My daughter, Clancy, will be going into thrid grade. When we first decided to homeschool her, I just thought I would use Saxon Math. When I was teaching, that is what I used, but I am wondering if it is the best choice for one on one with my daughter. I liked using it with a group of students, but one on one, I worry that it will be a bit dry. I have been looking at Horizons Math and would love to hear from anyone that has used this program. Strengths? Weaknesses? The website says it is very hands on. I don't notice any manipultive kits on thier website. What supplimental items will I need if I go with Horizon Math?
Take my opinion for what it's worth since I haven't used Horizons. I currently use Saxon with all my kids. So far they like it and we haven't found it to be dry. 1 of the other systems we used was Lifepacs (which as I understand is basically the same thing as Horizons.) My kids didn't do as well with it and they got bored quickly. I also felt that the grade level was actually lower than it said. For example, the 3rd grade Lifepacs were more like 2nd grade. Lifepacs didn't have any manipulatives with it either. That's just my 2 cents.
Lifepacs and Horizon are completely different! If you like the spiral nature of Saxon, you may like Christian Light. IMO, the explanations and examples are way clearer than Saxon. So much so, in fact, that a 3rd grader can be pretty independent with it. I always had to *teach* Saxon (I've used 54 through Alg 1), but with CLE, the only things the student needs me for is when it says "read this to your teacher", "do what your teacher says" (usually writing numbers or answering facts from dictation), or to time the speed drill and check the work. Even my first grade DGS could work pretty independently by the end of the year. It's not colorful, but in 12 years, I've never had one student complain about a lack of color. Samples at www.clp.org
I've used Horizons through grade 3, then switched to Saxon for upper elementary, then switched again when they got to pre-algebra. I really like the lower grades of Horizon. It moves quickly, and provides lots of different stuff in each lesson. I REALLY like how it introduces algebra concepts at an early age, as in using a variable. 6+x=10. And then they have you subtract the six from each side. They also teach you how to use ( )s with easy numbers. My youngest is now 12, and he got fed up with Saxon REALLY fast!!! We switched him to Teaching Textbooks. It's computer based, and has been very helpful for him. It has really saved a lot of attitude on his part!!! I also used TT with the upper level maths. My oldest, who just graduated, is self-taught in it as far as possible. I am NOT a math geek (like she is), and would never have been able to teach her past geometry. TT is a God-send in situations like that!
We have used Math-U-See from the beginning and are now up to Algebra and Geometry. In the early years it is very heavy on manipulatives if she is a hands on learner. It helped to solidify the concepts of numbers being a value rather than just "facts" to memorize.
I've used CLP, LifePacs, Math-U-See, Saxon & Aleks..... for the younger years my kids liked LifePacs. My son THOUGHT (now entering 10th grade) he liked workbooks so we went back to it and he was very confused. So now he's using Aleks which is computer based and I just tell him how much time I expect per day and he does it (he's taking the Basic Algebra for ACE college credit) My dd12 saw Math-U-See at a convention and was immediately drawn in and loves it. She is starting way back to get basics "re-memorized" because the PS system gave her a calculator and she relied heavily on it. Saxon required me teaching too much - and honestly right now I couldn't handle it. We tried the DIVE CD's and they confused the poor children even more. My dd12 didn't mind it before (Saxon 5/4) she went to PS and was doing well - she liked the drills. CLP - I like the Sunrise editions which breaks it up each day - awesome.... it was my kids that didn't like it.
We used Horizons for 1st and I love it. The colors became a distraction for my son though. So then we tried Christian Light, which I also love, for 3rd. He quickly hated it so I then got Teaching Textbooks. He retained nothing from one lesson to the next. Then I stumbled upon Life of Fred and we both love math again. It reads like a story with math worked in to it. I do have him do a few more practice problems than what is in the lower grade books, just because he needs it, but he loves it and is learning it well so we are sticking with it. It is fairly inexpensive, too. TT is the only program that just didn't work for us at all, all the others I really can't say enough about.
My daughter gets concepts, but hasn't memorized the basic math facts, such as her multiplication tables. One day she seems to have them down and the next day they have flown right out of her head. I was doing math wraps with her and for a while the drills that go along with them were holding her attention and then a few lessons in, she had trouble keeping her attention on what we were learning. I think she learns math best when she sees how it applies to life. Thanks for all the suggestions. I will look into each and see if I can find the right match for Clancy.
I recently discovered this website with some great videos on how to teach math concepts using cuisenaire rods. http://www.educationunboxed.com
I loved R&S and my dd did really well in it but in grade 3 there are no more w/b's. So for grade three I just had her write in the text book. She loved math tell grade four. Grade 4 she hit bottom with it, I switched to TT. She has weak hands and writing takes a lot out of her, and she still prints large so she could write in the grade four text. I offered to write the days work on the paper for her in pen, but I think she was feeling defeated with it, and then math became a fight everyday. She loves TT, there is no more fighting but I find it distracts her to much and her grades are lower. I did buy the same grade level for Math in CLE. I told her I wanted her to do both and then we would decide. She is standing firm for TT. But grades in the end will tell. We start CLE math tomorrow. So wish that R&S has w/b's though. TT w/b gives tons of room and I haven't really look through the CLE, but there seems to be lots of room for her in there to. Good hunting....
I am also one who used Horizons thru 3rd grade and have now switched to Saxon for now thru high school. Horizons does seem to move a bit faster thru topics than other curriculums. I would suggest doing a placement test no matter which curriculum you decide to use.
Featherhead, thank you for the link. Cuisenaire rods look something that would work well with my daughter. Faith_Mom, my daughter still writes big too. Her large motor skills have always been a little behind. She was a preemie and the doctors have always told me that they would catch up eventually. Writing is not fun for her. I think that is also part of why she doesn't do well on timed math drills. It isn't that she doesn't know the math, she just doesn't like the writing and the pressure of having to write so much in so little time.
I'm glad it was helpful I thought it was so cool how she could teach all of those things with the rods!
If she understands the concepts, give her a math fact finder. http://www.nestlearning.com/math-fa...-division-scooby-doo-slide-chart_p119176.aspx It is more beneficial than a calculator as they still have to work through the problems. You could also print out one of the multiplication table charts. http://www.mathatube.com/multiplication-table-chart.html They still have to work for the answers to do double and triple multiplication. They will start to memorize the facts from looking them up. They will start to recognize patterns in the multiplication chart. I spent quite a bit of time stalling and working on 3rd grade math with different programs with my oldest child. I then read that if she understood the concepts, but was having difficulty with the math facts to give her a chart or a fact finder. She is in 6th grade now and doing 7th grade math and has her math facts down now. She spent 4th and 5th doing 3rd grade level maths from 3-4 different programs b/c I was paranoid to move forward b/c she didn't have the facts down. In 6th grade, I gave her the fact finders and 7th grade math. She always scored grade levels ahead on testing in math concepts and applications and barely grade level on math computation b/c of the math facts. Once I gave her the fact finder and the multiplication chart, her confidence grew b/c she wasn't struggling to remember the small things and could focus on learning how to do harder math concepts. Along the way, she memorized her math facts and now is ahead of grade level in both. Now with my younger children we go through learning the math facts with their curriculum and then if they need it they have the fact finders handy. My 5th grader now has her math facts memorized as well. That is my experience with our math computation woes. I would never hand them a calculator b/c it would do all the work for them, but the math fact finders were a tool that helped them to gain the knowledge while not being stuck in below grade level math.
I also believe in Fact Finders, especially if she has to fill in the answers on the original. We had them rubber-cemented in the back of our Horizons workbook. As OpenMinded said, looking them up is slower, and they will memorize them on their own. I'm also big with timed tests, too, but since you've already said that she has trouble with those, they might not be a good idea. I would make a graph, draw a goal line at a certain point, and then graph the results. Hitting the three days in a row is good for something at the Dollar Store, or an ice cream cone or something. By graphing, you're also teaching another skill in a practical way, and she can see how she's slowly reaching her goal.
Those are great ideas. We did make a times table chart. She worked out all the problems on it. I think she stuffed it in her desk, never to be seen again. I will have her make another one and maybe we can hang it up or she can keep it in whatever book we end up going with. She can multiply, she just doesn't have them memorized. She was the same way with addition and subtraction.
There is a link on the Math-U-See website for drills in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You can select which facts to drill on. My kids enjoyed working toward faster times. You don't have to use MUS to use the drills on their site, either.
My children memorized their multiplications facts by playing TimezAttack if your child is into that sort of thing. http://www.bigbrainz.com/index.php They have a free version and a paid for version but the free version does cover all the facts it just has less variety in backgrounds and such. All my children, so far, have learned math from real life more so than curriculum. We still used curriculum, most of the time, but they just seemed to "get it" better when applied to real life situations.
