I am currently supplementing Horizons Math K with Saxon 1 for Little Bug. We are starting our 5th week with Saxon 1 and I am very pleased with the results.

We’ve been plugging along with Horizons Math K since we began it last year. At the beginning of this school year, we picked back up where we had left off at the end of last school year. Horizons Math is advanced in scope and sequence and, because of Little Bug’s lack of maturity, I felt the concepts were getting too complex for her current attention span. Plus, I felt like I needed to stick more to the basics and get her to just memorize her basic addition and subtraction facts while in 1st grade. (Influence of Classical education on me!) After doing some research, I felt Saxon 1 might be a good fit for Little Bug during this time to allow her to mature and to get those basic facts nailed in her memory before we pick back up with Horizons.

I found the teacher’s manual and the two student workbooks for $30 on a used curriculum site and snagged it! I am not using Saxon 1 as it was meant to be used; instead I am pulling all the lessons about basic math facts and just doing those with Little Bug. I might throw in another lesson here and there on another concept, but so far, I have just stuck with the basic fact math lessons.

Lesson 23 starts with a lesson on Addition Facts – Doubles to 10. This covered all the doubles addition facts, 0-5. I like the way Saxon taught the Doubles Facts by using the linking cubes so Little Bug could see each math fact. Saxon had her playing with the linking cubes, writing the problems on the board and using flashcards to memorize and learn the facts.

There are also Fact Sheets that have 25 problems to work with a timer going. Little Bug has responded well to these and likes to know her time after she completes a timed Fact Sheet.

After learning the Doubles 0-5, she learned the Doubles 6-9. Then she learned the Adding One facts. This week it’s easy: Adding Zero! We will continue to review the Doubles and Adding One facts.

I like the systematic way that Saxon has her learning the facts! There are 30 lessons that I have highlighted that I want to do with Little Bug and then we will return to Horizons Math. Every week, we spend one day reviewing concepts learned in Horizons Math so those will not be forgotten. I write my own worksheet with concepts I want her to review that week.

This has taught me that no one curriculum is perfect. Homeschooling allows me to teach specifically to my child’s needs! I noticed we needed some basic math practice. There were multiple ways I could have accomplished this in our homeschool. I felt Saxon Math 1 could provide us what we needed, so I am currently using this curriculum not in the way it was designed to be used but to meet a specific need for my child. In the world of homeschooling, it is allowed! You don’t have to follow the teacher’s manual exactly like it is written. Let the curriculum serve you and your child – not the other way around.

- Elaine