Horizons Mathematics

This is a good math program, very open and go. The elementary is colorful, and enjoyable for young children. having said that, I will say that this curriculum is not good for a child who struggles in math. There are a lot of problem sets daily, some lessons do not have much explanation. It was frustrating for my learning disabled child, so we switched programs.

I have used Horizons math from K-6 with one child. She is good at math and recently decided she didn't want to use Horizons anymore, so halfway through 6th grade, she switched to Saxon 76. Her issues with Horizons began in the upper grades 4+ when she wanted more detailed explanations in the workbooks than what Horizons had to offer. I wasn't sure what to use, so we stayed with Horizons for a while until I found out that Saxon had those fantastic explanations that she was looking for. She is very happy with her switch to Saxon and so am I. I think Horizons is still a good math program, but for the next child I will only use it in K-3 and then switch to Saxon math 54.

Overall, the teacher manuals as well as the workbooks could definitely be stronger in the area of concept explanation. The workbooks are colorful, which is fun for younger children. I also liked that the program spiraled with the child working on 5 or so concepts per lesson.

We started homeschooling 3 yrs ago and I chose Horizons Math for my then 4th grader. I like the way there is plenty of reinforcement of each topic and also that there are extra practice worksheets if you need them. It's easy to use and colorful. My son likes the occasional puzzle or riddle that's thrown in too.

I love Horizons math! My 2 oldest daughters easily transitioned to both private and public school situations after using this math (so I know what they needed to know was covered!). My 3rd and youngest daughter used this through 5th grade and will attend public school for 6th and I am fully confident she will be well prepared.

This worked very well for my son. The teacher guide is easy to use. My son learned a lot.

Horizons just takes the work out of teaching math!

I love the way this curriculum loops back around to review past lessons while adding new concepts slowly. My child was having trouble remembering units after we had stepped away from the for a while. The way this adds in a short review from many units really works for him!

We have used Horizons with three of our children for five years. The materials were thorough. My children retained the materials well. The teacher;s guide is easy to follow. We have had success with my child who gets math and with my two that struggle a little bit more. I highly recommend this math program.

We love Horizons!! Ive used this with three of my kids. It scaffolds skills so stealthily my kids never noticed how hard the math was getting, and they just kept plugging through the lessons. Their arithmetic skills are rock solid, and they can easily apply concepts learned elsewhere.

The skills for large concepts are taught to mastery individually before they're put together. For example my little one was an expert and breaking a ten apart and putting it in the ones/units place before it was ever asked of her in a subtraction problem. When the two skills collided she flew through regrouping in subtraction effortlessly.

For kids that enjoy math (and probably many that don't), the small sets of several different concepts in one lesson keeps it more interesting. Each lesson usually has one puzzle type activity where the correct answers will color a picture or spell the answer to a silly joke. You can tell these books were written by someone who enjoys math. :)

My only concern with Horizons is the story problems aren't terribly challenging, but the problem sets do gently guide them into more complicated situations. However, my Horizons kids do not struggle with real life application and tricky word problems elsewhere. Obviously whatever Horizons is doing is working!

We used Horizons at or above grade level, and my older Horizons users have gone onto math competitions and math books written for/by math competitors (Art of Problem Solving), and they continue to thrive. Horizons laid an excellent foundation for them.

Horizons math is my single favorite piece of curriculum. I have used it exclusively for the first two years of our homeschooling journey. When I was looking for a math curriculum, I knew I wanted something that would be fun yet challenging for my math-brained son. I found my perfect wish in Horizons!

Horizons math challenges my son without discouraging him. He finds it fun and enjoys the pictures and colors, but he never seems overly distracted by them. I enjoy that by the end of his books, he truly knows how to do the problems on his own.

The only thing that was difficult for us at first was that the books don't allow the child to fully grasp a concept before moving on. When a concept is introduced, it's usually only for a short period before moving onto other things. Later, the concept returns. (Spiral approach.) We were not used to this style, but now that we have our rhythm, it feels natural to us.

I LOVE this curriculum and don't plan on ever switching as long as the results keep up! Last but not least, it's very affordable as well, especially if you can get by without the teacher's editions for the first couple years.

I have used Horizons with both of my kids k, 1, 2, and will be using 3rd grade this year with my oldest. I love how easy it is to use. It uses a spiral approach so there is lots of review build into the books. My kids love the bright colors.

Horizons was a great choice for my son and we used it from K through 6th. At the time 6th was the highest level available. It worked so well for him that he struggled to find something he could relate to as well after 6th ended.

We use this program in our homeschool from K to 2nd grade. The worksheets are very colorful and the spiral method gives constant review of concepts for kids to learn. The teachers guide is easy to use and has a lot of additional things to add to the actual sheets, so be sure to follow the guide for the extras. The only thing is that about the middle of Level 1 and into Level 2 there are lots of problems and it really bogged down my guys who saw all the problems and felt discouraged. I ended up crossing out rows to adapt since I knew they had mastered the concepts and didn't need all that additional work. I also thought they introduced multiplication kind of early, but we were using another program for drilling facts so my guys were ready.

This was a wonderfully colorful and engaging math program that my DD was happy to work on, even though she really isn't a big fan of math. It uses a spiral approach, which did a great job of constantly reviewing all concepts to keep them fresh in the student's mind, but that can become tedious. Also, I felt it lacked any significant depth in TEACHING. It just provided more and more gradual problems with minimal direction. My DD needed more teaching of the concepts in depth and did best with tactile manipulatives to make the math REAL. So we only made it to third grade and switched curriculum.

A student who takes to math well naturally would do fine with this curriculum. Or, if you as the teacher, feel comfortable teaching what it doesn't, it would be good.

It's very colorful and pretty to look at, but I personally don't care for the lesson layout. Each lesson has 5-6 section with 4-7 math problems of the same kind in each section. So your student only gets to practice a little bit of each in the 5-6 sections. It's not really a mastery-based curriculum. I prefer more practice of individual concepts instead of a whole bunch per lesson.

I love using Horizons for my younger children. Having 4 children at different levels is hard to handle in math. These books give a simple explanation at the beginning of each unit for a new concept. It then repeats some problems from previous lessons but not so many to be boring. It is quick to correct also. My children all love these books.

We tried Horizons for a year, but ended up switching. I think the coverage of topics is good, but in some places they move from one subject to the next too fast. There also wasn't enough explanation or teaching on some subjects. For my first grader it was okay. some of the lessons were a little long though, The 3rd grade book had very long lessons! Math would take forever because my 3rd grader had so much to do in each lesson.

I love the colorful pictures and fun additions like riddles and such.

I'm using Horizons Math 1 with my advanced kindergartener and it's been such a great way to do math! The spiral method is gentle and effective. The workbooks are colorful and exciting to use. I have found the teachers manual to not be needed most days - it's really geared towards a classroom or multiple kids although I've gotten a few good ideas from it. Most lessons start with quick drills and flashcards, something we don't always do since she's only 5. I also haven't found the math manipulatives worth getting but that could just be because my daughter doesn't enjoy them. I highly recommend Horizons if you have a child that's good with workbooks.

I would recommend horizons math. We're planning to use it next year too.