Life of Fred

There are a few of you out there who know me outside, in the sun, in the wind, in the fresh air; who know the color of my hair, the gate of my walk, the sound of my voice, and know what my blog readers will learn right now.... I have a math addiction, along with my children....

It goes way back. I used to love math... I was in "advanced math" classes as a child... tested well (beyond well) or so I am told ... by my mother... in mathematics.... and then disaster. It really only takes one bad year, one train wreck of a teacher, one awful curriculum, one bureaucrat, put it all together and you really will turn a gifted kid on their heads....
It was college before I liked math again.... It wasn't until I was homeschooling my kids before I found my LOVE for math again....
and so
I am a little Math crazed...

it is ok, because, It is THEY who are the driving force. It is their hunger that feeds me, and is awakening in me a desire to play at numbers. Solve the problems, challenge myself a little.

It was perhaps my own awful experience that drove me to never rely too much on any one curriculum. To never be apathetic when it came to the universal language of mathematics, music on paper, science made sense, theory proven fact.... never allow apathy.... and so, I have about 5 curriculum's in my home....

And many "Living Math Books". What is a "living Math Book".... I suppose, though I confess I have NOT actually done the proper research to be "certain"; that it was probably inspired by the Biblical times, even the Greeks and the way they taught, and most likely rekindled by the Charlotte Mason approach to education. In a nutshell, the concept of bringing to the child a story, so "alive" so delightful, inspiring, that it ignites learning, ignites a desire to learn more. Living Math books take the math concepts and put them into stories, that bring the math alive, help them to know what the radius is, the diameter and circumference, NOT because they memorized it, NOT because they did 100 problems reinforcing the "concept" but because they read a story that was so wonderful, perhaps so funny, that they simply KNOW what is what, and will know forever.

I have many such books lining my math shelves, and we read them, and enjoy them. I was always sort of sad at the thought that NOW that my children are becoming so advanced in their math, while still so young, would no longer have the opportunity to learn advanced mathematics in this way. It seemed to me that their minds learned these early concepts so well, the books brought SO very much to the table of their minds, linking concepts, bridging gaps, it seemed a shame that their would be no such blessing with pre-algebra, algebra, advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, etc.... so sad....

Then I discovered........... THE LIFE OF FRED by Stanley Schmitt http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html
Oh the delights of my mind!!!!!!!!! I researched, I read reviews, I read sample pages, I could BARELY believe my eyes............. I bought the whole set!
Fractions
Decimals
Algebra
Advanced Algebra
Geometry
Trigonometry
Calculus
Statistics
and YES there are books to go along with the books for additional problems.........
It is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wonderful wonderful

as you read along a day in the life of Fred, mathematical problems arise, which you (the student) need to solve.... Fred is in the first book just 5 1/2 years old, and a professor at a University. He is a really gifted but adorable little boy! Each book appears to be 1 day in the life of Fred. By the last book, if I think I understand it correctly, Fred will be 6 years old.

While my children could have started farther along, I really wanted them to "meet" Fred at the beginning. So we began with fractions. A rather fun review! But what I was NOT prepared for was just HOW much is covered in the LIFE OF FRED that is not covered in the other materials we use.... again just PROVING to me that no curriculum has it ALL :) They still were able to get through 1/2 the book in just 3 sittings, so I am comfortable that it IS a review, but they are not bored, and can NOT wait for the next time with FRED!

Really, it is rather funny... "mom, when can we read Fred"..... "mom, is it almost time for Fred?"
... "oh MOM, please ONE, just ONE more chapter, PLEEEAAASE!!!!!!!!"
who am I to say no to children so desperate for more .... math! :)

What do we do, well, we snuggle on the couch, they each get pencils, and notebooks, and I read, but they read along. When we get to a part that says "your turn to play", they start doing the problems and when those problems done (all done in story format, or in correlation with the story), they tell me the answers and I tell them if it is right or wrong, if wrong....just try again!
Every few chapters is a "bridge", which MUST be crossed before they can continue.... The author has allowed 5 opportunities to cross the bridge, which is about 10 challenging problems. The review is worked into the process beautifully!

Mr. Schmitt the author mentions in his book, that if your child finishes successfully all of these books, they ought to test into their Jr year of college.... (all the books not counting statistics)!

For those of you worried about ALEKS.... :) We ARE using Aleks as our core curriculum, and shall continue to as we move to Europe to live for the next few months. Fred is my supplement... And may become my core eventually. I just needed "something" that was ALIVE, so math didn't become sterile for them, or for me........... Aleks is great!

ONE negative comment with Aleks....... if you the parent find yourself in a situation where your child is ill, for a week or more, and you come back to Aleks, and your child needs to take an assessment (a TEST), you do not have the privilege of postponing it so that they might spend time reviewing, remembering, or re looking at work previously learned, to study...... if they do poorly, they will just be put back several levels, which for a 2E kids who has frequent bouts with illness can be VERY emotionally trying. There is NOT a lot of grace with Aleks. So have them take good notes in a book, or help them to take good notes for review....One must be the energizer bunny, and just keep going and going and going.......... Something to consider :)