Life of Fred-How do you incorporate it?

[coffeefreak]

Do you do "Fridays with Fred?" Do you do it exclusively? Do you do it alongside your current math program?

:bigear:

Dorinda

[Matryoshka]

We do "Summers of Fred". Though I don't think that'll work with Algebra and up as those books are a lot longer, but it's not looking like we'll continue Fred after the Pre-Algebra books anyway.

[HeidiKC]

Fridays with Fred! I love it! Yes, that is what we do. It only takes about 15-20 minutes. We do Saxon M-R. We're doing the Fractions book. I will say that he loves the book, but I'm not really sure I'll continue. There isn't a lot of practice, and I don't know that he's learning that much (but it may be because he is already fairly familiar with fractions). I like the way some of the stuff is explained, but then the exercises are there and it seems like it often explains the answer. And then not much practice.

 

I think if we weren't already overloaded for next year we'd continue, but I needed to cut something out.

[HSMom2One]

TWTM recommends supplementing the regular math curriculum with an engaging program such as LOF because it is an entertaining, non-traditional narrative math series that helps students “avoid the math doldrumsâ€. Since combining LOF into our weekly routine, my dd is very happy. She just eats it up! We do TT four times per week, then only do LOF on Fridays.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Mommyfaithe]

Do you do "Fridays with Fred?" Do you do it exclusively? Do you do it alongside your current math program?

:bigear:

Dorinda

 

Fridays.

[KarenNC]

We've just finished up Saxon 6/5 and I'm doing some different things for a bit before we go into 7/6. Right now we're finishing up a program from Simply Charlotte Mason called Your Business Math. After that, I'm considering doing LOF Fractions to see how it goes. My hope is that it will reinforce the fraction material she's already had. She thinks of math quite differently than I do, so I'm hoping that the story approach will be beneficial.

 

If she likes LOF Fractions, we may fold the idea of Fred Fridays in for next year, going on into the Decimals and Percents and Pre-Algebra. I'm holding off starting yet as I'm hoping to find a used copy of the fractions book at the used curriculum sale our group has coming up at the beginning of May. I can certainly keep her occupied with Your Business Math and Khan Academy until then.:001_smile:

[Heather in VA]

We do every day with Fred. My oldest is using the Trig book and my middle is in Algebra. It's our only math and it's plenty.

 

Heather

[Jamee]

We do Fred on Fridays. It's as a supplement to Saxon. We're almost done with Fractions and am looking forward to starting Decimals and Percents. I think it's a good break and fun method to break up the day-to-day math of Saxon. I've enjoyed the reading. :D

[Sasharowan]

Dd11 just finished MUS Epsilon and is starting on LOF Fractions to finish off the year and hopefully catch any fractions stuff she missed.

[khall]

We do LoF a little differently I guess. DS10 loves Fred, and thinks CLE is boring, so we do a light unit and then take a break for a week or so by doing five chapters of Fred. At the bridge, he does a bridge a day until he passes, then we do the next light unit, then back to Fred. We skip the quizzes, and sometimes skip or combine a lesson or two in CLE, so it works out to around two weeks of Fred, two weeks of CLE.

[Chocolate Lover]

We have always used Singapore. This year I added in one chapter of the LoF Fractions as a reward at the end of each text/workbook/Intensive Practice/Challenging Word Problems sequence of a topic. He loves the fred!

Edited April 11, 2011 by Chocolate Lover
clarifying meaning

[missmoe]

We're using the first Life of Fred Pre-algebra. We use it a couple times a week. I'm also not sure it's that instructive, but we enjoy the story and it's easy to fit in 15 minutes a few times a week.

[mdmurray]

We only use Life of Fred. My girls are avid readers and the literature approach is more their style. Youngest would freak out over a page of problems from Saxon or one of the other programs.

[Trish]

We do Fred daily alongside regular math, unless regular math happens to be a test.

[Lawana]

We're doing a Fred "bridge." Ds, who just turned 12, has completed PM6B, but he's not ready for the algebra portion of NEM, so we're doing Pre-algebra as a bridge. We're doing it as a way to add more reading, get some biology in there too, and oh-by-the-way some math.

[oraetstudia]

We've been doing M,W,F with MUS Zeta and T,T with LoF Decimals. (Could I get any more abbreviations into one sentence?)

[Alenee]

We use it exclusively. LoF is a TON of math. Each problem typically has many many steps to it, thereby reinforcing past and present concepts continuously. I do however have dd take at least two of the bridges. I love that LoF is more than math but also could stand alone as a Logic text and then as a reinforcement when one needs it. I would liken Fred to something like a "gifted" program (for kids who don't need constant repetition). The writer sees no point in endless practice of the same concepts. Some kids DO need constant repetition. Some need it only at times. Some don't need it at all. I haven't ever found a math program that is as engaging or as rigorous...Fred makes the kid HAVE to *think*.

[NanceXToo]

I like "Fridays With Fred" lol- I am totally going to call it that from this point on! That's what we'll be doing as I plan to start LOF in the fall and do it alongside TT6. We'll be doing TT6 4X a week and LOF 1X a week, so, yeah, "Fridays With Fred" will be perfect. :D

[kiwi mum]

We started out doing Fridays with Fred but DS got frustrated at losing the flow of the story. So then I let him do Fred every day until he got stuck and then we would swap to something else for a while and then come back to Fred.

 

By the time we got to Algebra he didn't need anything else along side Fred so we have used Fred exclusively since then. I have some other things on hand "just in case" but haven't needed them.

 

Fred is perfect for DS because he is a visual learner who doesn't need (and hates) the repetition of other programs.

[Spetzi]

I guess I'm the odd one out here.

 

We alternate Fred w/Horizons (younger) or TT (older). For my 9 yr old we do a "unit" of Fred (to a bridge) then 10 lessons of Horizons. For Geometry I set up the Fred chapters to go along with the TT topics. It's not a perfect fit, but it's working. Some days the kids will do lessons in both books.

 

Really, you could do it any way you want. :D

[prairiegirl]

We do it everyday. My dd does two pages of MUS then she moves on to Fred.

[redsquirrel]

we do 'friday with fred' and summers with Fred.

 

We use Singapore as our math program. Ds10 is about to finish up book 5b. I have him do Fred on friday as a 'yeah it's friday!' sort of thing. He has to pass two bridges with perfect score to consider himself 'crossed'. In the summer, we have some weeks when there are activities and some weeks when there are not. During activity weeks I will have the two boys do some light school work while the other one is in his activity. Fred fits in perfectly with that.

 

I tend to trail behind Singapore with Fred. Ds10 doesn't like or seem to need a lot of repetition with math. LOF is a way of getting a little repetition but doesn't feel that way. So far, LOF has been a way for him to feel confident with math. I love it when he chortles and say "Oh, man, I remember this. I know how to do this!" It is just what he needs. Others use it as a way to introduce new concepts if a fun way.

[coffeefreak]

We've been doing M,W,F with MUS Zeta and T,T with LoF Decimals. (Could I get any more abbreviations into one sentence?)

 

:thumbup1:

Awesome abbreviations!

 

These are all great ideas! I'm excited to buy it at convention Friday!:D I think we'll start it right away to bust up some of the monotony of the end of the year. Maybe do Fridays with Fred and see how she likes it.

 

Thanks Everyone!

Dorinda

[Lady Florida.]

We use it exclusively. Ds hates repetition. Rather than help solidify concepts, repetition caused him to shut down. He and I were both thrilled when I found LoF. The whole point of LoF is to NOT have endless repetition, but to force kids to think. If I feel like he does need more practice, I just have him do an extra bridge or two.

 

He's behind in math and is currently on Decimals and Percents. Next year, in 8th grade, I'll have him go through both of the Pre-Algebra books. I haven't decided where to go after that. Based on his current maturity level, I'll probably wait until high school to have him start algebra, but once he finishes the pre-algebra books he'll need something else for math. I don't want him to just stop doing math until the following year.

[LivingHope]

My DS9 and DS10 do LoF everyday after their main math text. It only takes 15 minutes or less to complete a chapter or bridge. BTW, they do every bridge. They will start the pre-algebra with biology next week, having completed both Fractions and Decimals/Percents. My DD13 is exempt from using LoF because she doesn't care for its humor...the boys dig it. :lol:

 

Janell

[Aquinas Academy]

Singapore and AoPS are our core math curricula. We add in Fred when it fits with what we're studying. Generally, we use Fred twice a week.

[Rosy]

DD10 is required to do 3 TT lessons and 2 LoF lessons each week. She is a little further back in Fred compare to TT, so it serves as somewhat of a review. I like that it teaches differently--there have been concepts that she understands more fully after learning them from 2 different perspectives.

[coffeefreak]

 

It's just hard trusting that LoF is enough.

 

:iagree:

 

I want to use it alone, I think dd would LOVE that! But I have a hard time thinking outside the box.

[Lady Florida.]

 

It's just hard trusting that LoF is enough.

 

Actually I said we use LoF exclusively when I should have said we use it as our spine. Ds is currently reading The Number Devil, and I occasionally find some online fun math activities for him. But LoF is our only math curriculum.

[Heather in VA]

:iagree:

 

I want to use it alone, I think dd would LOVE that! But I have a hard time thinking outside the box.

 

We use it alone and it's been enough. I would hesitate to endorse it 'alone' if I was only using it with my middle dd because she's gifted in math so her math needs aren't always what a "normal" kid needs, but my oldest is using it exclusively as well. She's bright but math isn't her thing. She's used both Algebra books, the Geometry book and is now in the Trig book. It's worked very well for her. She understands what she's doing. She's been able to transfer that knowledge to her sciences and this year when she took the PSATs as a sophomore, she did very well in the math section. There were a few things she didn't know but she hadn't done the 2nd algebra book (Algebra II) then (she took it in October of her sophomore year) and she says that now she's hit everything she saw on that test so she should be good for the PSATs next year and the SAT/ACTs to come.

 

So to me that's a sign that it's working. We did more traditional math with her for a long time. There was a great deal of math whining and lots of careless mistakes from a mountain of mind-numbingly repetitive problems. And ultimately it wasn't effective at getting her to understand. So I'm much more in favor of less whining and more understanding even if it seems 'out of the box'.

 

Heather

[radiobrain]

I may go that route with my DS when we finish with SM 6B (that is just use LoF). I haven't decided yet though. Right now he is in 5A and LoF Decimals. He buzzes through both, but severely hates repetition. I only assign a small fraction of the problems in SM and that has helped a lot.

 

It's just hard trusting that LoF is enough.

 

I had been using SM in tandem w/ Fred. I found they worked perfectly together, right where you are 5level & the first Fred books. Then, in around 6A and pre-Algebra 2 they no longer work as well. Fred does it deeper and better than SM. So here I am, starting Fred BA (chapter 4) and I dumped SM (6A & B... might hit a thing here or there, but really, it's mostly covered). Fred is enough at the BA level.

 

I plan on doing Thinkwell as well (my dad bought a year of it), but that, and Kahn Academy videos, will be supplemental. And I have seen the leter Fred books. THEY ARE GIGANTIC!

[DawnM]

I have what may be a dumb question. I have one LoF book, Fractions. I like it and the boys like it and we haven't done much of it as I didn't think they were quite ready for it. But they are now.

 

But the questions and answers are in the book. Is there a student book I don't have or how do you keep the students from seeing the answers?

 

Thanks,

 

Dawn

[DawnM]

So, do you have the child do it himself or do you do it with/near him to ensure no cheating? I have one child who won't cheat, but I have one, well, who would prefer to be TOLD the answers to everything and not do the work! :D

 

Thanks,

 

Dawn

 

Nope, that is the only book. I cover up the answers with sticky notes or a sheet of paper.

[AZDeb]

We are using LOF alone and I feel confident that it is enough for my son. He is doing Beginning Algebra and I find that he is able to transfer his math knowledge to his science with confidence and ease. He enjoys word problems and I am very impressed and pleased with his grasp of the material. He has also finally developed some real determination with his problem solving skills. Might partly be an age thing but I am sure that LOF has helped.

However, I do believe that LOF is a particularly good match for his learning style and would not necessarily be the best fit for some learners.

 

Considering the agony we have had over math in the past I am very grateful for LOF at this point in time!

[Sherri in MI]

Then again my son has weird moments. He can go weeks buzzing through without error. Then he as a few days where it is like he forgot how to spell his name and multiply 2 x 2. I don't know if that is normal or what, but wow, today was one of those "brain fell out of his head" days that leaves me confused. To be fair his brother was screaming while he was doing math and we spent 3 hours reading history books. Maybe he was just fried. :lol:

 

My son has the same problem! I don't know what to make of it yet. Sometimes it is because he didn't get enough sleep, or is getting a headache, but other times I'm not so sure what is causing the difficulty. I have wondered if this is normal. It happens to me, but I attribute it to perimenopause!