Brindee Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 How complete is this series? How clear is it? Do any of you use it on it's own? Can you tell me what you think of it in general? It looks very interesting, but I would love some feedback from those that have used it in any way. Thankyou so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Hi Brindee, I notice nobody has answered you yet, and that is probably because there's been several discussions recently about the Life of Fred series. You can find those threads through the search function. I just started using the Algebra book with my 13yo ds, and I don't know if it is the only source I will use or not. But I like it, and I've learned things already that I hadn't learned in doing Algebra with my older son over the last few years. I've heard it is supposed to be a complete series, but as I say we've just started with it. There seem to be enough problem sets, and the author is easily available if you have questions. I also like Jacobs, but the silly story in Fred works for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dani n Monies Mom Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Here's a thread here that I found very helpful and informative. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8830 Here's another thread I was on just today: http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?p=350386#post350386 HTH, Ava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 23, 2008 Author Share Posted April 23, 2008 Thanks for the thread sites, I found one of those just after I posted this. Should've checked first! I'm not a member of the homeschool library, so I couldn't access that thread... Is that a good site? What all is on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 How complete is this series? How clear is it? Do any of you use it on it's own? Can you tell me what you think of it in general? DS uses this as his math spine. Started with Alg. I and doing Geometry now. He loveloveloves it. It uses silly ongoing stories to create situations that require the math to solve them. Bedtime reading, yes. And also rigorous math. DS did Singapore PM, and I wanted to keep the Singapore slant on math in our lives, so he is also working through NEM, but using LOF as the spine/sequence. Now, this is the child who wants to BE a mathematician, so this would be overkill for most students LOL. I just ended up buying all the other books in the series because he loves them so much. They go through calclulus and there's also a probability/statistics text. The author's website is www.polkadotpublishing.com and he is very available by email or phone to answer your questions. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dani n Monies Mom Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Thanks for the thread sites, I found one of those just after I posted this. Should've checked first! I'm not a member of the homeschool library, so I couldn't access that thread... Is that a good site? What all is on it? I think it originally began when the Sonlight Forums went private and has grown into a nice, friendly and informative forum. They even have a section where you can post reviews of a particular curriculum. I think you even earn "awards" and points for the reviews which give you access to online games and things like that. And it's free. http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com Ava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 Thanks Karen and Ava! You were very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chai Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 DS did Singapore PM, and I wanted to keep the Singapore slant on math in our lives, so he is also working through NEM, but using LOF as the spine/sequence. Karen I was thinking about doing this. We're not up to NEM yet, but dd is using Singapore and LOF: Fractions. Do you have any kind of plan putting these together? Would you like to share? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 I was thinking about doing this. We're not up to NEM yet, but dd is using Singapore and LOF: Fractions. Do you have any kind of plan putting these together? Would you like to share? :DYes, please do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbac Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I ordered LoF Beginning Algebra late last Thursday night, and received it on Monday. My intent at the time of purchase was to possibly use it to supplement Saxon Algebra, which dd has been dreading the thought of. For the price, I just couldn't pass up giving it a look. Anyhow, I grabbed the mail while I was watering the flowers by the mail box, and dd happened to look out the door, spotted the package and asked if it was "Fred." I nodded, and said she'd have to wait until I came in with it to see it, and proceeded to hold "him" hostage. As I was putting the hose away, I was met by a tap on the window with a white board that read "Gimme Fred!!". (silly girl) After letting dd look at the books, she was almost upset with me that I wouldn't let her start on Algebra now. I also heard quite a few chuckles from as she skimmed through different parts of the book. So, I'm hoping that the enthusiasm holds, and that the book can live up to it's hoped for academic expectations. Because just upon seeing the books, she has gone from much apprehension about starting Algebra, to borderline excitement. Even just saying that it's time for Fred instead of time for Algebra sounds so much more fun! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Even just saying that it's time for Fred instead of time for Algebra sounds so much more fun! :tongue_smilie: Yeah, my ds, too. I use Homeschool Tracker, and for assignments from the LOF books, I just type in "Fred pp xx-yy." And it's always "your Fred book," not "your geometry book." Very personal, eh? :) Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I was thinking about doing this. We're not up to NEM yet, but dd is using Singapore and LOF: Fractions. Do you have any kind of plan putting these together? Would you like to share? :D Umm, do you mean fractions in particular or just combining the curricula in general? We didn't do fractions with LOF, as that wasn't out at that time. DS began with Algebra I, and is doing Geometry now. I just sat down and made two columns on a page -- LOF on the left and NEM on the right. I listed the LOF chapters first, then went through the NEM books and listed the corresponding chapters across from the LOF topic. There's not a one-to-one chapter correspondence, sometimes two-to-one or vice versa. I just matched them up as best I could. THen I went to Homeschool Tracker and started typing in my lesson plan. So the whole thing uses the LOF standard American sequence, with NEM spliced in by topic. Hope this makes sense. Ds often complains when he has to do NEM rather than Fred, but NEM's computational depth keeps him immersed in the puzzle-solving aspects once he gets down to it. Then he says "yay, I get to do Fred today!" when he begins another chapter in LOF. :) Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I've got all 4 kids working through the first 2 Fred books to make extra sure they are ready for LOF Algebra next year (or in the case of two of them for whatever Algebra book the PS uses). Three of them are reading the lessons and if they think they can make 100% on the bridge test when they get to it, I tell them to go for it. They sure like it better than Saxon. The other one has Nonverbal Learning Disorder and is behind in math. I am hoping LOF will get him up to speed so he can take algebra in 9th grade. So far, I like LOF a lot, similar to how I like Singapore Math. Saxon math was booooring to the kids. So far, this looks like a comprehensive program to me. I'm as excited about it as I was to discover (thanks to TWTM boards) Singapore math when the boys were in 1st grade. When my kids look for a Fred book, they ask me, "Where is Fred?", like he's a friend of theirs. I like that a lot better than the groaning that accompanies yelling at one another about where the Saxon books are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimber Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 My dd10 is doing Fred Fractions now. She'll go back to Horizons 6 after that and then do Decimals and Percents. From there we'll be doing Dolciani Algebra. I think that the author of Fred has found a great way to teach to the kids. While the stories are fun and entertaining, they feature 5 yo Fred the Genius explaining and teaching mathematical concepts to his small class of students. So basically, the books teach the kids as a teacher would. And the material being taught is very thorough. Most math books are personality less and just have a paragraph or two that explains a concept and then shows examples. Fred, the genius, explains the math. And Fred understands his math. Sometimes he writes proofs and explains how and why things are so. Fred pulls from his vast experience of being a genius and being 5 and is able to work his way out of various problems he runs into. We won't be doing Fred Algebra, because I'm following the 1960 bandwagon of new math, but we will be coming back to Fred for Geometry. We really love Fred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 Thanks for the comments, these are very helpful! I soooo want to try this for ds for Geometry! But I need to run it by dh first, since he's the math man. So do you all think this can be done fairly independently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dani n Monies Mom Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 The author strongly encourages independence with these books, he says he wrote them with that purpose in mind, in fact, if dc have questions, he wants them to e-mail or call him and he will guide them in the right direction. I've heard very good things from people who have called or e-mailed to get their questions answered. Apparently he responds very quickly. Ava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 Thankyou again! My dh looked through the site, discussed it with ds14, and they decided to try using LoF Geometry! Hope it works out well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenKitty Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Here is a link where it's been talked about on here before. I've seen it beand it looks like more of a supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I think it originally began when the Sonlight Forums went private Yes, the original name for it was "Sonlight Refugees" :001_tt2: They changed the name shortly thereafter to reflect the wider scope of the group. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dani n Monies Mom Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Yes, the original name for it was "Sonlight Refugees" :001_tt2: They changed the name shortly thereafter to reflect the wider scope of the group. Karen I thought it had a different name, I just couldn't remember what it was. ;0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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