This year I made an unexpected switch in our math curriculum. For the longest time, I was nervous to pick something new from what we started with in our homeschool. There’s something intimidating about picking a math curriculum…I’m not sure why! Well, I am – math matters and it builds on itself. You can’t just jump from one to another and not expect some bumps.
I want to share with you in this post what led me to make the switch, the transitional parts of switching and how we are liking the new program.
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Horizons K
We started with Horizons math when my oldest daughter was in kindergarten. It worked great. We had no problems, and I was happy with it. When my second daughter entered kindergarten, I went with the same plan. Horizons was not a great fit for her, but I spent a LOT of energy and time and stress trying to make it work.
If you’re interested in hearing more about this experience, check out my YouTube video where I talk in detail about why I dropped Horizons for my second daughter.
Sometime right before spring, I made the switch to Christian Light Education (CLE) for her, and it was like a breath of fresh air. We actually started with the Math 1, because the Horizons K book had pushed her so far ahead of their K level. We worked through the first unit and then paused for a summer break. I was confident it was the right curriculum to continue with at the start of first grade for her.
Horizons 3
That next school year, when my oldest daughter entered third grade, I bought the Horizons set as a habit. This meant I would have one child using Christian Light and one using Horizons. We had used Horizons every year for her since kinder. It was working, so why change it? I was tempted to, but I decided not to think too hard about it and stick with it.
The more I became familiar with how CLE was working, the more I realized the gaps in our Horizons program with my oldest daughter. She struggled with word problems and memorizing her math facts, and CLE focused on both of those things so well!
Then, we started to get to parts of a lesson in the Horizons 3 book where I had no idea what the student book was instructing her to do. I’d pull out the teacher book as a reference and the directions would say something like “discuss estimation”…OK – but how? What should we discuss? Can you be more specific? Check out my YouTube video for an example of this. It’s actually quite shocking!
Now, I taught math in the classroom, so I know about estimation, but what exactly were they wanting? There were no tricks, strategies, or examples. It just said to discuss it. So, I taught her what I know…turns out it was too much! Once we got started in the student workbook, I had to back track. I felt so misguided by the teacher guide.
Then, there would be directions in the student workbook that would be so unclear- it was impossible to figure out what to do unless you pulled out the teacher book for the explanation. That doesn’t make sense to me. A student should be able to read the instructions and work.
At this point I was so frustrated each day when I pulled out the book. Comparing it to CLE in my head constantly, I felt like it wasn’t as good.
Testing out Christian Light Math for 3rd Grade
One thing I love about Christian Light is their curriculum is broken up into little units. You can purchase just one of them for about $5, and it’s the perfect way for me to try out their program. So that’s exactly what I did.
I picked the unit that would best fit my third grader, and we started there. If we hated it, we could always go back to Horizons. Well, spoiler alert, we LOVED it – and haven’t looked back! Let me tell you why.
Designed for the Student
Each lesson in Christian Light starts with a new skill. The skill is explained and demonstrated in the student workbook with pictures and examples. This is such a great way to start independent learning. My daughter attempts to do the new skill on her own, and we look over it together when she finishes the lesson. Everything she needs to complete the lesson is in her book.
I use the teacher guide to check her work daily, but honestly, that’s it! It does provide me with a flashcard schedule as well as a quick tip or suggestion to help with the new skill. Other than that, the student is learning to become more independent!
Mental Math Strategies
CLE is so good about teaching mental math strategies! I’m not the best mental math student, and I love that it actually forces my daughter to compute problems mentally. Horizons wasn’t good about doing this at all. It’s possible it was in the teacher book somewhere, but let’s be honest, that thing was so unfriendly and hard to look at.
My daughter has started to realize this as well. She gets so excited about all the things she can do in her head now, thanks to the mental strategies the book has taught her.
Daily Checklist
At the start of a lesson there is a daily checklist for the student to practice certain skills. Skip-counting, math facts, and speed drills are on the list which makes for a great routine in practicing these things daily. We have learned how to adjust the checklist to best fit our needs (in other words, sometimes we skip it), but I have seen so much benefit in regular practice.
My daughter’s fact memorization has improved so much and she’s being challenged to count out loud in ways that she hadn’t before. For example, counting by 4s forward AND backward. When we first started this, it was like a foreign language, but with the help of a hundred chart and routine practice she’s really caught on well. What a great way to form number sense!
Story Problems/ Word Problems
The first time we came across a story problem in level 3, the student book walked my daughter through every step. It told her what information to look for and how to choose the operation she would use. It provided her with a space to work out her problem as well as a line to write her answer. This was just what she needed!
She actually told me that the word problems in CLE were so much easier. I had to point out to her that they were exactly the same! This new book just broke it down so much nicer, making it easier to understand.
Learning Gaps Between the Two Programs
There were definitely some things we had to “catch up” on, but it was easy for us to do. For example, some of the geography (rays, lines, angles) was not covered in what we completed for Horizons, but it was easy enough to teach her quickly. Plus, Christian Light encourages the use of a reference chart, and those items are on there as well to remind her, if needed.
We’ve also had to brush up on math facts. In the third grade level they are practicing multiplication, but it’s so important that the addition and subtraction facts are solid too. So we’ve really been focusing on those flashcards first. She still gets lots of multiplication practice in her book, but I don’t plan to get her the multiplication cards until she gets through the addition/subtraction set.
Some Final Thoughts
When we were working with Horizons, I felt like we were just doing worksheets every day…which we were! Now, I did know this going into each year. If I wanted “more”, I had to come up with it on my own. For a while, that worked, but once I was homeschooling more than one child that became difficult.
After switching to Christian Light, it feels like my daughter is actually learning something and improving daily. She’s still just working in the book, but it’s enjoyable and meaningful. The units are themed and the mix of flashcards and drills and counting and using a reference chart…all of those routine skills put together feel fresh and not monotonous. She enjoys doing the work and the spiral review format keeps everything fresh in her brain.
Horizons is also a spiral review, but there were SO MANY problems to do. We were skipping half of the sections each day. We have enjoyed that CLE only asks for a few problems in each section.
I’ve heard people say before that the lessons in CLE are long, but we have found a way to make it work for us. On days we need to move quickly, we skip the checklist at the beginning. If we get to one of the review sections and I know my daughter knows it well, we skip it. Most days we aren’t doing every single thing in the lesson.
I’m So Happy We Made the Switch
After using Horizons for three years, it really felt tough to make a switch, but I’m so glad we did. The transition was smooth and the benefits I’ve seen have far outweighed the time spent in adjusting to a new program.
If you’d like to see more about Christian Light, check out the curriculum look through on my YouTube channel.
