I am in love with a 5-year-old named Fred!

[Ginevra]

Holy Cow! Life of Fred is the greatest thing to happen to Math since...well, since I discovered MUS, my math program lo these many homeschooling years. I bent to a whim and decided to spring for LoF Fractions and LoF Decimals. I thought at the very least, it might give me an edge (I am NOT math-intuitive). Perhaps, if I liked it, I thought I might even throw the decimal book into my daughter's schedule on Fridays. She is just about to start MUS Zeta (decimals and percents).

 

But today, I cracked open LoF Decimals and sailed through ten chapters with barely so much as a water break. It is all I ever dreamed of wanting and then some. It is math for the English major! The concept, the execution, the information - I was in heaven absorbing it all.

 

By a strange act of God or serendipity, I discovered today that I was shorted the Zeta Teacher Manual. So, I'm thinking I'm just going to let my daughter start LoF next week. If she "gets" it, we may not even go through the whole of Zeta; we may just use it for practice pages.

 

WOOOOHOOOO! Life of Fred is awesome!

[Caroline4kids]

Isn't it great when a MATH book can have you in stitches.:) We love Fred too. I plan on using all his books at some point. My kids did the first two and loved, loved them.

[nmoira]

I love Fred, and I'm on a one-woman quest to convince Mr. Schmidt to write Life of Fred: Logic after he's finished the middle school series. Since he keeps track of requests, if you're of a like mind, please let him know. :001_smile:

[WishboneDawn]

Love Fred here too! I bought it awhile back and my daughter decided she liked it but only read a chapter before it was forgotten for awhile. After a fling with ALEKS math (she was not committed enough to it, despite some initial enthusiasm, for me to want to spend money on a subscription) she picked it up again and has been zooming through it. I'm hoping this is THE approach she chooses.

[Spetzi]

DS is almost through with Beginning Algebra. I'm sure we will use all of the books Stan will write. It's wonderful!

[Country Girl]

Okay, so this post just put me over the edge.... I ordered the fractions book.:001_smile:

[Johanna]

What age do you suggest starting it?? Dd is going into 5th grade!

[Matryoshka]

What age do you suggest starting it?? Dd is going into 5th grade!

 

We started LOF:Fractions after Singapore 4b, which was just about perfect. So I'd think going into 5th grade is a great time to start!

[Johanna]

haha! Just ordered it!! Thanks....you can't beat 19.00 and free shipping! I figured that it will be great summer review!!

[angelovearth]

lol You're funny.:lol:

 

I just found out about LOF and I plan on getting it for my two boys. My oldest son is doing MUS Epsilon and I was thinking I'd have him do LOF Fractions when he's done with it....Or do you think he could do both? Would that be too confusing?

[elegantlion]

I gave ds the Decimals & percents book for Christmas. I said "It's from your favorite 5 year old."

 

He replied after opening, "technically, he's 5 1/2." the fractions book worked. ;)

[SonshineLearner]

The only thing I'd change is having the answers in a separate book. I really liked it besides that. Also, if you want Calculus, you need to order the book before it, to get the whole thing... But, we liked Fred, too!

Carrie:-)

[AnneC]

We love it here too. DD takes the fractions book to bed with her to read:001_smile:

[Ibbygirl]

Holy Cow! Life of Fred is the greatest thing to happen to Math since...well, since I discovered MUS, my math program lo these many homeschooling years. I bent to a whim and decided to spring for LoF Fractions and LoF Decimals. I thought at the very least, it might give me an edge (I am NOT math-intuitive). Perhaps, if I liked it, I thought I might even throw the decimal book into my daughter's schedule on Fridays. She is just about to start MUS Zeta (decimals and percents).

 

But today, I cracked open LoF Decimals and sailed through ten chapters with barely so much as a water break. It is all I ever dreamed of wanting and then some. It is math for the English major! The concept, the execution, the information - I was in heaven absorbing it all.

 

By a strange act of God or serendipity, I discovered today that I was shorted the Zeta Teacher Manual. So, I'm thinking I'm just going to let my daughter start LoF next week. If she "gets" it, we may not even go through the whole of Zeta; we may just use it for practice pages.

 

WOOOOHOOOO! Life of Fred is awesome!

 

 

We've recently discovered the joys of Fred Gauss in our house as well (rhyme intended :D ) My daughter absolutely LOVES him!! :)

[WishboneDawn]

The only thing I'd change is having the answers in a separate book.

 

I liked that part, for my daughter at least. I am keeping out of her LOF completely so she's learning to check her own answers, correct them and value self-crticism. It makes it easier for her to have everything in one book.

[Snickerdoodle]

I looked at the sample pages but I am not feeling the love.

 

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

 

The sample pages seem very busy with extraneous info.

 

Help me out here.

[Ibbygirl]

I looked at the sample pages but I am not feeling the love.

 

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

 

The sample pages seem very busy with extraneous info.

 

Help me out here.

 

 

It's a storybook with math thrown in. You have to solve the problems to find out what happens next in the story. :)

[Snickerdoodle]

I see. So it's strength is practical application?

[K in MI]

Fred is great, isn't he? His name interested me, and we found out that Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician who lived from 1777-1855. Neat, huh?

[DawnM]

Thanks. My son is currently doing Singapore 5 and I ordered the Fractions book. I will see how he likes it.

 

Dawn

[radiobrain]

I am a firm believer in approaching math from many angles. :001_smile:

 

I have LoF fractions and plan on eventually doing most of them (although I hear geometry has some problems) but I would like to point out a few other books for all of you to look at... if you are already on the bandwagon as "math & lit" together... these are another great addition.

 

Penrose The Mathmatical Cat- Theoni Pappas my kids could have me read from this one all day long! There is a second book that I don't have yet. Under 10$ on amazon

 

The Number Devil- your library should have this.

 

Murderous maths series- Poskitt from Great Britain. VArious subjects. You can get them from this guy in San Diego http://www.horriblebooks.com

 

My kids are 10 & 9. So starting 5th & 4th, if I cared to grade them. My older is less mathy, my younger is math whiz, so they are almost on the same Singapore book. One more month or two and they will both be in 4B. I enjoy mixing it up with the stories.

 

Anyway, I thought you might like to have a few more math book options. ;)

 

Korin

[nmoira]

I see. So it's strength is practical application?

Yes and no. The questions are carefully chosen and sequenced to bring about conceptual mastery, but they are often tied into the story, or have a little story of their own. In the first two books, there are two types of questions sets: Your Turn to Play sets are part of the teaching process and Bridges (every four or five chapters) test mastery, and must be passed to "cross." The upper books have Your Turn to Play and Cities. The student is expected to go through all the Cities, with mastery expected by the end.

 

I was a Fred skeptic... it just sounded dumb to me. :) But after thoroughly reading the books (I'm working through Calculus now) *and* looking through the earlier problem sets and doing the later ones, I have grown to appreciate the method and the thought that's gone into these -- especially the little touches like including 7x multiplication facts in most pre-algebra questions involving multiplication (far, far too many to be a coincidence).

[nmoira]

Penrose The Mathmatical Cat- Theoni Pappas my kids could have me read from this one all day long! There is a second book that I don't have yet. Under 10$ on amazon

 

The Number Devil- your library should have this.

 

Murderous maths series- Poskitt from Great Britain. VArious subjects. You can get them from this guy in San Diego www.horriblebooks.com

 

I'd add in Zaccaro's Challenge Math books, though they're not as lit-ty. :) Not lit, but history: I also recently picked up Can You Count in Greek? which explores Mayan, Babylonian, Egyptian, Roman, and Hindu-Arabic, quinary, and binary number systems. We're going to use it this summer.

[seewah]

These looking amazing! My oldest just finished MUS Epsilon, so this would be a great book to do this summer before he starts Zeta in the fall.

 

Thanks for this thread ... I just ordered the fractions book and can't wait until it arrives! :)

[wonderfilled]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'm beginning to wonder if I should do something more interesting than a plain old math course, but I've already spent too much money since discovering this site.

[Ibbygirl]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'm beginning to wonder if I should do something more interesting than a plain old math course, but I've already spent too much money since discovering this site.

 

 

I feel your pain!! I don't think I've ever spent so much money on curriculum before as I have since finding this site!! There are so many suggestions and when I research them they all look so good I think, "well maybe I should get both and then mix and match..." or something along those lines. hehe I have bought 4 different Math curricula for next year!! :eek: I MUST be insane!! :tongue_smilie:

[DawnM]

I ordered the first book as well! This may be right up my 5th/6th grader's alley. He loves solving things and is very good in math. He struggles with reading, so hopefully that part won't be too difficult.

 

I am thinking this may help with getting him more interested in reading as well.

 

Dawn

[wonderfilled]

I'm actually really considering this. I haven't ordered anything for math for next year. My ds will be 9 in October. He's finished A beka Arithmetic 3 although he didn't find it very interesting. Would it be too soon to start him on LOF Fractions? If I'm understanding correctly it seems like most people use these as supplements. Could you use them as your only math program? Thanks.

Edited June 11, 2009 by wonderfilled

[Matryoshka]

I'm actually really considering this. I haven't ordered anything for math for next year. My ds will be 8 in October. He's finished A beka Arithmetic 3 although he didn't find it very interesting. Would it be too soon to start him on LOF Fractions? If I'm understanding correctly it seems like most people use these as supplements. Could you use them as your only math program? Thanks.

 

I put my kids in LOF Fractions after Singapore 4b, the summer they turned 10, and that seemed just right. The books are written for the kids to do completely independently. I'd say just turning 8 is a bit early - I'd give it another year at least - I'm not sure where A Beka lines up with Singapore.

 

In the meantime you could do something like Penrose. We used to do that at bedtime - I'd read them a chapter and they'd have me begging to get out a white board and go through the examples at the end!

[Snickerdoodle]

Thanks!

 

Yes and no. The questions are carefully chosen and sequenced to bring about conceptual mastery, but they are often tied into the story, or have a little story of their own. In the first two books, there are two types of questions sets: Your Turn to Play sets are part of the teaching process and Bridges (every four or five chapters) test mastery, and must be passed to "cross." The upper books have Your Turn to Play and Cities. The student is expected to go through all the Cities, with mastery expected by the end.

 

 

[wonderfilled]

I put my kids in LOF Fractions after Singapore 4b, the summer they turned 10, and that seemed just right. The books are written for the kids to do completely independently. I'd say just turning 8 is a bit early - I'd give it another year at least - I'm not sure where A Beka lines up with Singapore.

 

In the meantime you could do something like Penrose. We used to do that at bedtime - I'd read them a chapter and they'd have me begging to get out a white board and go through the examples at the end!

 

Thanks!! I meant to say he will be turning 9. I don't know if that makes a big difference.

[Deana FL]

we're a Saxon family and it has worked well for us. I mean they are learning and moving forward with no problems, but they *hate* it...it has no excitement, whatsoever.

 

My daughter is a reading nut and my son is a math whiz. I'm wondering if I should give this a try and see what happens...but, I don't think I would drop Saxon altogether. Have most of you abandoned other Math and solely used LoF?

[Snickerdoodle]

Have most of you abandoned other Math and solely used LoF?

 

I am interested in hearing the answers to this as well.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

I'm actually really considering this. I haven't ordered anything for math for next year. My ds will be 9 in October. He's finished A beka Arithmetic 3 although he didn't find it very interesting. Would it be too soon to start him on LOF Fractions? If I'm understanding correctly it seems like most people use these as supplements. Could you use them as your only math program? Thanks.

:bigear:

[Spetzi]

I used the first two books as a supplement. When we took the plunge into Beginning Algebra I bought the Home Companion and decided to try Life of Fred solo. We only used the HC as an answer key, but he breezed through most of the book, completing the quiz and test portions along the way. When he's done I'm going to give him a standard Alg I final to see if he retained the info and recognized what to do when the material is presented differently.

 

So I don't have a complete answer for you, but we are using Lof F alone right now. I am concerned that ds doesn't spend enough time on the material so I'm not sure if he fully understands it or will retain it. Time will tell.

[Ginevra]

I just found out about LOF and I plan on getting it for my two boys. My oldest son is doing MUS Epsilon and I was thinking I'd have him do LOF Fractions when he's done with it....Or do you think he could do both? Would that be too confusing?

__________________

 

If I had discovered this while dd was doing Epsilon (she just finished it), I would have probably made Fridays Fred day. We were keeping MUS on a four-day-a-week schedule. I don't think it would be too confusing to use them simultaneously; the worst that could happen is he'll get to something in MUS that he's already learned from Fred, in which case he could just breeze through it, or skip it, whichever worked for your family.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deana FL

Have most of you abandoned other Math and solely used LoF?

 

I am interested in hearing the answers to this as well.

 

I can't say that I will definitely only do Fred and I am really a big believer in MUS. However, for the time being, that is what I'm going to do. If Decimals and Percents goes over with dd as well as I expect it to, and if she sees it through to the end of the book, I plan to give her Zeta's final exam and see how she does. The beauty of Fred to me is that it won't take a whole year to find out. I've already worked halfway through the book and I just started two days ago. So, surely within a month or six weeks, we will know if Fred can stand alone as all learning necessary in that subject. If it works out like that, I will probably give Beginning Algebra a go as our stand-alone math.

[angelovearth]

If I had discovered this while dd was doing Epsilon (she just finished it), I would have probably made Fridays Fred day. We were keeping MUS on a four-day-a-week schedule. I don't think it would be too confusing to use them simultaneously; the worst that could happen is he'll get to something in MUS that he's already learned from Fred, in which case he could just breeze through it, or skip it, whichever worked for your family.

 

Thanks for answering. I think I'll go ahead and get it now. I know he'll enjoy it. I won't give up on MUS because we've used that several years now without tears but I'm sure he'll enjoy LOF as a supplement.

 

Thanks!

[Renee in NC]

I looked at the sample pages but I am not feeling the love.

 

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

 

The sample pages seem very busy with extraneous info.

 

Help me out here.

 

My 11yo would HATE it with a passion! Just so you know you are not the only one...;)

[Impish]

:iagree:You're definitely not alone. SpecialMama loaned us the Fractions, and Diva, who is both an avid reader and a math whiz looked at me like I asked her to chew dung. Not in the slightest a Fred fan that girl.

[Brindee]

We discovered Fred the end of last school year. DS15 had just done TT Algebra 1, so I got the LoF Beginning Algebra for him to do over the summer as a review. It worked well! He went a ways into the school year to finish it, then started LoF Advanced Algebra. He used ONLY the LoF Math. We shall see how he does as we move on, but he seems to have the concepts down well enough to pass the bridges 1st or 2nd try. DH works with them in their math, so I'm not sure how much they used the Home Companion.

 

DD did LoF Fractions, and LoF Decimals & percents for her main work for this school year (6th grade). She did TT Pre-Algebra the year before, but didn't feel ready to go into Algebra 1 this year. She did some Singapore (5a and 5b, but only parts we chose) and some R&S math to round it out. Next year she'll do LoF Beginning Algebra, and will DEFINITELY use the Home Companion. I also got her CLE math to work through as needed.

 

Both of them LOVE LoF! They are both avid readers, and it just seems to make more sense to them than some of the other math programs!

 

I think using more than one curriculum depends on the child. My ds15 would be overwhelmed with more than one program and get frustrated/discouraged. My dd12 seems to appreciate the extra help another program can give her, as long as we even it out so it's not TOO much more than just doing one program! :)

 

I recommend the Home Companion, as it seems to break it down into more doable steps, and adds things to make it more understandable. Not all the levels have the Home Compainion, but if they DO have it, I'd get it!