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Life of Fred: Curriculum Review, part 2

by Toni Herrbach

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Not too long ago, I wrote a review for Life of Fred math curriculum. I said that it started at about 5th grade and went on through college level mathematics. I now have a son using the Geometry book, a son using the Beginning Algebra book, and a daughter using the Fractions book that leads into Pre-Algebra. Well, I’m delighted to add that I now have two more sons using a Life of Fred math book and loving it. Life of Fred now starts with Apples as the beginning of a new Elementary series for younger learners. I am starting with my two kids that know how to read but aren’t old enough for the other Life of Fred books. So far, so good, and when we opened the package containing our new Life of Fred book my younger boys were so excited.

Life of Fred: Apples

In fact, I don’t think this 18 chapter book is going to last more than a few days. Samuel, 6, went through 3 chapters the first day, including the “Your Turn to Play” which is like the assignment. He says the part where he gets to do stuff is his favorite. Nathanael, 8, wasn’t quite as excited but he likes the story and decided to keep up with his younger brother.

working hard...

I like that the concepts are presented in such a clear manner, yet the author does not point out what is being learned like your typical math book. There is no “drill and kill”. This works for us. I can always find worksheets to do a hundred problems just like the one they missed. However, we can practice things like that separately. Life of Fred is perfect for us, because everyone in our family loves to read, loves to think for themselves, and loves to know WHY something is the way it is. We also have a wacky sense of humor that just seems to be right in sync with Fred. Even my older kids who are familiar with Fred want to read the new books.

What I am excited about now is the other 11 books in the elementary series (only 4 are out now, 4 out by the end of October and the remaining 4 by Easter next year) and how my younger children will start out with Fred and what I feel is a firm base of math knowledge from the beginning. They will start with what they’ve learned just from being in our home from games, kitchen activities, counting with Mom, and puzzles, and be able to really understand the basics before moving on.

This series is also inexpensive, just like the junior high, high school and college series, and while I haven’t seen them all, I like what I see so far! With Life of Fred, you can see sample pages, read testimonials, and even email the author about anything you want.

Check out Life of Fred here!

Tabitha (wife to Tom, homeschooling mom to 8 kids ages 14 to 1, learning something new all the time)

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Comments | 9 comments

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Comments

  1. Rhonda says

    at

    I am going to start the fractions with my son later this school year and was so happy to see that they have expanded to elementary. I have a 2nd gr. and wondered if you had any insight on what would be the best one of the younger books to start with? Don’t want to start something to basic and she get bored. (she’s in 3 dig. add/sub and basic fractions/basic mult.) Thanks!!

    Reply
  2. erin says

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    I just ordered books E-H which will be shipped this month(10/11). The site now says the FINAL 2 books are due out by February. My 5 year old is excited and hopes to get the final 2 books for his birthday in February.
    I was a little disappointed in LoF:Dogs it seemed morbid for such youngsters but it’s my son’s favorite. I love Fred!

    Reply
  3. Rhonda S says

    at

    We started with Singapore math.. and more traditional curricula but switched to Life of Fred a few years ago.. first as a supplement and now as our primary curricula. My daughter is using the Calculus now. My son is in Algebra. Does it work??? Well… you can never judge by just one child but my eldest flew through the ACT and missed one question on the PSAT math section in her Sophomore year. She will begin college dual enrollment come January and I am confident she will thrive!

    Reply
    • Veronica says

      at

      Thank you so much for the review of high school Life of Fred!

      Reply
  4. Tabitha says

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    I noticed he changed how many books there will be in the series since I wrote this. Still very exciting! 10 is a good number of books.

    I would just start with Apples no matter what age you are working with and go from there! My 6 and 8 year olds just loved it and finished in about a week and are begging me to order the next one!

    Reply
  5. Sam @ Sam's Noggin says

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    I too, reviewed this awesome curriculum. I love it so much I gave one away on my blog that I had purchased. Best math ever!

    Reply
  6. Pecan Grove Academy says

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    I started with Fred this year after going through curriculum after curriculum after curriculum over the last 3 years. My son is in 4th grade but we decided to start with Apples just because I thought it would be a good introduction. He loves it! We are now on the Honey book, having worked through every other book up to this point. He usually does 2 chapters a day, and then we work on the multiplication tables a couple of times a week. We plan on starting Fractions next year.
    I have been a little nervous about how well he is retaining the information, so I am making up a test of sorts to check. I hope my nervousness is unfounded – guess we’ll see soon!
    Even if he ends up needing me to give him a few extra problems, I foresee Fred being in our lives for a long time. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Pecan Grove Academy says

    at

    Oh! I also wanted to let you know that Dr. Schmidt has also compiled a book with “a zillion” practice problems with detailed solutions for Beginning Algebra. Score! 😀

    Reply
  8. Tabitha says

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    We just bought the Zillions of Practice Problems (ZOPP for short) for my 7th grader. He didn’t even complain at “more” work!

    We also just received Cats and Dogs in the mail today, and my now 7 year old sat RIGHT down to get started, packaging still sitting on the floor by us…

    Reply

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