For those that have used Horizon lower level math, like 1st and 2nd grades, will you give me your pros and cons on it? Oh and how about Horizon vs. CLE?
I loved Horizons for 1st - 3rd grades. The pages are well laid out and the lessons are easy to follow. I rarely used the lesson plan in the teachers book but I did have her do the worksheets in the teachers book. One drawback for some kids is the fact that it is very colorful. That was actually one of the reasons dd liked it so much but I know it can distract other kids. Dd also really liked the puzzles and the fun activities in the lessons. I only switched because I knew I wanted to use Saxon for high school. Horizons prepared dd so well that she tested into 65 instead of 54 when we switched.
I use CLE. I have often looked at Horizons for my DGS, but I find the pages too full and too colorful, too distracting for him. It's very easy to switch between Saxon and CLE, as long as you use the diagnostic tests.
I used Horizons 1st and 2nd when I was 'supplementing' for my son while he was in public school. 1st grade went fine but then we reached 2nd grade and it was too much for him- we did it over summer and he would just look at all the problems and be overwhelmed- I even tried covering half of them and he was still overwhelmed. I know other kids have reacted that way too. Personally, I think it is a pretty good math program but proved to not fit my son (MUS fits him well) and I think using manipulatives for kids at that age is a great idea! Also, the teachers guide had other things listed not in the workbook to do, so I would refer to that at times. =)
I never needed the manipulatives. The only thing I ever used was a teaching clock (which I already owned) and some coins.
DD went to K in the school, then we began homeschooling last year for 1st. She completed Singapore 1A, then we switched to Horizons 1, and are now on Horizons 2. She has dyscalculia, ADHD, and a plethora of other things, and surprisingly, the very colorful, busy pages do not throw her off, go figure! Here are our pros/cons: Pros: I like that it seems advanced, variety of problems, *very* spiral great for my DD who needs that constant repetition and reminders Cons: There are TONS of problems on most pages (we simply have her do every other one as long as she is getting them correct and understanding them), I have not found anything valuable in the Teacher's Manual. Unlike Singapore, which provided me with multiple ways to teach a concept, Horizons has not provided that. For someone like me for whom math does not come naturally as a teacher, I would prefer to have more to the TM, and I worry about how much guidance it will provide as we move forward. As far as manipulatives, I think it may simply depend on your kiddo. With my daughter, we use our teaching clock, we have used our Base 10 blocks A LOT with subtraction this year, our Unifix cubes in 1st, and even our egg cartons (an idea we got from Singapore 1).
We have used Horizons 2, 3, and 4, and I really like it. I will say that my boys 'get' math, and I haven't had to do too much teaching -- Horizons' teachers manuals don't, as someone mentioned, give you a lot of guidance about teaching a concept. As I compare it to the math being done in our area schools, Horizons appears to be about a year ahead of them (many use Saxon). So, I guess that's either a pro or a con, depending on the ability/interest of the student. It does spiral well, and it does give plenty of problems within each lesson (pro to me, maybe not to all). I compared a lot of math options before we started homeschooling and found Horizons best met our needs.
Yep. I agree with all here. I would have used Horizons earlier on with my older two had I really investigated when they were younger. My youngest did very well, and loved it. We've moved on to Teaching Textbooks only because she really wanted to be like her brother and sister and have work on the computer to do. After doing K & 1st in Horizon she tested into the 3rd grade level of TT. (I kinda tested her on a lark trying to prove to her she wasn't ready and she didn't miss ANYTHING on the TT placement test!!!). Now, I know TT works at a different pace, but I'll let her work at HER pace and she's doing well with it.
We have always used Horizons but the 4th grade books made me very irritated and I'm starting to see holes in my oldest so we will switch next year to Life of Fred.
I bought it with the K. There are definitely good things in the teacher book, extra activities to cement the concept, etc. I found I did not use it much. My youngest seemed to be very naturally math inclined and caught on very quickly, she got bored with the "extras" I was trying to add in from the Teacher book. I know there are some who say you HAVE to use it....I didn't find it necessary. I did not get it for Grade 1, and we did fine.
