Horizons Math
Ever find a homeschool curriculum that you just love? You have to have it year after year and for every child. We have one of those. Horizons is our favorite math curriculum. We have used it every year from Kindergarten to 5th grade. We’ll dive into Horizons Math 6 grade next school year.
Horizons is published by Alpha Omega Publications, or commonly known as AOP. The math curriculum goes from Kindergarten through Algebra, which would be 8th grade. Horizons also publish Phonics and Reading, Spelling and Vocabulary, Penmanship, Physical Education, and Health curriculum. Those go through various grade levels. We have tried some of these, but they just weren’t a good fit for our family.
Horizons math is fast-paced and uses a spiral learning approach. What is spiral learning you ask? It means that concepts are repeated throughout the year. Your child will learn a concept early in the year, then that concept is repeated again and again. This is to make sure your child really understands and masters the concepts. I love that! My kids need that review, otherwise, they forget it.
Many parents have found that Horizons math is advanced and that their children test above grade level. They have discovered that their child is half a grade or a whole grade level ahead of other curricula, like Teaching Textbooks. If you don’t know what level your child should be doing AOP offers free Math Readiness Evaluations on their website.
Lessons
The lessons in each workbook are colorful, with lots of pictures. They don’t have a list of a bunch of problems. Every section is different. Your child may start off with the new concept, then go on to some word problems, and then to a crossword-type activity. They aren’t stuck doing just one type of problem. The changing sections keep children interested and engaged.
Workbooks
Starting in first grade the workbooks have 10 lessons then a unit test. The tests are written just like lessons. They have the same colorful pictures and sections. The tests review concepts from all the prior units, not just the new concepts presented in the current unit. Kindergartners do not have tests. The test answer keys are located in the back of the Teacher Manual.
Teacher Manual
Are Teacher Manuals necessary? Not for the early grades, like kindergarten and first grade. But definitely for the later grades. You will want the answer keys!! The Teacher Manual has a page for every lesson with suggestions on how to teach the lesson. I never use those pages. In the back of the manual, you will find the lesson answer keys and the test answer keys. There are also extra practice worksheets that you can copy for your child. This is wonderful if your child needs a little more reinforcement. The lower grades have lots of addition, subtraction, and multiplication practice sheets.
Sometimes I wish that the Teacher Manual demonstrated how to work out each problem. We’ve found questions that were worded a little strangely and all that was given was the answer. Well, how did they get to that answer? The Teacher Manual also doesn’t tell you exactly what the problem was, just the answer. You have to look at your child’s workbook to see all the questions. It would be nice if they listed the question and answer.
Spiral-bound
Did you notice in my pictures that the student workbooks are spiral bound? The workbooks do not come this way. I take them apart and bound them myself. I’ve found that my kids do better when the book can lay flat on their desks. It is easier for them to handle and use. Other curriculum comes with 3 holes punched. I put those into a 3-ring binder. After homeschooling for many years, you’ll learn what suits your kids best.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced and spiral-based math curriculum, look no further than AOP’s Horizons Math. I highly recommend it. I am thrilled that it gives my kids a solid math foundation.
Curious about our favorite English curriculum, check out BJU Elementary English: A Review.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own. I was not compensated for this post.
It is labeled as Lesson 10. The teacher’s manual said to treat the test as a lesson, as to not put pressure or stress onto the student. But it also said to take the test along with the lesson. So that leads me to believe that they are separate. Thank you for your response.
I split up the test and lesson. It’s usually too much work to do the test and lesson on 1 day. I don’t put much emphasis on tests in the younger grades. It’s more like a review. My younger child does enjoy getting a grade like her older siblings, though.
we are doing Math 3, this is our first year in, I cannot find the test pages in the workbook or teacher’s manual. We are getting to our first test tomorrow, I just realized (lesson 10). Is this something I need to order separately?
The tests are generally every 10 lessons in the student workbook. Sometimes they are labeled with the lesson, for example, “Test 3 Lesson 30”. The answer key is in the Teacher Manual in the section behind the lesson answers. Hope this helps!