Horizon's vs Singapore

[Mercy]

One more question I will put out tonight...
Has anyone had experience w horizons?
Both of my schoolers are using it now without complaint. My 11yo is a bit behind, in level 3. We have used all sorts of math curriculum and we seemed to have settled ok in horizons for now. Now that we have been using hod, I really value Carries choices! We used Singapore a long time ago but not long enough to form a good opinion of it.

Also, for placement...
My little one in lhfhg has done horizons k...would 1a/b work? She seems to place in 1b, but maybe it would be ok to start in 1a?? And my 11yo who is in preparing, just finishing horizons 3, seems to be placing in 4b or maybe 5? Any experiences w placement from horizons?

Thank you, thank you so much for your help!!
Mercy

[Daph]

I've used both Horizons and Singapore, though I know a little more about the latter. Singapore is more of a mental Math. Singapore Math teaches you to solve problems in a much different way. For instance, instead of looking at 25 + 10, Singapore teaches you how to look at it as 20 + 10 + 5 or 2 10s + 1 10 + 5 ones. They break it down to help the student solve the problem more quickly in their head. (That was a bad example, I think.) LOL

Singapore seems to cover different concepts more quickly than Horizons. They introduce multiplication in 2a or 2b. Their site has a Math placement guide: http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

My oldest loved Singapore, and we used it until Teacher Mom became unable to explain the concepts. (I am not a Math person and was left behind in school because of it.) I decided to go with Horizons for my dd5 because it was cheaper, but will switch back to Singapore this Fall.

[Mom2Monkeys]

Ive used both as well. We placed horizontally. As in, Horizons 2 to Singapore 2a. I wonder if you are taking a guess as to their placement based on topics or if they actually took the placement test?? Your younger would be great to start in 1a just to grow into the Singapore way. It will get plenty challenging, plenty soon. your older, I strongly caution about starting too high. I would suggest a horizontal move to Singapore 3 from Horizons 3 and move mire quickly through it rather than starting too high. Singapore 3 will equate with most 4th and 5th grade public school classrooms which I now know from direct experience. Horizons is ahead as well, but in a very different way. There's no mental math for one thing so those thinking skills required in Singapore will need to be taught from a more basic level. Singapore will have way fewer problems than Horizons and it will not had mostly review with a few problems doe the new topic for each lesson. Horizons is super spiral, and Singapore is more mastery than spiral.
I have to run doctor a hurt kid, but I hope this is helpful.

[Mercy]

Yes, I was just looking at what skills they have worked on or I know they have mastered.

My 11yo does well thinking mathematically. I think I will take time here this summer (they aren't quite done with their workbooks now) and have them do the placement test. I am just a little nervous switching since horizons seems to be working well for us. I am kind of thinking if it is not broken don't fix it kinda thing...I think I was just asking for someone to talk me into trying Singapore....lol!

Thanks for your precious time ladies!!
Mercy

[Daph]

LOL I can so totally relate to wanting someone to talk me into something. LOL

Now that I've used Horizons, I can honestly say that I prefer Singapore. I'm about to go crazy with Horizons with my preschooler. She's ready to do more, but the workbook is holding her back.

[my3sons]

We are loving Singapore! But, I do realize that when it comes to math, there are many choices to consider, and each family may have different preferences. Here are a few posts for you to read to see why Carrie chose Singapore Math, and why my family enjoys it:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4271&p=31537#p31537
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=112

I will add that along with the many, many, many academic reasons I use Singapore math, I also use it for a few more simple reasons too. First, it does not take long to do. Second, it is not expensive. And third, it is scheduled out for me in the HOD guides. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[holyhart]

I might be the lone voice here but we had to drop Singapore and actually we switched to Horizons. Math was becoming miserable for us. My dd was crying daily during math and often before we started math. It just wasn't working for us. I REALLY wanted it to work so I could continue to use Carrie's hands on activities. Also, I am not a curriculum-is-greener-on-the-otherside-of-the-computer kinda gal, but after prayer and talking it over with the Mr., we decided that we needed to make a switch before she got further behind and got too discouraged in math.

And I'm happy to report that Horizons has worked wonderful for us! She is now able to quickly do her math and understanding it. There are no more tears. In fact, this past weekend my parents took her to my grandfather's for a visit which is a 3 hour drive. I packed her some school work and coloring and a few other things to do in the car to help pass the time and told her that she should do the school work before she colored or listened to any audios. She did her math page first!!! (BTW, this TOTALLY impressed my parents! They couldn't believe that she not only did her math first, but that she did any of her school work at all with me not there to 'remind' her.....I was so proud of her! We have a sign up on our kitchen wall that reads "Character is doing what's right...even when you don't want to...even when no one else is around". She showed good character! ). And other than transposing a few numbers (part of the disgraphia), she did fabulous.

Ok, long story short. One of the beauties of Carrie's programs is that even if you need to change out a part of the program, you don't have to scrap the rest. While I miss the hands on activites Carrie already planned out for me, it was definately the right choice for my daughter. Still not sure what we will do in the future for the rest of our children. Currently ds is using the Singapore in LHFHG.

[Daph]

The main thing is that you found something you and your daughter love, and that's great! In PS, you have to deal with what you're given, and if you don't get it, you fail and move along to the next year where you fail some more, because you didn't master it the last. (I speak from experience.)

We had issues with Math, just because I had trouble teaching it, and moved onto something else, which is working really well for us. It's great that there are so many programs available! When my husband was homeschooling, they just had Abeka and the library.

[Mercy]

Thank you all for your honest opinions! I really like the look of Singapore and might start right out with my younger ds when he gets there, but I do think it would be wise of me to stick with what is working. We have changed already too many times and if Singapore doesn't click, we will be that much more behind...

Thank you again for your time!
Mercy

[Daph]

Yeah, switching too much is not a good idea since all the programs introduce things at different times. You'll leave lots of gaps (same with Language Arts). We have this problem with Language Arts, and I'm considering "starting over" with Rod and Staff 2 to help fill in some of the gaps that we've missed with swapping around so much.