S/O Life of Fred

[Chelli]

I know that the author says to start kids with Apples and work your way up, but I don't want to do that with my oldest.  :tongue_smilie:  Is there an easy way to figure out where to place kids in the program? She LOVES anything in story format (she's my dreamer) and I know that she would really enjoy Fred, but I don't want to start her back at Apples which her sister is using. My oldest is in 4th grade if that helps.

[kiwi mum]

Fred used to start with Fractions before the Elementary books came out, so that is one logical place to start.

 

Assuming that she is not ready for Fractions yet, does she know all her times tables? They are expected to know them all by the end of Honey.

 

I would still get her to read the books starting at Apples and do the questions that aren't simple addition/subtraction. There is so much extra in there that she is bound to get something out of it and she won't miss any of the story.

 

I used the Elementary books last year with my Bonus Student, and my son (who has completed Fractions through Trigonometry) choose to read all of the Elementary books for fun.

[NittanyJen]

If she has mastered all of her multiplication and division facts (this presumes mastering addition and subtraction as well) then she is ready for Fractions.  For most kids, this is also around 4th or 5th grade or around 10 years old-- but of course that is approximate-- all kids are different!  Another consideration is that from Fractions on up, the books are designed to be used independently (other than grading the bridges).  This means enough maturity to not just blast through really fast, but starting to learn to read for content, which means able to absorb some lessons about slowing down even when the book is "fun" to pay attention to the math that is in there, or risk not getting as much out of it as possible.  So there's a maturity factor too.

 

If she's not there yet, there is also now an "intermediate" series, between elementary and Fractions-- I think they're Liver, Mineshaft, and Kidneys, to bridge that time.  These are good books for the kiddo to learn to use to slow it down, even if they feel they "already know" the material (there is so much in Fred that no, they don't know everything in there, and that is a sign she is not reading carefully enough-- think about it, way back in Apples he is introducing set theory and introductory concepts in algebra . . . by the time she gets to Liver, there will be something in there to learn, even if that is your starting point).

 

All kids are different, and there is no "perfect pace" that holds true for everyone-- but if a kid rips through the book in a week and announces they learned nothing, that's a good sign they read it too fast :)

 

Hope that helps-- if she's mastered her facts and is ready to start learning on her own, she is ready for Fractions.  If she needs more time on her facts, or more time to learn to be independent, then maybe start the intermediate series if you don't want to invest in the elementary series-- it's only 3 books, which is much less of a commitment.

 

Jen

 

 

[chaya]

my fifth grader started with Fred a few weeks ago (he is a very resistant math learner and was probably on a third gr level). we started with apples and that suited him just fine. I had him doing 4 or 5 lessons daily. we're up to Cats now. I like the extra stuff that's in there so I dont feel that its wasted time, especially since in my ds's case I need to build confidence.

[mama27]

Ya know, I actually would start at Apples because believe it or not, she WILL learn things she didn't know. "I" have learned things I didn't know. Heck, I read the books for fun myself! lol

[....]

I have Apples thru Mineshaft, Fractions and Prealgebra with biology...so if you could tell us more about where she is in math, maybe we could figure out a spot.  Did you see this review of the elementary series?  She lists the things that are covered in each book.   http://cathyduffyreviews.com/math/Life-of-Fred-Elementary.htm

 

I wish the author would come out with a normal scope and sequence (I know, probably not going to happen).   :glare:

 

An older kid can work through the early books so quickly that starting from the beginning wouldn't be a big deal.   

[sunnyday]

This isn't a "normal" scope and sequence but it might help? http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/11catofbooks.html

 

We're on Goldfish here. You need to be pretty confident about conjoining sets and defining functions, as well as being near 100% on all the addition facts within 20, and up to at least 3-digit addition and subtraction. This book starts to introduce simple multiplication.

 

Oh, and a caveat, he teaches addition and subtraction with the standard algorithm. If you want your child to have a more conceptual understanding of regrouping, you might want to have your multi-digit operations covered elsewhere, or just go nuts with base 10 manipulatives as a supplement.

[kiana]

Honestly, I would just have her read through the early ones. She doesn't need to go through at the same speed as her sister - if you're worried about esteem issues, they should be covered by doing in a day what her sister does in a few weeks.