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Horizons is a brightly illustrated, engaging workbook curriculum filled with consumable lessons and hands-on activities. Designed with fast-paced lessons, Horizons uses a spiral learning method to help your student master concepts through the process of introduction, review, and reinforcement. This learning method allows students to quickly grasp difficult concepts in a colorful, motivating format. Available in grades PreK-12, Horizons has a precise curriculum structure and six core subjects, plus the preschool course.
Website: Horizons
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(22 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: cost, poor explanations of critical concepts
Grades Used: 1, 3, 5
I was new to homeschooling last year so I asked for advice and suggestions for good curriculum for a 1st grader, 3rd grader, and a 5th grader. Multiple people said that Horizons was a really good math workbook program. Well, none of my homeschoolers liked it and the 5th grader in particular really struggled with it. I found that sometimes concepts were skipped over, poorly explained, or not explained at all. all 3 of my kids were on grade level if not somewhat above, so it made no sense that they had so many issues and struggles with Horizons. i would never use this curriculum again. it was very expensive and not worth the cost and the total frustration.
Cons: Nothing really
Grades Used: 3rd
Horizons Math is very rigorous, but amazing. The problems are one page per day (front and back). It kept a challenging pace and reinforced old concepts while learning new ones. If following the teacher's guide, it suggests review before the worksheets for memorization type like multiplication and extra worksheets. We usually skipped it, but will try a little harder next year. If doing the worksheets and the extras, it could easily take up 2 hours of our day (I'm just talking math, here). HOWEVER, I do notice that my kids are almost a full grade level more advanced than your typically public school child. We will continue Horizons Math. I didn't like the Spelling. After a couple weeks, I only used their list of words each week and taught them my own way. I recommend the Reading and Phonics. They work well together, and I love that they read stories I read as a child.
Cons: So many pages to do
Grades Used: Kindergarten
I used Horizons for my sons kindergarten through AOA and it’s great and he has learned allot and will be going into 1st grade reading by himself. The cons are though that’s it’s allot of paperwork per lesson on phonics 5+pages front and back which took 2-3 hours just for phonics the math is 1 page front and back which takes 30 mins. It’s allot for a little guy to do so we took allot of breaks and eat snacks and now we’re down to 2 hours but we really had to work to get them done. There isn’t allot of Jesus in the books but he’s 6 years old he’s going to learn most of that from me so I don’t mind for now as he gets older I hope they add more into it. Ending the lesson by reading him from the little story book that usually matches the lesson is really nice calm way to end our school day. Considering all the bad reviews on here for other curriculum I’ll stick to Horizons curriculum it’s not bad and should get easier as time goes on and he starts to work on his own. The books are colorful and engaging not allot of coloring pages but he still learned and laughed at the silly pictures which helped him remember the lessons. Hope this review was helpful.
Cons: Lack of Bible, Science, and Social Stdludies materials is a huge issue for price point. The math doesn't give adequate explanation for teaching new concepts at times.
Grades Used: Kindergarten
Academically challenging, fast paced, and colorful. Worksheet focus with little to no physical activities. Lacks Bible, science, and social studies material completely. The math instruction doesn't have in depth explanation for new concepts and had to seek secondary sources for better explanation. Requires up front planning and supply gathering, not open and go. Taught concepts earlier than other curriculums very comparable to some 1st grade material. Few minor errors in printing.
Cons: Books are hard to write on unless you tear out pages due to regular binding
Grades Used: First and Second
I've used the 1st grade and am beginning the 2nd grade curriculum. We only use the math, phonics & reading, and spelling & vocabulary. My son has done really well and doesn't get bored with the workbooks.
Each math lesson tends to be just one page, front and back. There are 2 student workbooks for an entire school year, and you're supposed to do one lesson per day. We often do several. There are tests every "so many" lessons (I forget how many).
Spelling and vocabulary is nicely formatted. It's made for a weekly list that you test the first day, do all the lessons during the week and test the last day.
Phonics and reading tends to be a lot more tedious for us. Some lessons are several pages front and back. My son is 6 and is reading independently fairly well, and the 1st grade phonics workbook (book 1) has been very slow for him. I'm having him do it for review. Definitely take a look at that one to match it with your child's reading level.
I only use the math teachers manual occasionally. It offers concept building ideas that really cement the knowledge (teaching number chart memorization, etc) but I could have gotten away without it. The spelling teachers manual is completely unnecessary. The only reason I used the phonics teachers manual is when I cannot tell what a word a picture is supposed to represent. I one got the math teachers manual for our next grade level and that's because I like the supplementary info and resources. Also, I can super quickly check answers.
Overall we love this program. We will be having a 1st grade and 2nd grade student each using them this year.
Spiral binding would be incredibly helpful for people like me who don't like testing pages out of books!
Cons: Too many errors
Grades Used: First
Far easier to use than Lifepac, which is what I used in prior years. However, just as many errors in spelling, grammar, and on answer keys.
Cons: none
Grades Used: K-3
My son used Horizens before switching to Monarch last year.I loved the ease of use and instructions and he loved that it was cool and quick
Grades Used: K
I loved the Horizons Math program and we are going to try doing a few of the other subjects offered next year. The program was easy to use and understand. The way that they reinforce concepts throughout the program was awesome and it gave my son confidence to do most of it on his own. It does take a lot of time at first, but once they get the idea, they truly flourish with this program. It also is very affordable and you can get by without the teachers guide - I never picked mine up.
Cons: only goes through 6th grade
Grades Used: 3rd-6th
Great math program! Easy to use and understand. Enough variety in each lesson to keep kids interested and to reinforce concepts. Very economical! You can purchase new workbooks for around $25 and I've found used teacher books for $5.
Highly recommend!
Cons: math stops at 6th grade
Grades Used: 3-6th
I used Horizons MATH with all three of my kids. I switched from A Beka when I realized A Beka was big on memorizing facts but had no basis for those facts. For example, when learning VERY BASIC algebraic skills such as 3 + n = 5, A Beka simply said "use your knowledge of math facts to solve for n." I wanted my kids to know FROM THE VERY BEGINNING the MOST BASIC concept in algebra that whatever you do to one side of the equation you MUST do to the other side. I'm sure A Beka taught that later on, but Horizons taught that from the beginning. All three of my kids tested very high in math on standardized tests and ALSO scored EXTREMELY HIGH in critical thinking skills. I attribute that to the Horizons Math curriculum. I was EXTREMELY disappointed that the Math program ended at 6th grade level. The colorful workbooks are very engaging.
Cons: often too many problems
Grades Used: 1st, 2nd
My 1st son used the 1st grade book at kindergarten age, then the 2nd grade book. I found it easy to use, I did not get the teacher's book as my husband is extremely good in math, so I just shifted questions to him. Even though my son was good in math, the amount of problems was a bit daunting at times. I do not like that they have a test and a lesson the same day. There are 80 lessons in each book (2 books per year) so we do one each day, which drags the year out. Son number 2 is currently using the 2nd grade book. It has worked well for him, again no teacher's book. I often cut the number of problems down, which is actually motivating for this one. But overall I like the curriculum, and would recommend it for most learning styles.
Cons: sometimes to many problems
Grades Used: kindergarten to second
We have used this for three years and love it. My son tends to pretend he never learned something if you go to long with out discussing it so the spiral method is great. You do not have to have reviews because the curriculum does it. Sometimes there is a few to many math problems of the same kind but I only make him do a few and if he does not get them wrong he can skip to the next section. I will be using it next year for third grade and kindergarten. I do wish it went all the way through high school because it has worked so well for us.
Cons: That it doesn't go into high school
Grades Used: 4th-6th
With a Computer Science/Math Minor college degree, I understood how important math is to be taught and taught well to a child. If the basics of math cannot be explained and learned in the early stages of math, it will cause frustration and anxiety not only for the parent but the child, decreasing his/her self-confidence, then lack of interest in math.
Horizons Math is colorful, fun, repetitive but not in a grueling way. Because of Horizons Math, my daughter was able to grab concepts easier in order to move on to higher math.
I highly recommend Horizons math for the elementary years. Too bad it doesn't go into High school.
Cons: none
Grades Used: K,1,2,3
We love Horizons! I agree with some of the other reviews about the Teacher's Manual however, I purchased the 1st grade and never used it. I do think I will purchase for the 4th grade to help me explain more difficult concepts=-) I reccommend it to everyone!
Grades Used: 4
My son enjoys this math program, but since this is our first year of homeschool he has nothing to compare it to. I think it's easy to teach as new concepts are introduced in an easy to follow manner. I have the teacher book but I rarely use it. There are a lot of riddle/game/mystery type problems, where the answers to the math problems correlate to the riddle/mystery answers, they make it interesting for him.
Cons: teacher manual is not needed though they tell you it is,
Grades Used: K-3
I have used with multiple kids. It has worked well for each one and each one has had different strength and weaknesses in math. We have been transitioning over to Saxon 54 after the 3rd grade book with no problems. I find the constant review of concepts helpful especially for my one child who struggles a bit more with school.
Sometimes there are a ton of one type of problem so if it is something that the child has mastered, I will cross out all but 5 or 6. In my opinion, if a child has mastered a concept like adding with carrying, there is no need to do 20 problems like that in addition to all the other problems that are on the worksheet.
I mistakenly bought the teacher's manual the first year and hardly used it. It has been easy to figure out what the new concepts are and to teach them whatever way I need to in order to get the child to understand. Most people could probably skip the teacher manuals at least in the first couple of years. Since I have not used this beyond 3rd grade, I couldn't say if they are needed after that.
A good solid program.
Cons: Teacher manual is difficult to follow verbatim for one child
Grades Used: K, 1
We've used K twice and grade 1 once so far. This is definitely a rigorous enough curriculum--I found that compared to our school district the K book covered what was done to the half-way point of grade 1 in local schools.
The spiral format of introducing and revisiting concepts in an evenly spaced manner definitely works for our children and concepts are mastered. The book is colorful yet not overly stimulating to our visually sensitive child.
The drawbacks to me are that many manipulatives are required if you follow the teacher's manual exactly, and we've had to add some drills and Math Wrap-Ups for one of our children to reinforce adding and subtracting according to fact families. Also, the directions for each lesson are geared more to at least a small classroom where the teacher is following a traditional lesson plan to introduce a concept, teach it, review it, and have students practice in the book.
We have 5 kids, 3 of whom are doing K, 1, and 2 this year, so I want something that is scripted for homeschooling one child and easy to use. With this, I feel that to present the topics I need to review ahead of time what materials, worksheets, flash cards, etc. need to be at hand. Having said that, this inconvenience has NOT been enough of a reason to switch programs due to the spiral format and calibur of material learned at each level. Overall I do recommend it.
Grades Used: 2nd
I really like the Horizon Spelling series. It is challening and offers variety. HUGE improvements in spelling by the end of each week. The assisgnments are broken down into managable lessons. I would recommend it to a friends and will continue to use it.
Cons: For us, haven't found any down side yet. Well, my daughter says they need to put it in a spiral so the book with lay flat!
Grades Used: K-2
Horizons has been a great Math curriculum for us. We tried Math-U-See, but it didn't work for us. My DD is right-brained and visual, so the colors, drawings, and new concepts keep her interest up and they give just enough work. You can always find your own drill work is needed for more practice. Overall, we really like it.
Cons: Ends with 6th grade
Grades Used: K-6th, each grade several times so far
I have been using Horizons math since 2000 after using Abeka, Making Math Meaninful, and Miquon math. It can be used with kids with different learning styles and even with kids with learning issues. It's easy to supplement with games and manipulatives. Basically, it's very flexible. There are supplemental worksheets which are really only necessary if a child needs extra practice. I have all the teachers' manuals. While not necessary for lower elementary for correction purposes, there are lots of useful ideas within the lessons on presenting information. That is helpful if a child needs information presented differently. Also, once a child hits 4th grade, the math tends to be a bit more challenging...I like having the answers in the answer key for ease of correcting and speeding up my end of the process. Also in upper grades, there are more advanced testing opportunities if a parent desires such a thing (ie quarter tests, etc.) Overall, this is my favorite math curriculum. My older children were more than ready for Pre-algebra (Saxon) after completing the 6th grade curriculum for HOrizons. I wish Horizons continued into the middle school ages, as Saxon just does not compare to ease of use or in content.
Cons: Needs a little more work per lesson
Grades Used: K & 1
My daughter used this for Kindergarten last year and was well ahead of the game. We use 1st Grade for her this year and her brother is using Kindergarten this year. Both my kids love to do their math! With the Kindergarten program though, I tend to give 2 lessons per day or else my children would have breezed through math. Love this program!
Cons: I don't really use the parent handbook
Grades Used: K and 1st Grade
So far I love this math program. Most days my son can do it independently unless they are introducing a new concept. I bought the parent guide for 1st grade and don't really use it. I highly recommend it for K and 1st grade. I will be using it next year too!