Life if Fred ?'s

[babydogs3]

I'm thinking if using life of Fred for my K. Is the 1st book appropriate for this age? Is it a full curriculum or just a supplement? Pros & cons to it? Thanks!

[7mom7]

Yes, I think the first book is appropriate for Kindergarten. I feel like it is more of a supplement than a full curriculum. Pros- I really like it, makes math seem applicable and useful Cons- DS doesn't really love it. He's beyond excited to do some worksheets with math but he seems less excited if I pull out LOF. I'm hoping that may change as he's able to read a little better on his own.

[lyn1270]

I agree 2/7mom7. LOF is fine for a k/1st grader. I don't think of it as a full math curriculum. I used it last summer just to keep us refreshed. DS1 loved it. He read several chapters a day, and in fact, he ended up reading the entire book in a week or so. I think that if you are an unschooler, LOF is probably just perfect. For us, it was just fun for the summer.

[Kristi26]

LOF is a great curriculum for the kid that isn't into math but loves the arts and reading and stories. It introduces math concepts in a different way, making them completely applicable to life. If you do it alongside of your child and add extra problems when you see that it is necessary, it would absolutely work well as a curriculum by itself.

That said, ODS used LOF Fractions this year to review fractions AGAIN. Now, he is dyscalculic so he already struggles a lot in the area of math so keep that in mind here. He loved the story of Fred. He even grasped a few more fraction concepts than he had prior to starting the book. But he still didn't totally get fractions by the time he'd finished the book. We switched to yet another curriculum and found the one that works for our family: Math-U-See. ODS will move onto the decimals and percents curriculum for MUS (Zeta) in a couple of weeks (because he needs to continue to work with math all the time due to his dyscalculia). This time, when he finishes MUS Zeta, he will review it again using LOF Decimals and Percents. Like I said, we did enjoy it and it did work a little, but it wasn't a good fit for us completely.

HTH!

[anothergirl]

LOF is definitely a full, solid curriculum. Wonderful for my daughter, my son detested it

[Gaiaschild]

I think this sums it up:

Life of Fred Elementary does not spend a lot of time teaching the basic math facts. Dr. Schmidt believes the basic math facts can be taught in an informal way using games and flashcards. If you are someone who needs a more structured approach to teaching the basic fact while not getting the student bogged down with page after page of the boring, repetitive questions, check out Professor B Mathematics Level 1 and 2. We (JOY Center of Learning) personally recommend Professor B Mathematics Levels 1 and 2 for teaching the math skills needed before starting the Life of Fred Pre-Algebra series or along with the Elementary Series.

http://www.lifeoffredmath.com/lof2.php

For us, it is supplemental. He designed it to be a complete curriculum, but even as such, you need to supplement with games and reviews on your own. It does not work for us this way, but it seems to work for others. My kids do enjoy the story aspect of it.

[ACSNMama]

We just do it for fun! LOVE LOF over here!!

[3rugrats]

Got this a bit ago for my K'er. She was so-so into it. I loved it and read about 25 pgs. on my first sitting. It's really good! We went through one whole lesson, and while I think she *got it* when she got to the part where they solve some problems it threw her a bit b/c she doesn't like handwriting and had some trouble w/ writing the numbers. I will pull it back out in a few months. while I love it, I'm not sure it is enough as is. I have read that, but I think I would need to supplement w/ some extra practice. We are using Miquon as well which we both love, so I think LOF is going to be just extra fun for us.