Life of Fred on its own?

[lil' maids in a row]

My 7 year old is having a difficult time handling her emotions right now. Currently we are wading through each day simply trying to manage meltdowns. We are seeking professional help and other interventions, but in the meantime ........ school must go on. We use Sonlight Core A, LA 2 (we supplement with FLL) and Sonlight Science. It is a delight and school is one of the rare parts of our day that is always positive. Math however, not so much. We started out with Singapore. Great curriculum, but it left dd in tears and meltdowns. So we started 1st grade math all over again with MEP. It is a bit below her skill level (because we started from the first lesson) and the curriculum is great, but math still inspires tantrums. We have been supplementing a bit with L.O.F. This child LOVES to have stories read to her. She learns very well from being read to, and retains the info well. During this difficult time, if we used Fred as a stand alone curriculum would it be sufficient? I know most folks use it as a supplement, does anyone use it on its own? What would I need to add to it to make it enough? Any thoughts?

[Five More Minutes]

:grouphug:

 

Does your child also like to work with manipulatives and/or play games? We are using LOF as a supplement here, but I'm surprised at how rich LOF is on its own. I think that with the right instructional approach, it could be strong enough on its own -- I just know that I need more hand-holding than it provides.

 

I haven't got BTDT experience using LOF alone, but if I were to use it that way, I'd look into supplementing with activities such as those available at Education Unboxed or Lets Play Math, as long as they didn't add pressure to the student. I think those activities cement the concepts with additional practice that doesn't feel like practice.

 

I do have a child who had/has very mild meltdowns, and understand in a small way how disruptive they can be. Ultimately your child's emotional well-being, and your family's, are more important than the math right now, so I think you can just give yourself permission to do LOF without any supplementing.

 

:grouphug: again ...

[BlsdMama]

For a seven year old? Sure. We don't do formal math until ten so I see no problems with this.

[Susie in MS]

I am going with the better late than early crowd with math. I have tried to use traditional math with my dd and we have had 2 years of torture. We are now using LOF along with Arithmetic Village (on the side when we can) and it is working. They are very gentle. But because of the expense of LOF I have looked for another story type of math which includes hands on fun and doesn't progress quickly. I ran across Math Lessons for a Living Education. Not trying to discourage you from LOF (we are really enjoying it) just giving another option as well.

 

Meltdowns.

My dd used to do this. What worked for her was the total elimination of gluten and using a modified version of the GAPS diet for a while. This may be a possibility for your child.

[Arboreal TJ]

When my kids started throwing Math tantrums I stopped everything but Fred, after a few weeks I tossed in some Xtramath (free online fact mastery) and just today we started up MEP below their level. If MEP causes tantrums again we'll go back to just LoF and xtramath.

 

[Ravin]

That's what we've done since second grade, with games and some free worksheets here and there to supplement. We'd keep doing it indefinitely if we didn't have the prospect of public school for 6th breathing down our necks. My DD has some of the same sort of issues as yours and we went from her hating math to enjoying it.

[Stellalarella]

LOF for the upper grades (Fractions and above) requires students to be very motivated to read it through and work independently. This is one of the most important skills (going hand in hand with the character issue of persistence) that we hope for our kids to gain. I very much appreciate Stanley Schmidt's advice in this regard.

 

However, I finally had to get the older dc into other math programs that use an incremental, step-by-step approach with plenty of drill. I never set the little kids on LOF alone for that reason.

 

Ardent fans of Fred though we may be, we still find it quite helpful to have access to traditional math curriculums.

 

But could a creative, patient, joyful at the prospect of learning, unconcerned with CommonCore, march-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drum-teacher and highly motivated, independently-powered, not-afraid-to-try-and-fail student make it work as a stand alone? Yes.

[Spryte]

We love LOF here. At her age, I think it would be fine. You could add in games and math readers from the living math site to round it out. Find other ways to make math fun and meaningful in her life.

 

Melt downs are hard. We have had our share, and sometimes we've had to take Fred breaks - and just read, read, read Fred. We always go back to our regular math afterward with a better attitude. :)

[StartingOver]

Have you seen Rosie's videos linked in my signature. They are designed off of Miquon, and the games she plays with rods could be a great way to keep math going for now, while you are using LoF. I think they would work perfectly in your situation. I use them with Miquon or with Singapore with my little ones, you wouldn't even have to have the books, just play the games from the videos to understand the concepts.

[lil' maids in a row]

Reading, reading, reading these responses. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and suggestions.

[BlsdMama]

LOF for the upper grades (Fractions and above) requires students to be very motivated to read it through and work independently.

 

I'm going to expand on what I posted previously.

 

We've used Fred as a storybook, we're currently using Fred for fractions, and we've used Fred in high school for Algebra. As a storybook (for young children like yours) we've found it is fun, helps the children to believe they love math, and helps Mom to think daily about how to integrate math into life. ;) In the middle years (4th-6thish) Fred helps them to think about real life application and beyond simply numbers. In high school, for some kids, Fred can help them get over math hurdles and apply real understanding to math instead of simply regurgitating formulas.

 

Do I feel Fred is "enough"? Yes and no.

Fred in high school is a great program. Did we use it alone? No.

Fred in middle school is a great program. Are we using it alone? No.

Fred with little kids is a great inspiration for them to have a great attitude towards math. Would I use it alone? Absolutely. I don't believe in math "programs" especially on paper (vs. working with manipulatives, drawing, etc.) for young children. So, take that for all of the $0.02 it's worth.

 

And I'll go further in saying that just because you use Fred now, alone, doesn't mean you need to use Fred alone next year or four years down the line. Address needs as you see fit. I absolutely see the value in persistence and teaching children to work through something because it needs to be done! However, after having FIVE seven year olds, I also see that "doing" math at this age a la workbook style is akin to digging fence post holes in Alaska in the dead of winter. There is precious little return for all that effort and I think there are FAR more worthwhile things to spend time on than this.

[LifeLovePassion]

I think my older dd could be her twin. This sounds like my house most days.