Wow, I’ve been missing for a while! It turns out it is hard to keep up a blogging schedule during the summer while also having a brand new puppy!
I shared flip through of these books on my instagram stories but I want to share still photos with you here in a post for anyone else wondering about either of those programs. I have used Jump math for the past 2 years but have been intrigued by Horizons so this year I ordered it. In the end, I sent it back and am going with Jump again. There is nothing wrong with Horizons and I still loved it and wished it would work, but I know for us it wouldn’t. It is substantially more advanced than Jump math and far above what is expected for the grade level learning outcomes here in Alberta. I’ll share more at the end about why I chose what I did.
This post is going to have A LOT of photos. If you aren’t interested in these programs, this post will likely not interest you much.
jump math pros and cons
What I love about jump math is that it is clearly laid out, learns in an order that makes sense, has a Canadian version (which is necessary for measurement and money), and comes very very close to hitting the learning outcomes for Alberta. It doesn’t take too long, yet gives sufficient practice for most skills.
The only negatives to me for Jump math is that the teacher manual is online which I don’t love (so I am going to attempt printing and binding this year) and that there isn’t built in review. Once you move on from a unit, you move on. For some skills there is one unit in book 1 and then another unit in book 2 which takes it a bit further but it is not like a spiral approach where you would have built in review.
horizons pros and cons
What I love about Horizons is that it is coloured so therefore more visually appealing and I love the spiral approach where there is much more review built in to reinforce already learned concepts. I LOVE this for things like place value especially, which is historically one of the more difficult concepts for kids in the younger grades to retain. I also loved that it comes with a hardcopy of a teachers manual.
One con for me with Horizons was that it does not have a Canadian version so American money and measurement is taught. In the end that is just confusing for Canadian kids. I could use a different book for those skills but that seemed like an extra step I wasn’t keen on doing.
My other personal con with it could also be a pro, depending on what you are looking for. It is an advanced program which covers skill that are far above grade level requirements. In some ways I like that but because we had already started the last few years sticking to provincial learning outcomes, this would have been a HUGE jump for us. My daughter loves math and doesn’t complain to do it so I dont want to turn her off or hurt her confidence in it just to do work above grade level. For me, that seemed unneccesary. If you are looking to challenge your child, or you are just starting out, this could be a good program.
What follows is a handful of photos of each program so that you can take a look at them for yourselves. Both programs run 2 books per year and I only have book 1 of each at the minute. So all these photos are from pages covered in book 1 ( the first half of the year).
JUMP MATH VS HORIZON MATH IN PHOTOS
JUMP MATH KINDERGARTEN BOOK 1
horizons kindergarten book 1
Jump Math Grade 2
horizons math grade 2
closing thoughts
Both of these programs are excellent and will provide the opportunity for students to emerge well educated in math. Remember all these photos are from book 1, so the first half of the year in each program. As previously stated, I SO wanted Horizons math to be the right fit for us but I could tell as soon as I looked through it that it was not. I would rather have a child learning what she needs to and loving it than push her to be above grade level and bring about frustration. That is just my personal choice for my family and everyone should weigh out their options and choose what is best for them.
Why did I only compare these two programs? That’s simple; they were the only ones I had on hand! There are so many wonderful and well done math programs out there and I am happy to help you find one that works for you if you’d like. Please just send me an email or message me on social media. For this post I just wanted to give an indepth look into the two programs I had on hand for two reasons. 1) to allow everyone to see inside the books as I always find it hard to purchase without viewing. 2) to show you what a wide range of expectations there are in the different programs available. You will need to decide for your family if you want to try to stick to provincial or state learning outcomes or just follow the pace set out by a program. Knowing this will help you decide what type of program will work best for you.
I love math! I love to teach math! It is my favourite subject to teach and can be made so fun! I hope you will find something that allows you and your child to love it too! Please reach out to me if I can be of any help!
