) and it has a daily Bible lesson included along with memory verses. This is an entire curriculum subject-wise so perhaps that is the difference. The only issue I have is that it's too easy for my dd so I have to supplement. BUT because of that, the teacher preparation will be much less since I'm using it mainly for review.

I found the workbooks to be colorful and inviting. And it includes "homework" that my dd will be able to do with daddy later on in the day - I thought that was cute.

[AmandaGRB]

Hi Lysa,

Thanks so much for the updated info and for PM'ing me about it. After really looking at this for some time now, I think we are switching gears altogether to Saxon Math. I would like to find something that we can use for quite some time (wouldn't we all?) instead of switching every year or so. After looking more into my son's learning style, he learns quickly, but needs very explicit instruction. I think Saxon will work well for this. I am ordering this today from Rainbow Resources...they have a sale on Saxon that ends today.

Thanks to everyone who responded. You guys are great!! It really helps to get a better feel for a program.

Amanda