Horizons & MUS???

We are plugging away at Horizons Math 1. Its an OK program, I'm getting used to it. Maybe its even good for us!? Its not the way I would choose to teach math, and it is not the way I would choose to learn math, though. It reminds me too much of my math in school. I wonder what my school days would've been like if I had really understood math before moving on. I wonder what my school days would've been like if I had known how to move numbers around and manipulate them - twist them into a certain point of view. And so...I am thinking about supplementing Horizons Math 1. I think we NEED something that will keep us moving forward, and Horizons is great for that. Its like AEROBICS in the exercise world:) But I feel I need a little STRENGTH TRAINING, too! LOL. And so, I am thinking about adding that element of strength training into our daily mathematical exercises. I think MUS might be a good choice. How will I juggle two math programs?!? Here are some options:

1. Do Horizons every-other-day, MUS on the in between days. (ex: Horizons M, W, F & MUS T, Th, F, or something like that)
2. Do Horizons until we get bored or hit a brick wall. Put Horizons away & pull out MUS (this rotation might occur every few weeks or so)
3. Keep up with Horizons & simply add in watching the MUS DVD & Teacher's Guide instructions - incorporate this in our Horizons practice.

Next, how will we finance such a venture as 2 math programs running simultaneously? That's a GOOD question. We currently have two houses & are trying to sell one of them. As soon as that house sells, I have a few congratulatory "you-made-it-through" prizes in mind for myself! First, I want a laminator. A good laminator that can laminate file folders. Second, I think I want another math program! In the meantime (while I'm dreaming of laminators & MUS...) I am hoping to simply make all my payments on time, and still feed my children.

Horizons Math 1 - A Review

This is a review of Horizons Math 1

Uses a spiral approach - a subject is briefly introduced, practiced a few times, and then added to later. Very visual - workbook pages use a colorful, organized format. Review is mixed in with new concepts on workbook pages. There may be 4 or more different tasks to complete on each workbook page (i.e., it isn't just a page full of addition problems). Book is fast paced & moves quickly.

Horizons math is GREAT for:

• Visual learners
• Kids that are easily bored by focusing on a single concept at one time
• Kids that do not do well with the Mastery approach
• Kids that like a fast pace
• Teachers that want continual review throughout the year
• Teachers that want a program laid out for them to follow, with a daily plan

Horizons is TERRIBLE for:

• Auditory & hands-on learners, those who do not do well visually
• Kids that need to focus on a single concept & master it

Other disadvantages to Horizons:

Horizons' pace:
You spend a week's lessons memorizing addition facts 1-9, and a week later are memorizing addition facts 1-18. A child is expected to count by 2s to 20 before starting the program, but only spend 1 week on practicing counting by 2s to 100 before switching over to counting by 3s to 100. This is the very same reason I abandoned Singapore Math Earlybird K: the pace did not suit us - it went too fast and we were never able to master something before moving on.

In conclusion: Some people really like Horizons math. Horizons math is not for everyone. It does not offer enough hands-on and auditory teaching methods. It has a quick pace that may not work for everyone. For us: I give Horizons Math 1 TWO THUMBS DOWN.

Starting Tues! Here's the FINAL plan...

It's the final plan, but I'm sure it'll get tweaked!! We'll run year-round, 6 weeks on, 1 week off.

SONLIGHT CORE 1 BIBLE
SL 1 HISTORY
SL 1 SCIENCE
SL 1 READ-ALOUDS
HWT 1
HORIZONS MATH 1
SWR

Extras (i.e., things in spare time, just for fun, when kids need a little direction!):
PIANO - Music for Little Mozarts (Alfred)
ART - HOW TO TEACH ART TO CHILDREN (Evan-Moor)
History Pockets (Evan-Moor) - optional
Story of the World (? optional)

What's next?...Sonlight!

We opted to use Sonlight's Core1 for my 5yo. Its due to arrive any day now. Once I get myself organized, we'll get started. I have no idea how we'll balance all the great reading with an active, impatient 3yo around!

We ordered the complete everything-you-need core, which comes with math. Surprise!! I would've sworn 1 week ago that we were using BJU's math for 1st grade. Looks like we are using Horizons math, for now. I'll also have SL's LA, which sounds very good - I'm not sure whether we will use it though, or if we will alter it by slowing it down. I've found that repeat readings with my dd work wonders for her reading. So it is important that we focus on easy reading assignments and fully master them before we move on to the next. It gives DD5 a feeling of accomplishment to be able to fluently read a book that she stumbled over at first. So we'll see on SL's LA.

I need to get myself on a schedule! I've been floundering in all of my house-hold, school, and other duties. Partly because I've been researching curriculum for 6+mths now. I'm so relieved to have made a decision, and to know that all of it is planned out & arriving in a box. I just hope it works for us!! In general, I've found a literature approach seems to make us all happier than a workbook approach.

Fluency

I think (after a full year of trying different things, and researching, and worrying) I finally discovered the magic tool for developing fluency. The tool is: have the child read, and re-read, and read again the same book until they can read it perfectly. I think my downfall with BJU is my intense focus on always reading new words, doing all the workbook pages, but focusing very little on the readers. I think it would've been better if we had read the BJU readers several times a week, even if that meant skipping a few workbook pages. I've noticed that the more we read a particular book, the more DD5 reads it fluently, and less words are sounded out. Eventually, she will have seen enough of the same words over and over again, and will recognize them instantly in new books. At least, that is the plan:) Hope it works!!

We Finished K!!

We finished kindergarten!! We ended Phonics early - we did units 1-5, but did not complete unit 6. BJU has Unit 6 as optional, anyway. We did finish our math, from beginning to end. I feel like this was a big accomplishment! I was so excited to finish; now I am left with a small twinge of sadness and the feeling of "what now?" We actually had a full week or more of math left, but upon hearing that we were almost done, DD5 said "let's finish it tonight!" It actually took us 2 days to finish (she wanted to keep going, but got tired out after 3 workbook pages, so I insisted that we finish the next day). She was so excited about "graduating kindergarten". She even decided herself that she should have a reward, and the reward would be that the whole family sits down and plays Barbies with her. And so we did. Now she is insisting that we should start 1st grade this Sunday! LOL. I'm not sure why she is so motivated, when she gave me such a hard time throughout the year. I realize now the importance of small rewards to motivate her to keep going. In retrospect, I could've offered more praise, and small rewards for meeting certain goals.

De-Programming

I'm going through De-Programming right now:) I've finally learned that there is Absolutely NO Perfect Program out there that is going to *Change Our Lives*. I've come to the decision that we aren't going to use a phonics program right now. Reading Reflex looked great as a program; however, I don't think it fills what we need right now.

Right now, I think DD5 is fully ready to gain the tools for advanced phonics WITHOUT actually reading. All programs incorporate a system of
1. learn a new skill (ex: ay says /A/)
2. practice new skill within words (ex: day, may, say)
3. read a story or practice reading a series of sentences.
4. some may incorporate writing the words, too.

We're going to plug away at #1 (learn a new skill), but I am going to limit our practice of the new skill. I think I am going to put reading on hold. We'll continue to work on our 250 word cards, since that is going very well. I'll teach the new skills that apply to our 250 word cards, so that she can understand the mechanics behind what we are reading. But I'm really not so sure that we are going to read any books or do a whole lot of practice right now. I'm OK with where we are at and I have FAITH that -when the time is right - I'll have an avid little reader. In the meantime, we're 4 weeks away from finishing our K math, we're having a blast with our science, and DD5 is finally getting in to handwriting (something I put on the back burner until recently). I'm letting go and just trying to have more fun with schooling.

Everything I needed to know...I learned in Homeschool!

Homeschooling has taught me many things:

1.) Yes, it is enough. Repeat after me: Yes, it IS enough.
In the library today, a wonderful, well meaning mother recommends a book of children's poetry. Immediately, my mind is spinning, as I flip through the book. My children wouldn't like this, it would be torture trying to read this to them! Do we do enough poetry? Obviously, they aren't getting exposure to all the things that public schooled children get - the teachers there teach poetry. Am I doing enough? You know what? My children have been exposed to poetry. And one day, 10 years from now, my daughter might pick up a book on poetry. It might become her favorite thing in the whole wide world. And then she can make up for all the years that I didn't "formally" teach poetry. Yes, it IS enough.

2.) Gaps can be fixed. Easy!
By the end of K, my dd was reading very slowly (and still is reading very very slowly...LOL). We had attacked sight words phonetically, so she was sounding out words like "was" "and" etc. Whereas the public schooled K kids were running through easy readers in a breeze. I did some looking online, and yup - we had a gap. We lacked Fluency. Easily resolved: we drew up all the common words on flashcards. We still taught them phonetically. We sounded them out, again and again and again. We worked only on those words. By the end of a week, she could take the first 12 words and read them on sight. When we see them in books, she instantly recognizes words such as "are" and "one". Gap filled and I am happy with her progress.

3.) That magic moment really will happen. It really will!
Oh, it takes sooo much faith. I'm still waiting for our Great Big Reading Magic Moment. You know, the one where she wakes up one morning and can read the cereal box, and everything else that falls before her eyes. I'm waiting for the day when she can read "game" without reading "gu - a- m - ee, no I mean gu - A - m" (long pause between sounds). But I have faith that that Magic Moment is going to come. It has come before - my dd, slow to do anything new, finally ate solid foods (at 10-11 months, no less), rolled over (9mths), walked (14mths), dressed herself (3+yrs), etc. We had a magic moment the other day: I pulled out math and said ceremoniously "Today, we will learn to count by 2s". DD5 says "oh, do you mean 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 - like that?" Me: "Um, yeah, like that". That was a short lesson:)