Homeschool Curriculum Review: Elementary Math
It can be overwhelming to look for a homeschool math curriculum with all the available options. I know I was at first! The biggest thing I wish I knew from the get go, was to consider if my child would learn better from a spiral or mastery based learning method.
other things to consider
I would also recommend looking at how the student workbook and teacher’s guide are presented and arranged. Are they easy to follow? How much teacher prep is required? Do you need to purchase additional supplies? Is it mostly teacher led, student led, or both? And while price shouldn’t be the main factor, it does play into a decision when on a budget.
The following are the two homeschool math curriculums we’ve used. You’ll find brief explanations, sample pages, purchase links, and a few pros/cons!
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Horizons
The Horizons Math program uses a spiral based learning method, is easy to use, and offers attention grabbing worksbooks. My kids have loved the simple instructions, variety of exercises, and colorful pages. It’s been a huge blessing for them to be able to grab the workbook and start on things they already know how to do, with little instruction from me.
Horizons uses a spiral based learning format, which means topics are introduced at a base level, and then re-introduced every few days, going deeper each time with less help given. This has meant less stress in our household, because if the child doesn’t master the concept right away, it will be brought up again later! The kids have appreciated being able to “win” with some parts of their work, even if some concepts are still being worked on. It’s not an all or nothing approach.
The Teacher’s Guide is a wealth of information including daily lesson plans, resources, answer keys, and extra drill worksheets. The daily lesson plan lists the objectives, teaching tips, materials needed (flashcards, rulers, measuring cups, etc.), and a break down of how each student activity should be presented/example problems to work through together first/how much help to offer. It’s been such a help for my child that struggles with math! While you could probably get by without this, I highly recommend it, since it literally plans everything for you!
There are a total of 160 numbered lessons Every 10 lessons there is a test. On average, one of my children can finish a lesson in about 15-20 minutes (more math minded) and the other can take up to 45 minutes (creative mind).
The Horizons homeschool math curriculum can be purchased as a set (Teacher’s Guide and Student Books) or separately. The Teacher’s Guide is reusable, so I just purchase new Student Books each year. Horizons usually has a sale each spring. Christianbook is an affiliate of mine and offers sale prices throughout the year.
Pros: Easy to use, engaging, no teacher planning required.
Cons: Manipulatives are not included, drill sheets need to be copied if you want to reuse them.
Math-U-See
The Math-U-See program uses a mastery based learning method, has straightforward exercises, and offers optional manipulatives. The student workbooks have clean pages (no graphics), which was great the first couple of years as the kids were easily distracted.
Math-U-See uses a mastery based learning program, which means concepts are introduced once and worked on for about a week before moving to the next concept. This limited their opportunity to work by themselves. Previous concepts are reviewed during unit tests. One of my children did fine with this approach. The other was often brought to tears if stuck on a certain concept since it was hard to move forward and they felt deflated.
The Teacher’s Guide is much simpler. It contains an explanation of the concept being taught and a few example problems. Solutions are provided in the back of the guide. If you purchase a Digital Pack, it comes with a DVD/access code to video lessons, which my kids were impartial to, so we rarely used it.
There are a total of 30 concepts taught. Each concept has lettered worksheets A-F and then a test. There are four unit tests. We did have extra space throughout the year to spend more time on a concept and/or miss days without falling behind, which was nice.
The Math-U-See homeschool math curriculum can be purchased in several different sets. The Teacher’s Guide, Digital Pack, and Integer Block Kit are reusable. I have never noticed this program go on sale.
Pros: Straightforward exercises, no teacher planning needed, manipulatives available, optional online videos.
Cons: Student workbook not visually engaging.
Overall, the Horizons homeschool math curriculum has been a better fit for our family the last three years. While they do reference using different sets of flashcards, I’ve managed without them by writing things out on the dry erase board, or making them out of index cards (kids have fun helping!).
If you’re unsure which would be better for your child, have them look at sample pages and see if they’re drawn to a certain one. If you have homeschooling friends nearby, ask to preview what they use.
And remember, there is NEVER a wrong time to switch up the curriculum you’re using if things just aren’t flowing. The beauty of homeschooling is we get to pick and choose what works best for our families. So if something isn’t jiving – try something new!
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