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Math I have found that the difference between a good math text and a mediocre one can make or break a homeschooling family.  Since this is one subject that definitely needs to be practiced each day, the attitude with which it is approached can help or harm the children's attitude for everything.  Therefore, it's worth searching for something that works well for your children.   Always remember that the number of problems your children solve is up to you--not the publisher of the book.  If your child understands the concept and will remember it after 10 problems, why make him sit through 50?  The reverse is true as well, of course.  For us, grades in math seem silly. If a child makes an error, I have him redo the problem until he figures it out.  This definitely discourages errors made from lack of attention. Horizons Math We use Horizons Math.  It is similar to Saxon in that it uses a spiral approach, meaning that there is a lot of review of previously learned material.  I like it better than Saxon, however, because it is colorful and appealing, each lesson is varied, and they introduce concepts a little earlier than Saxon. The 2nd grade Horizons book seems to cover the same concepts as the 3rd grade Saxon book.  This series only goes through 6th grade. The sets below include 2 students books (Lessons 1-80 and Lessons 81-160), the teacher's manual, Horizons Math Kindergarten Horizons Math Grade 1 Horizons Math Grade 2 Horizons Math Grade 3 Horizons Math Grade 4 Horizons Math Grade 5 Horizons Math Grade 6 Saxon Math Opinions about Saxon math tend to be strong.  It seems to be the standard homeschooling text.  It's very thorough, and very traditional.  On the other hand, those who don't like it believe that it deadens a child's interest in math.  I think that the important thing here is to remember what I mentioned above--you should feel free to assign the number of problems needed for your child to understand a given concept.  Lots of people use something else until Math 54, and then switch to Saxon in 4th or 5th grade. Please note that the books below include only the student text.  Saxon sells a Home Study Kit that also includes a teacher's manual and a Meeting book.  I personally think that these are unnecessary in the early grades, but if you want to get the kit, you can get it directly from Saxon at www.Saxonpub.com.  Also, the kindergarten through 3rd grade texts are consumable, whereas Saxon 54 and beyond are not. Order these early as they can take 6 weeks to arrive on occasion. Math Kindergarten: An Incremental Approach Math 1: An Incremental Approach Math 2: An Incremental Approach Math 3: An Incremental Approach Math 54: An Incremental Development Math 65-An Incremental Development Math 76: An Incremental Development Math 87: An Incremental Development: Homeschool Algebra 1/2 Algebra 1: An Incremental Approach Algebra 2: An Incremental Approach Geometry & Trigonometry: An Incremental Approach Advanced Mathematics: An Incremental Approach Calculus with Trigonometry & Analytic Geometry: An Incremental Approach

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