Sheila in OK Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Where would you start an 11yo in Life of Fred, if he is not ready for the Fractions book? The website says if they don't have their multiplication facts down cold you should start at the very beginning, but that seems a long way to go back for a 5th grader--not to mention a lot of $$! We are using Horizons right now and would probably continue it to some degree, but we need to make a change. It is taking him literally HOURS to do it every day and it is torture for both of us. I happened to read about LoF in another post and it sounds like something he might like. Thoughts? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I am starting DD at the beginning, but her brother is trailing behind, only in K, so he will use them, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Where would you start an 11yo in Life of Fred, if he is not ready for the Fractions book? The website says if they don't have their multiplication facts down cold you should start at the very beginning, but that seems a long way to go back for a 5th grader--not to mention a lot of $$! We are using Horizons right now and would probably continue it to some degree, but we need to make a change. It is taking him literally HOURS to do it every day and it is torture for both of us. I happened to read about LoF in another post and it sounds like something he might like. Thoughts? :bigear: Sounds like you have been in my house right down to the horizons taking hours. I started my 12 and 13 yr olds right at the beginning mainly because I needed to start my oldest at the beginning. He struggles with multiplication greatly. It takes 5 minutes to read a chapter and do the couple questions. They laugh at how some of it is babyish but they have already started to notice a few things they had not learn before (or not in that way at least)even in the very first book. They enjoy the elem series. At the rate they are going I suspect tehy will be done all 8 elem books and be ready for fractions in the fall. I love horizons, dd is okay with it, ds on the other hand you would think I was making him lay on a bed of hot coals the minute I pull itout. DD will continue with horizons, ds is switching to jump math. Along with LoF for those 5 minutes a day. I know eventually it will take more than 5 minutes but for now it is fine. I will be starting my 2 youngest in the fall at book 1, so I am certianly getting my money's worth out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anabelneri Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 The answer is complicated. As the PP mentioned, LoF does a pretty good job explaining math in a way that many other books done. And while LoF focuses mainly on addition and subtraction and other early math skills in the first books (Apples, Butterflies, etc.) there is other material also built in. The early books were very, very easy for my 8yo (who doesn't struggle), but I appreciated the introduction to sets and early algebra, and I really appreciated the way the author builds anticipation for upper math. There are these moments when he'll throw in some calculus (with the label "for adults only" which of course we read aloud too) and that tell us that we'll learn more about this when we study calculus (or geometry, or algebra...). My daughter went from whining about why we needed to do math to asking when we could start geometry and calculus! Even when the math is very easy, she is always excited to sit and read a couple chapters with me. But to aim closer to answering your actual question, LoF Goldfish covers multiplication by 3s, 10s, 100s, 1000s, finding volume, and has multiple-addend practice. LoF Honey gets into multiplication by 4s and long division. Prior to Goldfish there isn't a lot of multiplication. HTH! Anabel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 We decided to start at the beginning, and I'm glad we did, but I would definitely have balked at the price if I didn't have a second dd who would use the books, too. We go through each book in about 2 weeks! We're in Edgewood now, and we got to some math that was new today - calculating medians. I've gone back and forth about continuing with the elementary series, but the bottom line is, DD loves it, and she asks for it every day, and she says "Fred makes math fun!" which is music to my ears. I did a long post a couple of days ago about why I like Fred, seems like there have been a *bunch* of LOF posts in the past week! It's funny how these things cycle . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 The answer is complicated. As the PP mentioned, LoF does a pretty good job explaining math in a way that many other books done. And while LoF focuses mainly on addition and subtraction and other early math skills in the first books (Apples, Butterflies, etc.) there is other material also built in. The early books were very, very easy for my 8yo (who doesn't struggle), but I appreciated the introduction to sets and early algebra, and I really appreciated the way the author builds anticipation for upper math. There are these moments when he'll throw in some calculus (with the label "for adults only" which of course we read aloud too) and that tell us that we'll learn more about this when we study calculus (or geometry, or algebra...). My daughter went from whining about why we needed to do math to asking when we could start geometry and calculus! Even when the math is very easy, she is always excited to sit and read a couple chapters with me. HTH! Anabel :iagree:with everything, especially the bold. He makes math seem like this cool, interesting club that you can be in, too, if you are lucky enough . . . the setup of algebra is so clear, that my dd5 already gets it and neither of my girls will be remotely intimidated by algebra (or calculus, for that matter) after Fred's introduction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I'm doing Life of Fred Fractions with my 11 and 9 year old now, and you definitely want to have both multiplication tables down and know how to do long division with double digits. Being comfortable with multiplying double digits will be helpful, too. I'm doing Apples with my 5 year old and Cats with my 7 year old. I started them both in Apples, but my 7 year old started really complaining that it was way too easy. I change some of the addition and subtraction questions to make it more challenging for him. I see most of the concepts from Apples repeated in Cats, so I'd guess you wouldn't miss out on tons if you started out with Dogs or higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila in OK Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Thanks for the info! That's kind of what I was afraid of, that I would miss something if I didn't go all the way back. He's my youngest, so I wouldn't be using them with another child--OTOH, it probably wouldn't hurt dd 13 to go through them as well. Oh well--maybe I could resell them, right?? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila in OK Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 He definitely doesn't have long division down yet. That is part of what is killing us with Horizons! Hmm, maybe I should just take a break from Horizons, start working on multiplication facts, then get him ready for Fractions by the fall? I'm doing Life of Fred Fractions with my 11 and 9 year old now, and you definitely want to have both multiplication tables down and know how to do long division with double digits. Being comfortable with multiplying double digits will be helpful, too. I'm doing Apples with my 5 year old and Cats with my 7 year old. I started them both in Apples, but my 7 year old started really complaining that it was way too easy. I change some of the addition and subtraction questions to make it more challenging for him. I see most of the concepts from Apples repeated in Cats, so I'd guess you wouldn't miss out on tons if you started out with Dogs or higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 They resell quick, at good prices, here and on ebay, FWIW . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart_Mom Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I'm starting my 10 year old at the beginning. We'll still use MUS, but I think it will be good for him to get fun review of even very easy concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda S in TX Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 The website says if they don't have their multiplication facts down cold ... maybe I should just take a break from Horizons, start working on multiplication facts, ...... If you just want something to drill multiplication facts, I highly recommend http://www.reflexmath.com/ . It costs $35 for a one year membership for one student and covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division 0-12 facts. The first day, I let them play on it for one hour. After that, I have them do fifteen minutes morning and afternoon. In less than four months, my 11ds is 100% fluent in addition and subtraction facts 0-12 and 81% fluent in multiplication and division facts 0-12 (he's working on 11s and 12s). My 9ds is 100% fluent in addition and subtraction 0-12 and 70% fluent in multiplication and division facts 0-9. All without flashcards, worksheets, or me doing anything. My very non mathy/math phobic 14dd is 100% fluent in addition and subtraction 0-12 facts and 91% fluent in muliplication and division 0-9 facts. It works and they love it. Thanks for the info! That's kind of what I was afraid of, that I would miss something if I didn't go all the way back. He's my youngest, so I wouldn't be using them with another child--OTOH, it probably wouldn't hurt dd 13 to go through them as well. Oh well--maybe I could resell them, right?? :tongue_smilie: I would start at the beginning. 9ds and I are working through the Butterfly book right now, but all of the older children have read A-D, Fractions, and Decimals. They love Fred and it has made clear some things they didn't understand before. They also mention remembering something in LOF when it comes up in their math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 They resell quick, at good prices, here and on ebay, FWIW . . . That is unless you are Canadian :glare: then they are hard to find used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We supplement with LOF, and we started at the beginning. The math in the first 3-4 books has been very easy for my son, but he still loves the stories, and it gives him a new way to think about some concepts. They are pricey, but he's loving them so much it's hard to complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma Rabbit Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 What is FWIW? (Sorry, I'm new here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 For what it's worth - a lovely sign of humility, don't you think?:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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