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What grade did YOU start LoF fractions?


NanceXToo
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I know what it says on the author's site about signs of readiness, I'm just curious when YOU started it (age/grade) and if you found that to be a good time to start.

 

I received LoF fractions, and LoF Decimals and Percents in the mail today! (bought them both used from someone on this board).

 

I've had a chance to flip through them some, I love the concept of the "story" and humor and think (hope) my daughter will find it fun!

 

My plan at this point is to finish out Teaching Textbooks 5 this year and wait til the fall to start LoF Fractions, trying it out in 6th grade in conjunction with Teaching Textbooks 6. (We'd start in September, like a month before she turns 11).

 

Does this sound like a good/reasonable plan?

 

(If for some reason she ends up disliking it or finding it too overwhelming to do two programs at once, I'd likely stick with TT6 and then wait til the following summer to give LoF another try. If it still didn't "work" for us at that point I'd just forget about it and stick with the one program. I didn't buy this out of some burning desire to supplement math, I just bought it because it sounded fun/interesting after reading so many threads about it, and I had the impression that neither TT nor LoF are overly time consuming, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad to try them side by side next year and that it might be a reasonably entertaining way to reinforce concepts).

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We started LoF this year, 5th grade. FWIW, we use Singapore (finished 5A today) and the timing was good. I think..I think... the author suggests using it when multiplication tables are fluent? Does this ring a bell for anyone? Anyway, DS1 took his time getting to that automatic stage with multiplication (thank you Timez Attack!) so I waited until then.

 

Now, we are going slowly. It got forgotten on a shelf for a month or so. DS1 isn't entranced by LoF like some kids are. He enjoys it, he laughs...but it is more math. He does very well with Singapore but he is glad to close the book. He isn't fooled that Fred is anything but more math. But, I am making time this semester. We WILL finish this book and move onto the second by the end of June!

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We started LoF this year, 5th grade. FWIW, we use Singapore (finished 5A today) and the timing was good. I think..I think... the author suggests using it when multiplication tables are fluent? Does this ring a bell for anyone? Anyway, DS1 took his time getting to that automatic stage with multiplication (thank you Timez Attack!) so I waited until then.

 

Now, we are going slowly. It got forgotten on a shelf for a month or so. DS1 isn't entranced by LoF like some kids are. He enjoys it, he laughs...but it is more math. He does very well with Singapore but he is glad to close the book. He isn't fooled that Fred is anything but more math. But, I am making time this semester. We WILL finish this book and move onto the second by the end of June!

 

I actually just purchased Timez Attack- my daughter tried the free/base version a while ago and wanted more. So I recently decided I may as well buy it if it would encourage her to play more- she can use more times tables reinforcement/review for some of the tables. She loves the game and has been playing it the last few days, so here's hoping that she'll get a better handle on all of her times tables over the rest of this year!

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I was thinking about starting it in a couple of weeks, when my 4th grader starts Singapore 4A. But maybe I should wait a little longer? :confused: I'm really looking forward to injecting a little fun into our usual wrangling over math...

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We did about half of the LOF Fractions book last summer, after my oldest ds had completed Singapore 3B. He did fine until mid-way, and then we put it away for later use. We will bring it out this coming summer, after he has completed SM 4B, and I think he should be fine with completing it. I want LOF Decimals and Percentages, too.:D It is a great curriculum for cementing the concepts and approaching them in a fun, different way.

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I tried it with my 8.5 yr old daughter at the beginning of this year (while working on MM3b). I figured she's a very smart person and very motivated, so she should be able to do it. And she could -- at least at first. About half-way through the book she started really needing more and more help to explain everything and I realized the hard way that it would have been better to have waited.

 

She now can do long division and has a much better understanding of fractions so I think we'll try again next year at age 9.5.

 

I think a child who can do 5th grade level math can handle LOF Fractions... I wouldn't suggest attempting it before - even if your child loves the story and is successful at the first chapters.

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My LoF fan started Fractions in fourth grade, at nine years old. She only did a handful of lessons and decided he was too wordy getting the math across, even though it was a "cute" math book. This summer, around her tenth birthday, she grabbed it again and ate it up like it was candy. She's clamoring for more. Regularly.

 

However I don't speak SM-ese and have no idea what book she'd correspond with. ;)

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We're going to try it this spring/summer after dd8 finishes R&S 4. Although from reading some of the previous posts, I am starting to wonder if she will be able to handle it....

 

Thanks for bringing this up. I may have to rethink my game plan. ;)

 

Take care,

Suzanne

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We just started using LoF Fraction this week as a breather. My son is doing Saxon 8/7 and finally hitting a wall. So I decided to give him something that he will enjoy doing and hopefully helps him cement the skills he had learned from Saxon.

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For my dc they begin using LoF after:

 

  • they know their basic arthmetic (+,-,x,/) really well & can do long multiplication & division with ease.
  • they can read well independently.
  • they can work independently.
  • they are responsible enough to mark their own work.

 

 

As we use LoF as review, not original teaching of concepts we have aimed to loosely followed this schedule:

 

  • MUS: Epsilon
  • LoF: Fractions
  • MUS: Zeta
  • LoF: Decimals & Percents
  • MUS: Pre-Algebra
  • LoF: Pre-Algebra with Biology
  • MUS: Algebra 1 & LoF: Pre-Algebra with Economics
  • MUS: Geometry & LoF: Beginning Algebra
  • MUS: Algebra 2 & LoF: Advanced Algebra
  • MUS: PreCalculus & LoF: Geometry
  • MUS: Calculus & LoF: Triganometry
  • LoF: Calculus
  • LoF: Statistics
  • LoF: Linear Algebra

 

When my dc begin MUS: Algebra 1 they work concurrently in both MUS & LoF, starting the next book in that curriculum when they finish a book.

 

If a dc isn't ready to work independently in LoF & needs it read to them, IMHO they aren't ready for the curriculum even if they know long division. The only exception I could see would be a teenager with dyslexia.

 

JMHO,

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DD just finished it. She is also currently using TT Pre-Algebra, we just switched from Saxon 76 (early in the book). She thoroughly enjoyed it (up until the last bridge, anyway), and it definitely was helpful for her to have been taught from a different perspective.

 

I would definitely make sure your student has mastered (or is well on his/her way to mastering) addition, subtraction, multiplication and division before starting LoF Fractions.

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However I don't speak SM-ese and have no idea what book she'd correspond with. ;)

 

And I don't know how to translate SM-ese into any other math program, as it is all we've used. :D

 

Being able to do/understand + - x (I can't find a division symbol on my keyboard!) competently is essential. My kids don't do it independently, though. We do it together with a white board.

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6th grade here (only started HS last spring, so we couldn't do it any sooner!). We were using Oak Meadow for math, then added Fred. It was too much together (Fred started to get trickier around Ch. 15 for my son), so we just worked on Fred and will go back to OM next week (we just finished yesterday).

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My 9th grade PS'd stepson was doing the series as supplemental/remedial math until recently. We've finished Fractions and started Decimals and Percents. Unfortunately, our relationship has soured to the point where it's no longer productive. He starts Algebra this semester, and he'll come to me for help if he wants it. He always passes his PS math classes (which is a sad statement on the PS classes, considering his inability to do the most basic of math problems, and a strong statement on his ability to wing his way through anything) so he'll graduate, but it makes me sad that such a smart kid is going to be left with such weak skills in this area.

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Thanks all, the feedback has been helpful!

 

I'm going to stick with my game plan- wait til next year when she's just about 11 and in 6th grade, offer it to her in conjunction with TT6 and just see how it goes. If she enjoys it, great. If she doesn't or it's too overwhelming, I'll wait til the following summer to offer it again by itself (rather than on top of other curricula). If it still doesn't "work" for her or causes frustration or dislike etc, I'll dump it.

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My ds (5th grade) started LOF fractions at the end of November as a sort of break from regular math (RS E) and something he could do on his own during the busy holidays. He's been breezing through it and really enjoys it. I think he's on chapter 16. He could have probably started it sooner, but I like that it's a review for him. We'll be starting back to finish up RS E next week. I think I'll let him do LOF on Fridays or if he has some extra time.

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I know what it says on the author's site about signs of readiness, I'm just curious when YOU started it (age/grade) and if you found that to be a good time to start.

 

I received LoF fractions, and LoF Decimals and Percents in the mail today! (bought them both used from someone on this board).

 

I've had a chance to flip through them some, I love the concept of the "story" and humor and think (hope) my daughter will find it fun!

 

My plan at this point is to finish out Teaching Textbooks 5 this year and wait til the fall to start LoF Fractions, trying it out in 6th grade in conjunction with Teaching Textbooks 6. (We'd start in September, like a month before she turns 11).

 

Does this sound like a good/reasonable plan?

 

(If for some reason she ends up disliking it or finding it too overwhelming to do two programs at once, I'd likely stick with TT6 and then wait til the following summer to give LoF another try. If it still didn't "work" for us at that point I'd just forget about it and stick with the one program. I didn't buy this out of some burning desire to supplement math, I just bought it because it sounded fun/interesting after reading so many threads about it, and I had the impression that neither TT nor LoF are overly time consuming, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad to try them side by side next year and that it might be a reasonably entertaining way to reinforce concepts).

 

 

We started a few weeks ago. My son is doing Sing 3B but has pretty much mastered math concepts through 4B-we're going through the IP and CWP for reinforcement.

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Does anyone find that this tends to be a good fit for "not-particularly-mathy" kids, or no?

 

My not-so-mathy kid does ok with them, as review. The first time we gave it to him, he was learning new material with it. Many roadblocks. Once he'd covered fractions in his regular math text, he was able to understand Fred and enjoyed the change of scenery.

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Yes! My son, in general, has a hard time with math. I believe LOF has helped him:)

 

My not-so-mathy kid does ok with them, as review. The first time we gave it to him, he was learning new material with it. Many roadblocks. Once he'd covered fractions in his regular math text, he was able to understand Fred and enjoyed the change of scenery.

 

Good to know...thank you both! (And another reason for me to want to wait til next year so that this may end up being review/reinforcement rather than new material- neither she or I are particularly strong at math. She really likes and benefits from TT for new material since it shows AND tells step by step how to do things and then gives plenty of review and hints and instant correction/reinforcement and so on- so I figured if she learned the material there first, LoF would make for an interesting/fun way of reviewing it).

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Does anyone find that this tends to be a good fit for "not-particularly-mathy" kids, or no?

 

My kids are mathy so this is hard to answer. It is such a different approach to math that I think it would pull in a non mathy kid more. Some of the computations have a pretty high level of difficulty.

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he was 11, doing TT 7 and he really did not like it at all. My very

mathy, PhD dh looked at it and said to scrap it. I promptly sold it on the Sale Board.

 

DS is now almost 13, doing TT Pre Alg and suddenly math is no longer so mysterious. I think he'd do fine with Fred now, , oh well. Maybe I can pick it up used or some such. I think maturity helps a greats deal, as with a lot of things.

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Ds started it last year (3rd grade/8-9 yrs old) alongside MUS Epsilon, but after a few chapters said it was too hard. We stopped Fred and switched to Key To Fractions and he finished all 4 books. Now he's gone back to where he left off with MUS, and then will work on Fred again when MUS is done, probably over the summer. He'll be 10 when he picks it back up again.

 

I also tutor a public school boy and I started LOF Fractions with him last year when he was in 5th grade and he's doing LOF Decimals/Percents this year as a 6th grader.

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I've got the same books as you; found them last year at a price I could not pass up, so they're "in storage" right now. Once ds finishes up MUS Delta (he's in Gamma now; teetering on switching to Singapore to do division and more multiplication since MUS is just too confusing for us).....anyway, then we'll start LOF. At the rate he's going, he could be 11 by the time we get there, lol.

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Using it this year in 5th. We take a break from Singapore every month or two and do some LoF. Dd has already studied fractions in Singapore and Horizons, so it is easy for her to do on her own and she enjoys it. I love the questions he asks--they are not just "drill and kill" fractions questions--they're great for broader mathematical thinking. Anyway, 5th grade has been perfect for us. We'll do decimals and percents next year.

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