LOF elementary books - reviews?

[Spring Flower]

I'm trying to decide if the LOF elementary books would be worth buying. In the search I have done on the books I've only found positive reviews. Is anyone out there disappointed with these books? I'm looking to use them as a supplement to Saxon 3.

[Eagle]

My son loves them. They are the main reason he likes math.

 

As a bonus, LoF taught him:

- who Archimedes was

- 4x + 3x = 7x

- the Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world

- the Big Dipper is an asterism, not a constellation

- the cardinality of a set

- ordinal numbers

- if tomorrow is Tuesday then yesterday was Sunday

 

And a whole lot more!

[Bree]

They really build upon themselves nicely. My ds actually reads them all himself but I like to read them too to find out what is going on with Fred ;) they are a little expensive but well worth it for us because it has given my math hating son a love for math :)

[Happy2BaMom]

Hmmmm, we have been not so thrilled with them. The first one, Apples, was hysterically funny & very good. It was pretty much downhill from there with us. The focus started to go far beyond math (you'd have grammar thrown in, astronomy, etc - I realize some people like this, but it got to the point where it confused dd and just plain irritated me), plus the stories weren't very funny any more, some material seemed too difficult for my 1st grader, but then it would get easy again.

 

I don't know. Meh. Wish I hadn't spent the money, but understand that we are probably in the minority here. Will probably sell when I have the time.

[Ravin]

There were some typos here and there, generally not in the math. DD has really enjoyed them.

[Esse Quam Videri]

I have mixed feelings about them. Last year we borrowed the LOF elementary series and I thought they were okay, but honestly (for us) a waste of time. I really value quality literature, so LOF took up valuable read-aloud time that I would rather be giving to other books. Also, my kids are strong in math and LOF took up valuable math enrichment time that I wanted to use for other supplements (SM IP, Beast Academy, etc). So I gave the books back. Well, recently DS has really started to hate math (though he's accelerated and good at it) so just a few nights ago I started reading LOF Fractions with him and he is actually liking it :hurray:. Basically, I think LOF's "worth" really depends on your specific situation and child. It certainly isn't going to hurt or be useless, but the cost is really only worth it if it fits your child's needs. I would buy ONE book first (used) and then see how it goes.

[poiema]

I have mixed feelings about them. Last year we borrowed the LOF elementary series and I thought they were okay, but honestly (for us) a waste of time. I really value quality literature, so LOF took up valuable read-aloud time that I would rather be giving to other books. Also, my kids are strong in math and LOF took up valuable math enrichment time that I wanted to use for other supplements (SM IP, Beast Academy, etc). So I gave the books back. Well, recently DS has really started to hate math (though he's accelerated and good at it) so just a few nights ago I started reading LOF Fractions with him and he is actually liking it :hurray:. Basically, I think LOF's "worth" really depends on your specific situation and child. It certainly isn't going to hurt or be useless, but the cost is really only worth it if it fits your child's needs. I would buy ONE book first (used) and then see how it goes.

I joined you in your my-kid-hates-math thread and I actually have LOF in my cart right now (just doing some last minute searching before hitting 'buy'). I am hoping that will be our solution. He read some of the samples online and gave it an 8 out of 10. :D That is definitely worth the cost, but now I'm off to search for some used copies...

[SFM]

We use Singapore and add in LoF for fun and my son LOVES Fred. Even my younger ones listen in. We read a chapter on MWF right now but we started at the beginning and are on Edgewood (so as we progress we might slow down). I wouldn't use it as a full math program for us personally but we like it for the added fun element that they provide. My son sometimes reads them on his own time, he likes them that much, he thinks they are silly and humorous.

[Grover]

DS started Life of Fred with Apples when he received them for his 5th birthday (we thought he'd like a five year old maths professor when he was five). He read through the books with delight at his own speed (Apples - Honey over a few days) but I also insisted we sat and read the chapters to each other (taking turns) and recorded all of the answers as we went. Before starting Apples he had completed Miquon up to yellow and he finished the rest of the series over the next 3 months or so. He now (6.6) is finishing up Mineshaft. Initially he blew through the books at a rate of 4 - 8 chapters per day, slowed only by my unavailability, when we got to Ice Cream he slowed to 2 chapters today and now (Mineshaft) he completes 1 or sometimes two chapters a day. He still chooses to read previously completed Fred books for his leisure and frequently tells me what Stan has told him about X or what Fred did with Y. He has learnt many new mathematical concepts with very little effort - and this has meant that when he has encountered them again in other situations he's been prepared and has had the required information to move forward, often without even really knowing it. He has been known to pronounce with delight, "I didn't know Fred was teaching me that!) He has learnt that character is learning to keep trying in the face of challenge - and I think that's the most important lesson he's got from Fred. While we don't share Stan and Fred's religious world view, we have found it has sparked some interesting discussions.

 

For us, Fred has been a process of mathematical discovery and personal development, delight driven and interest directed. I am aware that others have not enjoyed him as much, so your MMV, but for us, Fred is a wonder.

[Butter]

Adric reads them for fun and loves them. He doesn't use them in any way as part of his math curriculum. He just loves math and is getting really good at reading and is enjoying that, too, so they are win-win fun for him.

[SarahW]

I just started Apples with my kid. We've read all but the last two chapters so far. It was mostly review for him, so we just did it orally.

 

My kid is a bit "ahead" in math, but I constantly run into the problem of him yelling "I don't know this!!" when he is presented a new problem that I know he could do if he stopped to think about it. He also gets really mad when he gets something wrong. With LOF I noticed that he was more willing to think through new information and the "hey, what do you think the answer to this might be?" questions encouraged him to guess and see that it didn't matter if he didn't quite guess "right."

 

He is also a very silly kid, so the silly factor was a huge draw for him. And he enjoys learning "big" information, so he thought learning about vigintillion was very cool. He also really liked learning what x equals, I think all the blank lines in his math equations were starting to really annoy him.

 

The small amount of chapter questions was also helpful, though I don't know how they'll work when we move away from review to new information. My kid does get very mad when asked to do things he knows already over and over, so I think he'll find it great, but we'll see.

[junepep]

I'd second the suggestion of buy one and see how it goes.

 

I just asked Kit if she liked the Life of Fred Apples and she said: "A little bit, but not really".

 

Maybe it's because we've read so many math books that we've loved more from the local library or maybe it's because she loves her math programs already (she's currently doing MEP and Miquon) and LoF really shines with kids who don't enjoy their main curricula, or maybe it's because she's a left brain learner and LoF works better for right brain learners. I have no idea, but for whatever reason it was a poor fit for us. So only buy one, and if your child loves it, then let him run with it (but beware of Dogs, I understand that he returned the dog because he couldn't care for it but, it left a bad taste in my mouth - there are other ways to teach pet/personal responsibility).

[lexi]

Hmmmm, we have been not so thrilled with them. The first one, Apples, was hysterically funny & very good. It was pretty much downhill from there with us. The focus started to go far beyond math (you'd have grammar thrown in, astronomy, etc - I realize some people like this, but it got to the point where it confused dd and just plain irritated me), plus the stories weren't very funny any more, some material seemed too difficult for my 1st grader, but then it would get easy again.

 

I don't know. Meh. Wish I hadn't spent the money, but understand that we are probably in the minority here. Will probably sell when I have the time.

 

This was our experience except we only thought Apples was "ok". The writing is meh, the storyline is ridiculously strange, the math was all over the place, there were random concepts thrown in, and the difficulty level was not consistent.

My dd is not a Fred kid. Maybe one of my others will be. (However, I'm not.....)

[Ravin]

I wanted to add that my DD, who was in total "I hate math" mode before we started Fred, insisted on relabeling Math "Fun Math" on our planner with the addition of Fred. Since I added in Saxion I'm not sure she still agrees with that assessment, but Fred was an attitude-changer, at least until we got to Honey and long division threw her for a loop.

[Spring Flower]

Thanks for the reviews! I think we'll give Apples a try.

[poiema]

While we don't share Stan and Fred's religious world view, we have found it has sparked some interesting discussions.

What are the religious views? I looked at the website and some samples last night but didn't see anything religious.

[SarahW]

What are the religious views? I looked at the website and some samples last night but didn't see anything religious.

 

In Apples I think there were two references to "God" in a rather generic way. I've glanced through Butterflies and Cats and they seem to be about the same.

 

The impression I got was that the author believes that the order of numbers (and therefore the order of the universe) is divinely inspired.

 

I hate the "let's throw Bible verses in wherever was can" curricula with a passion, but I am comfortable with Fred so far.

[Alice]

We really liked the LOF Fractions. Based on that and glowing reviews here I got the elementary series. I have sort of mixed feelings. I agree with the previous posters who said that all the extra stuff thrown in is kind of weird and sort of distracting. Ds doesn’t mind but I’m not sure he is learning much from all the extra stuff, he is on the young side so that may be part of it.

 

There is no way in my mind that LOF elementary could be used as the only math curriculum and it’s expensive for a fun supplement. Right now for us, it’s a fun supplement. My middle son has decided he hates math and LOF has been great for that reason. He likes it and I’m all for something that makes him see math in a different, positive light. At the same time, I think if I hadn’t already bought the whole set I would stop where we are and use other fun things.

[SarahW]

I just want to comment about the "extra stuff" and "random content."

 

Teaching 10 to the 64th power in a K/1st book seems like a random extra, I know. However, I have a brother who did very advanced mathematics and he would often complain to me about how normal math instruction was "stupid" for not showing certain concepts until very late. I didn't understand his complaint very well, because I was more than happy to stop learning math after College Algebra. But I think he would be inordinately pleased with the random extras in LOF.

 

For example, my kid had been doing _ + 3 = 7 type equations for some months now. The few sentences in Apples where it was explained that you could write this instead as x+3=7 so you knew that x=4 was immediately understood by my kid, and seemed to be something of a relief. I think this is what my brother was talking about, it is overly complicated to present someone with an equation that looks like null + 3 = 7 and then have them figure out that null = 4. null = 4 is just confusing, which is why math uses variables. So why not just use the variables in the first place? Just because variables are usually reserved for Algebra class?

 

I agree that it can seem confusing, but right now I trust it enough to just go with it. But I'll probably have my brother check them out sometime soon and then revisit my level of trust.

[Grover]

What are the religious views? I looked at the website and some samples last night but didn't see anything religious.

the most recent example I can think of is Fred making up a function (where every member of the domain must match with just one member of the codomain) and using various people and various animals - and matching people to the "human" codomain and animals to the "animal" codomain. This made DS fall about laughing because Fred had made a mistake, as the humans would also match to the animal codomain and that's not allowed.

 

There have also been references to Fred being happy in god's love / god being a set of one, etc - nothing major and nothing we can't discuss under the umbrella of "some people believe different things." It doesn't stop us loving Fred.

[Grover]

What are the religious views? I looked at the website and some samples last night but didn't see anything religious.

the most recent example I can think of is Fred making up a function (where every member of the domain must match with just one member of the codomain) and using various people and various animals - and matching people to the "human" codomain and animals to the "animal" codomain. This made DS fall about laughing because Fred had made a mistake, as the humans would also match to the animal codomain and that's not allowed.

 

There have also been references to Fred being happy in god's love / god being a set of one, etc - nothing major and nothing we can't discuss under the umbrella of "some people believe different things." It doesn't stop us loving Fred.

[BatmansWife]

There is no way in my mind that LOF elementary could be used as the only math curriculum and it’s expensive for a fun supplement. Right now for us, it’s a fun supplement.

 

:iagree:

 

I have mixed feelings about the books. We only have A - D. We are in C. We started these last year and half way through C we stopped. Not because we wanted to quit, but we were reading them as a bedtime reading, and we switched gears and started reading something else. Well we recently picked C back up and are reading it again (even though dd is capable of reading them herself, I read them aloud to her as she follows along and she works the problems). She has always enjoyed the Fred books, but I am a bit on the fence. There were so many spelling typos in the books we've read so far...and that really bugged me (was there no editor before these went to print??). I think the books are just weird. Sometimes I wonder why on earth is this in here...like when the guys at the school....were they maintenance men? I can't remember....there were 3 and then only 2....or 2 and then only 1 (again, I can't remember the details) but one ended up being gone because the bell tower fell over on him. Apparently it squished him to death. Why didn't he just move away? But, I tend to over analyze things....like I wonder where are his parents? Why is he at this school? How can he be teaching math at college when he's only five? Etc, etc, etc. LOL! So, I have to just let it roll off and not worry about it at all. My daughter doesn't mind any of it. And she likes them so much that when she heard how far the books go (including the high school books) she begged me the other night to let us read through all of them. So, I suppose we'll stick with Fred as a fun read until the end (or until she decides she's done). My daughter does really enjoy math in story form, so I've decided I'm getting King Joe for next year. But, we'll also end up getting LOF D - J too.

[I.Dup.]

What book level would you recommend if I were to try with a 3rd and 6th grader? I don't really want to buy all of them, and I think Apples would be too simple. All of the different levels confuse me.

[*Michelle*]

What book level would you recommend if I were to try with a 3rd and 6th grader? I don't really want to buy all of them, and I think Apples would be too simple. All of the different levels confuse me.

 

 

Here are the table of contents of each book. It might help you figure out which one would be best to begin with.