Hi all! I have been using Right Start Math with my ds8 and ds6, and I totally love it and would recommend it to anyone, but I need to switch my ds8 to something that is less teacher involved. I ordered Life of Fred because it was recommended by a friend and I had my son look at it and he liked how it was set up (silly story line, few problems per section). My son's ES mentioned that she doesn't think LOF should be used as a main curriculum, more of a supplement. She thinks that there is not enough work on each concept and not enough repetition. I normally don't really pay a whole lot of attention to her curriculum recommendations because her mindset is very public school oriented. But I am curious to hear some reviews by people who have used it. Here's my question: Do you think LOF can be used as a primary math curriculum, or do you have to supplement it? I was thinking if my son needs some extra help with a specific area, I can always print out worksheets online and have him do those.
I honestly feel it's a supplement. I bought the first few elem books when they came out. My kids got nothing from them other than hearing a silly story. Have you looked at TeachingTextbooks? Awesome program and easily hands off for mom for the most part. Definately do the placement test though, their levels are more consistant with public schools which are a tad behind many homeschool curricula.
I can't speak to the elementary books, but dd14 has used LOF(starting with LOF Fractions) the last two years and she loves them! She has gotten so much out of them! I am not a fan of doing a million practice problems so it's perfect for us. A friend of ours uses a different curriculum and her complaint is always that her girls do the first twenty or so problems right and then start making silly mistakes. My question is always, if they did 20 correctly, why do they need more? I know in the upper books, he explains in the intro that LOF is a stand alone curriculum and doesn't work well as a supplement. Maybe the elementary books are different though...
It depends on the kid. For kids who "get it" and are really naturals at math, LoF is all they need. It teaches everything. For kids who need a lot of drill and practice, it's not going to work. You'll need worksheets or something to reinforce/practice concepts. We love LoF and use it almost exclusively now after trying several things in the past. (We use IXL to pass the time between books, because we're sharing LoF with another family, passing books back and forth as necessary.)
I have a friend who is a certified math teacher. She uses the LOF elementary books as a stand alone, for what that's worth.
This. We use it, although we're only on the elementary books. Last year, I tried to start my (then) 9yo in Fractions, because said the prerequisite was math facts (+ - * /), which had all had down. It was torture, him trying to the through the bridges. I email Dr. Schmid (the author) about the specific issues my son was having and he said to have him finish the elementary books. My take? This is a kid who does not intuit anything about math and needs LOTS of practice. I completely understand how drill would kill the joy for a student who grasps the concept, but this child needs all of those exposures (of repetitive examples) before he even begins to see the patterns or how the math actually works. So if you are working with a child who needs lots of practice, LOF will not be enough. I have another son who is extremely intuitive when it comes to math, but he's also got the corner on "silly." I anticipate that someday, when he's ready for LOF: Fractions, he'll hit the same wall a his brother on the first bridge for a different reason: because he was so busy being silly in reading the silly stories he won't have paid attention. (He's still learning the importance of actually paying attention to what comes out of your pencil...) Another thought -my boys are each competent (or more than competent) readers for their ages. If I let them just do LOF elementary, they would go through all of the books much faster than they would grasp the concepts. So, my younger two each do one LOF chapter per week, and my oldest (now ten) is progressing through the last three LOF elementary books one chapter per day. This is in addition to a "core" math that is very, well, dry, but it gives them rather terse definitions (sometimes, for some of us, it's really helpful to see the definitions laid out stark, outside of the context of the story) and usually enough practice. Even then, sometimes we supplement with Sterling Math or worksheets I print out. We use LOF in parallel with these other activities.
The point of LOF is that it teaches the concept so well the first time, you don't need a lot of repetition (ideally). The bridges are set up so that if you don't pass them, you go back and do the chapters again. This works really well up to a point. I love LOF, use it almost exclusively, but will admit that I throw the occasional worksheet in there when my dd just isn't getting it. I'm sure that Dr Schmidt is truly dedicated to making math fun for kids, but I'm not sure he knows any kids who aren't mathy.
Thanks for all the input. My oldest is certainly one who understands concepts very quickly and needs very little repetition. I am thinking this program will work for him, so I'll just give it a try and see what happens.
We use LoF Elementary with our 4th and 2nd graders as a supplement (just started this school year). It is supposed to be a stand-alone curriculum and the intent I believe is to go through the series of elementary books again - cycle through and repeat them. DS9 completed TT5 and is now on MUS Epsilon and finishing up LoF Elem before we will move on to LoF Fractions. There are certainly a couple of concepts that are not explained and not easy for DS (who is gifted at that, lol) or myself to intuit. I love using it as a supplement though - a little stress-free cuddle time while we read and work through the problems, and the fact that the kids get to see real-life application of math is a definite positive for us
My dd is using LOF Beginning Algebra on its own, but I really can't imagine using the elementary series as anything other than a fun supplement. Also, the elementary series is meant to be read with a parent. Only Fractions onwards is designed to be independent. I would try Teaching Textbooks or Math Mammoth for your older son, and read LOF aloud to both boys on the side.
My daughter IS NOT a person who "gets it". She is not a natural at math, and we use LOF alone. We love it! It is perfect for my daughter. LOF doesn't have to be supplemented if it is used as directed. There are times my daughter aces the first bridges and times she has to go back over and over. She is in 9th grade and has better math skills than I did when I graduated. According to the website, it is complete.
He knows many. This is why he wrote the books. As a high school teacher and college professor, he got tired of seeing student after student not understanding math. Even in his college classes he was surprised that most of the students didn't get it. He first created Fred to help his class, then he wrote the books.
