I really did not think this would happen, but we stopped Horizons K mid-year. I love Horizons! We’ve used it for three years with my oldest daughter (now in Horizons 2). As a matter of fact, she still uses it, and I don’t have plans to stop.

This has been a tough decision for me. I know how Horizons works. I know how to add hands-on activities, and I know how to manipulate it to work for us. I’m very comfortable with it and recommend it to many. That hasn’t changed, but, let’s be honest…this isn’t about me. It’s about my daughter.

If you prefer to watch instead of read, check out my YouTube video on this same topic HERE.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

I’ve known since November that something wasn’t right.

This decision has been quite the journey and my choice to stop was not based on a quick mishap. It’s been a process, and I’ll explain.

We started our school year the first week of August, and Horizons K starts very slow. It’s wonderful! The pictures are bright and colorful with just a few problems to complete in each section. It’s perfect. We can add a game to re-enforce a skill, and the lesson would be awesome.

Then, a few months in, it started moving very quickly. I tried not to worry. Horizons is set up in a spiral review format, so I knew she’d be getting practice again and again.

I put a large amount of energy into making it work for us.

It was tough to get through a lesson, mostly because it was a lot of problems to get through. We went outside. We played games. We added manipulatives and more movement.

The effort was worth it! We definitely enjoyed it more, but after a while, I could tell it had nothing to do with how “fun” it was anymore…

We took a couple weeks off to re-group and connect

Maybe I was trying too hard. It’s possible I was setting my expectations too high. I was dreading our math lessons, and I knew we needed a break. I prayed about it so much.

Those two weeks were needed. I highly suggest a break when you’re feeling confused about something in your homeschool. Connect with your kiddos and relax. It’s so refreshing and so helpful!

We didn’t do math for two weeks, and then the best thing happened. She ASKED to start again. YES! Ok, this is great. It’s exactly what I wanted. We jumped back in and pushed through.

Just a couple of weeks into January and she was moving on to Book 2. Woohoo! I was a proud mama, and she worked so hard to get there.

But book 2 is a whole new ball game.

The work practically triples! What used to take us 15 minutes was now taking 45 minutes to an hour. On top of it, I kept feeling like we needed to go back! She needed to keep working on things she’d learned in book one. It felt too soon to be adding in brand new material.

Maybe you’re thinking I should’ve just not made her do all of the problems, and I’m all about that! Sometimes, I cut out half the work in our second grader’s workbook. However, if I feel like the practice is necessary, I want her to do it. I can’t cut the work if full understanding is not there.

It was this weird balance of trying to build her skills and confidence while also not pushing her too hard.

I really don’t remember it moving that fast when my oldest completed it three years ago. Of course it did, but as a new homeschooling mama at that time, I’m betting I just kept encouraging her to keep going- We had to finish. (Or so I thought.)

I’m thankful I know better now. We don’t have to just keep going. I have the freedom to make the changes needed to best fit the needs of my kids.

You know, I really don’t like swapping curriculum mid-year.

I’ve done it once before, and there’s this awkward phase of trying to figure out where to start in the new curriculum and figuring out how the new book works. It’s a scary commitment to me and a big decision! I don’t want to flip-flop from book to book.

There’s a part of me that feels like I’ve done something wrong. Did I do enough? (Isn’t that the million dollar homeschool question!?) I just have to keep reminding myself though that I know my child best.

As you can see, this has been a prayer of mine for months. I don’t think it’s coincidence that something keeps prodding me to change what we are doing. It’s no mistake that it suddenly felt very clear that we needed to pick something else. I truly feel God leading me to this next step in our homeschool.

So, what now?

Well, I have researched a lot of math curriculum over the years. I really do enjoy learning about it. There’s one other program that I’ve thought about using, because it is set up in a simple, spiral review format as well. I’m referring to Christian Light Education.

As I looked through Christian Light’s kindergarten program, I immediately went to their sample books and My. Jaw. Dropped!

Three quarters of the way through the units, and we would be counting dots on a domino for math. Wait…what?! We were past that. WAY past that.

Two feelings came over me. 1) That’s way too easy for her! 2) Oh my goodness, I feel awful that I’ve been pushing my daughter so hard.

In order to practice the skills that my daughter needed, I had to purchase the level one book. I’m talking- skills we learned back in August. WOW! This program was at a completely different pace! I felt so weird getting level one, but as I reviewed the scope and sequence over and over, I knew it was a good fit.

Honestly, even level one is MUCH easier than what we are doing now, but I want to start slow. I am not in a rush. This was even more proof to me that I made the right decision. Horizons was very advanced.

My goal for the end of the year is simple and easy-going.

I have hopes to work through book one and book two of CLE to end this year. Then, we will take a summer break and I’ll pick up where we left off for her first grade year.

It’s kind of nice because normally so much time is wasted reviewing at the beginning of the year. In our case, we are doing that at the end of this year and moving forward at the start of next!

This is very new to us. I plan to update you guys soon on how it’s working for us.

Let me go on one short rant here…

First, always make the decision that’s best for your kid. Stop thinking about how YOU feel (ahem…speaking to myself) and think about your child’s needs.

Every. Child. Is. Different. Like WAY different – I have four completely different kiddos in my home, and I am so grateful that God has chosen me to be their mother. He has given each of them their unique gifts and abilities, and it is my joy and pleasure to help them grow up and live out the purpose he has set for them.

My oldest child is a numbers girl. Math comes easy for her. I only bring this up because Horizons has been amazing for her, and we plan to stick with it. This is proof that it really is about the child. As much as I love Horizons, I’ve learned it may not work for all four of my kids the same.

Think about what brought you here to this post. You probably have something on your mind about math, whether its what curriculum to buy or which one to stop! If you haven’t prayed about it, take a minute and do it. My homeschool changed drastically for the better when I started praying about specific needs in my homeschool. (God is so faithful!)

I am not one to say, “Yes! Change it! Get something new!” But, sometimes, we just know that it’s not a good fit.

There’s so many options out there! Sometimes I wish I could just have a little taste of all of them in one book. Wouldn’t that be nice? Here’s the thing – no curriculum is going to be perfect for you. Not ONE. So, pray about the steps to take in making it work. Does that mean changing it up a bit? Shortening the lesson? Adding in games? Switching to every other day?

Or…does that mean it’s time for a bigger change? It took me almost three months to finally say yes, but I’m so glad I did.