Laura Corin Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Has anyone used these through high school? I'm intrigued. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My daughter really likes these books. She had already done the math prior to getting the sequence though so I'm not sure whether it really just solidified things or whether it teaches well. My son wasn't ready though he really liked the Beg. Algebra. Maybe we'll play with it this coming summer :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 These books are a true delight for kids! I didn't discover "Fred" till Calculus so my comments are limited in value. I have found that we use Fred now for fun but still stick with Thinkwell for the teaching of the material. Personally, I would be hesitant to use it as the only source but that's just me! I also completely endorse the humorous, fun part and Fred does present some "tricks" that other sources don't cover so there's value in that according to my ds. Looking forward to replies from those who have used it with earlier courses and the testing results. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in Orlando Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I've never heard of these books. I'll have to check them out. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I just got the beginning algebra set (book + homeschool). Scanning through the first few pages, I already found a definition that finally "stuck" for me after all these years -- whole numbers have a "hole" (0) in them. IMO, these books are *great* for review and/or supplementation, but don't provide enough for students who are just average in math. I would probably not use it as a standalone math, although it could provide a nice spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimber Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My dd9 is in Horizons 5. I told her that when she finishes this book, I'll let her use the Fractions book before we do Horizons 6. If she enjoys it, we may go right to the decimals and percents. But regardless, we'll go back and finish Horizons 6. From there I haven't a clue what we'll be doing. I do own Jacobs that I found used, I will be checking that out too. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 We are also planning to get some of these (when the tax refund comes). I'm hoping they will give 10 yo ds a reason to like math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 My almost-12yo ds is LOVING these. He had finished Singapore through 6A and hated every second of it over the years (we'd also dabbled in other math curricula along the way). I got Fractions for him and he completed it in 3 weeks because he was so eager. It was almost all a review of stuff he'd already learned which made it faster. He just started Decimals & Percents last week, and again, much of it is review but I looked through the books and there are some new concepts coming up. At this point I'm not ready to say more than what Claire already did - these are definitely good for review and supplementation. We did have 1 concept in the fractions book that ds wasn't getting (unit conversion). He just needed more examples and practice problems than Fred provided to understand the concept. I had to get out another text and teach him the unit conversion from that book before the light bulb went on. Anyway, the books are cheap enough so I'm willing to continue with them as long as he's enjoying them...but with the understanding that if the concepts don't "stick" we'll also use something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Katia Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 My 15yo dd in 10th grade is using Life of Fred Advanced Algebra as a fun supplement to keep up her algebra skills while doing TT Geometry . She is finding that she is really learning a lot from Fred and because of the way it's presented she is retaining it much better than when she took TT Algebra 2 last year. So, we are planning to keep using Fred as a supplement for now and possibly switching to Fred as a stand-alone curriculum for Calculus and Statistics. But, since we just started it in December, I can't give you any standardized tests scores or such. I can only tell you she likes it and has to think to complete the problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 This is a great idea! I was concerned ds would forget his Algebra next year when he does geometry, but LOF will be a great way to keep it fresh. I had the chance to preview the books through our library and I know ds will really like them, but replacing Chalk Dust with LOF would have sent dh through the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellybean Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 UGH....we did not like this at all!!! I can't even comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 UGH....we did not like this at all!!! I can't even comment. You can't leave us hanging Jill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenKitty Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I have my reasons for not liking LoF either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraQ Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 We're starting dd w/Fractions now and hope to do it in 1/2 year, then do Percents & Decimals in another 1/2 year so she can begin Beginning Algebra after that. She just crossed her first bridge and couldn't be more pleased. I had dh (who tutored Texas A&M Engineering major Calculus students when he was in college) to look over the series to tell me if they really did teach enough stuff and weren't just full of fluff and fun. He was muy impressed. Dd started Fractions after finishing Singapore Math 4B (she is 12.5 right now--she had some serious math delays early on due to switching from Saxon to Singapore after 1st grade and not learning anything in 2 years of Saxon in CS and **hating** math and thinking she was really bad at it even though she wasn't). So it seems the author is dead-on about when a child is ready for the Fractions book! (Dd is a wiz at long division and can do multiplication blindfolded, backwards, with one hand tied behind her back) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaC Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I am using this with my highly creative son. Seems like the only way he can or will learn math is if it is in the context of a story. The only way he learned basic math was through Noble Knights of Knowledge http://www.livelylessons.com/Nobleknights.html After NKOK we hit a wall and Life of Fred seems to have removed that wall. This particular son lives and breathes stories and story lines. He also had some language delays when younger and math is a language. What I see in LOF is that the language of math is place in a written story and gives context to the math language (hmmm hope that made sense :o ) Anyway my son who hates math likes LOF so I am using it as a jumping of place. Blessings, Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncmomo3 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 You can't leave us hanging Jill. A friend had a very peculiar (not in a good way) correspondence with him...so I am curious also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I think you either like these or don't. My dd 12 used LOF fractions and percents as review before moving onto NEM1. She liked that they were in story form (she is very literate but not very mathematical). This is my struggle, whether to stick with NEM or switch to Jacobs for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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