Just wondering what people out there like. DS (4) is currently doing LifePac K, but I am thinking about switching to Horizons because they have the review within the lesson. What do you all think about these?
We used the ACE paces when my kids were in 3/4th grades. I like them at the time, but as they got older, I didn't think they worked out for us as well. They have alot of repetition, which was great learning the basics in math, etc. But when they get it and are ready to move on, we switched. Hope that helps with the ACE part!
We used ACE this year, 1st grade. I was not impressed. The student reads a short story then answers three or four multiple choice questions. In his english there was page after page of look at a picture and copy the word, boring for anyone but especially a 6 yr old boy. I didn't really like the math either, we are now using Math-U-See and reviewing everything he did with ACE. He is really picking it up now. There is no teacher text with ACE, so no extra activities or hands on stuff or extra explanation. One thing I did like was the learning to read program. My son did really good with it and is now reading great. But, it's pretty expensive and I don't know if it's that much better than anything else since it's all I've used. Lisa
We used HOrizons for K. I had a bit of trouble with phonics that year. We got to a place where we could not blend sounds. Also Horizons K assumed a little more knowledge of basic letter sounds than we had, or at lease they assumed that we could learn it as fast as they presented. I abandoned the Horizons and moved to "teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". This did well at teaching the letter sounds and teaching me how to teach blending. Much of out trouble was a lack of experience on my part, and the fact that the student did not have a good handle on the letter/sounds going in. I would recommend that if your student does not know the letter/sound combos yet, that you use somthing like Explode the Code A,B and C level books before starting the Horizons Phonics program. They cost about 6.00 each. We moved away from Horizons and used Explode the Code books 1-4 for first grade, because of the trama of "failure" that my student experienced and associated with the books. We are returning to Horizons Phonics and Reading 2nd grade this coming year, in part due to student request. (actualy we will get a head start on it this summer.) I just purchased it after comparing what it covers in the first month of lessons and the overall scope and sequence with what we have accomplished with the other materials. I feel comfortable moving ahead with it and my student really likes the Horizons workbooks. I will be using wordly wise 3000, spelling power and other items to fill out our language arts. Looking back, I realize where our weeknesses were, and I still have the Horizons Phonics K materials. The only thing we used up was the first workbook. I will replace it and use it in 2008/09 with dd3 (5 by then). I will use ETC A, B, and C as well as 100 lessons prior to this for K-4 to ready for it however. Experience and hindsight is great is it not? We have used Horizons Math for K and 1st grade with great results. We have 2nd grade book 1 on deck for when we finish 1st grade this summer. I use a variety of items to supplement Horizons math to add hands on and demonstrations. I do not use the teachers manual. I purchased the manipulatives kit that is sold for Saxon Math and use that and other items for math. You could use household items as well, but we decided that school should have cool toys also and sprung for it last year. Overall, I like the approach of the Horizons Curriculum better than that of the Lifepacs for the lower grades. The Lifepacs are based on a mastery model of learning. The Horizons is based on a more spiral model. We need to see the stuff more than once. It lesses the stress for both student and teacher. My student knows that she will see it again and is not stressed if mistakes are made the first time through. I have to deal with a bit of perfectionism in my student and this helps keep that in check. One of my other main issues with the Horizons Phonics K program seems to have been remedied. There was some terrible art work in the lessons which made it hard for the students to answer the questions. they have in the latest printings corrected that issue, but updating the art work. The ones I had were Sept. 03 printings. I woud look for something printed in 06 or later. You can tell by looking inside however. If you see some picts that are kinda photographic instead of colored line drawings, it is the newer stuff.
I'm guessing your ds would do well with Horizons! I think it's a little more advanced than LifePac, though I could be wrong.
I didn't like the look of Lifepacs- I think dd would hate it. Most homeschoolers around here aren't crazy about Lifepacs either for one reason or another. I don't know what ACE is. I looked at Horizons Phonics and Reading at the curriculum fair last weekend and I know dd would love it so I will probably be getting it for fall since she hated the MCP phonics we were using. I have a friend using Horizons Math and they love it. That's about all I know. Every child is different and what works for one obviously isn't going to work for another. So I could say that my dd liked something and did well with it, but it wouldn't matter for you lol, because your child probably learns in a completely different manner.
I liked LIfe paks, but for Math we used Horizon, the Life paks has good biblical info in it. I liked that, and Horizon Math is awesom they did now have the phonics and spelling then I would go with them now if they were that young. I am doing horizon Math this year for my 5th grader after doing life paks all his life. My oldest did 1-2nd Horizon math, then we switched to slow down some with him. Horizon moves at a much quicker pace in my opinion. Ace I have been told by students who used it is boring and too much work in the book. It was too difficult for the students to keep up with it. Also when they switched to SOS , they were behind! That suprised me!
