Holly in FL Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Does anyone use Life of Fred for math? My evaluator suggested that for my son when he is a little older. I'd love some feedback. Pros? Cons? It looks good on the web site... Thanks! ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 There have been quite a few discussions here already about this. Have you tried doing a search? You could probably get a good idea from these older posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Be sure to do a search on the high school board as well. There have been a lot of discussions on that board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly in FL Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Thanks! I did a search, but did not see an specific questions. I'll try again. ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly in FL Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Ah...found some of them at our local library. I'll check them out. ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 My 12 yo LOVES Fred. My oldest niece teaches honors geometry and algebra in ps. I asked her to take a look at the samples. She thought they looked solid and would be good for kids who are more linguistic. Sad to say, even though she teaches honors classes in a nice suburb, many of her students would not be able to use Fred because they do not have sufficient reading comprehension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimerinkydo Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 This summer I'm using life of Fred Fractions as a supplement along with singapore for my 10yods and 11yodd. So far they think it is funny. My goal is to throw it in as a supplement to make math fun for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly in FL Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 So, is Fred more of a supplement than a stand-alone program? Thanks! ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly in FL Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Thanks so much for the input! ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Fred can be used alone. I recommend the Home Companion,for extra practice problems, if you do. Most threads I've seen use it as a review or a supplement. Ds(16) liked the explanantions better than Foerster. Dd(11) didn't like Fred at all. Have you seen his website? There are sample pages to view there. http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly in FL Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Yes, I looked over the site a bit. I found a number of the books at our library, so I'll be checking them out to look at them. Thanks! ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 So, is Fred more of a supplement than a stand-alone program? Fred is a full math curriculum, from pre-algebra through calculus and statistics. There is a notion among some on this board that it only merits supplement status. This is a mistake. One valid criticism of Fred is that it does not include enough drill/problem sets and review. The Home Companion books add this sort of thing. Also, you can find problem sets all over the web, if you want them. Or you can use an additional curriculum to provide that. My ds13 is finishing up Geometry with LoF and NEM this month. But Fred is not a supplement -- it is the spine, with NEM spliced in by chapter as appropriate to the Fred sequence. The best thing about Fred IMO is that it is written in a way that shows the student how to use the math to solve a concrete problem. The author writes the goofy stories to provide this set-up. This sucks the kids into the story, and they get the math along with ... sneaky. But that does not make the math watered-down in the least -- it is a challenging curriculum. Hope this helps, Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenC Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 She is really enjoying Life of Fred. She does this 2-3 times a week as a supplement to Singapore. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 My two dd are using Life of Fred. The younger 11 yo is using Fractions and really enjoys it. She telles me she understands it better with LOF. She finished Horizons 5 before this. Her sister is doing Geometry. she is having a much easier time doing proofs with it and is also understanding and remembering better than her earlier tries. I find the work quite rigorous and don't see what else she would need to do. For the younger one, I will be adding a review workbook where she can keep reviewing other types of problems throughout the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 My ds is using fractions for review and enjoying it. I don't know why, but he's no longer making nearly the number of careless mistakes he used to. Perhaps it's because of smaller problem sets? Added: I think some will be reluctant to use it as a stand alone program until it has more of a track record on these boards, because something so fun shouldn't be so good. OTOH, some may be forseeing trying to explain to the admission officer at MIT that a book titled Life of Fred IS a serious calculus text. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimber Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Fred can be used alone. We've used Fractions, Decimals & Percents, and half of Beginning Algebra so far and in less than a year. My son was bored of repetitive workbooks and wanted to "move on". The real life applications register with the way he thinks and the story lines keep him interested (if not cracking up :D ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I use LOF as a supplement. We use Abeka as our main program but LOF gives the children a break and they think it is a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 What age/grade level is LOF good to start at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimber Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 We started Lof Fred Fractions and Decimals after Horizons 5. We'll do decimals next. I'll probably spend a year on pre-algebra again with my daughter because she will only be going to 5 th grade and she's very sloppy with her work. She's not mature enough for multi-step problems. She'd miss them simply because she can't understand her own handwriting. I've been working on it for years, btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy B Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 We used Fractions and Decimals & Percents this year. Dd LOVED math -- no more tears, frustrations, anxiety, or disagreements over math. I did very little by way of follow-up or checking behind her. In fact, I was concerned that she might not be getting much from it. Then she took her Stanford Achievement Test and scored insanely high on the math portion. That inspired her to ask to go ahead and do Algebra over the summer. I would say if you plan to use it as a full curriculum, use the Home Companion. If you plan to use it as a supplement, use just the main book. I did pick up a neat "mixed review" workbook at the bookstore for her to use along with the Fractions and Decimals books -- mostly because she needed continued practice with more basic math (multiplication, division, etc). I would say that some sort of "graded" review workbook (Spectrum, Flash Kids, etc) would be a good idea -- not because I think Life of Fred is weak in any way, but just as that added peace of mind for mom and extra practice for the student. The author signs all of his books if you order directly from the publisher. Also, he will respond personally to any emails you send. This went a LONG way in really engaging my dd in her math -- she understood that this book was really written for HER to use and enjoy and that made a huge impression on her. Dd is heading off to a brick and mortar school this fall, but we plan to use Life of Fred every summer until graduation as a review/preview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimber Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I just ordered the Calculus and the Algebra books for my nephews to use this summer before they take these courses in school. I think they'll love it. Kimberly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 What age/grade level is LOF good to start at? My oldest used it at 11yrs. The Professor said once they have their tables down and are fully competent at multiplication and division, then to start Fractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly in FL Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 What is NEM? Thanks! ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly in FL Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 Everyone...thank you so much for all the opinions! ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 What is NEM? Thanks! ~Holly Sorry, NEM is Singapore's secondary curriculum New Elementary Math -- algebra, geometry, trig. It is what comes after finishing Singapore Primary Math 1-6 series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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