As you know, we have made some big changes in our homeschool curriculum in the last 6 weeks. Trail Guide to Learning by Geography Matters is a hit all around, but so is our math!
I have been a bit hesitant to talk about it, because the last math curriculum seemed good at first, but was a bust.
However, I just ordered another title in the Life of Fred Elementary Series, and I know that we for sure love it, so I am sharing with you now.
First of all, Life of Fred is NOTHING like any other math curriculum you will ever find. That is a VERY good thing.
See the little guy on the cover? That is Fred, he is a 5-year-old genius/ professor for KITTENS University. Every lesson centers around-wait for it- the Life of Fred.
The stories are funny, and entertaining. They also sneak in a whole lot of learning!
And the lessons aren’t just math, you will also get a lot of real world facts that you won’t find in any math book.
You will also be happy to find sprinkles of character lessons-
{ the illustrations are even hilarious-I could have totally made them myself!}
Life of Fred gives a living book feel to math, but is NOT watered down. There is tough stuff in these books!
Some Q&A-
Will this curriculum be enough? {I knew you were going to ask!}
My answer is yes, and that is the same answer I got from Stan, who wrote the books. At the beginning, I had yet to catch on to what LOF is all about, and I ordered supplement curriculum.
We didn’t use it past the first week. They just don’t need it.
Where should my child start?
The professional opinion of Stan is located on the Life of Fred website. I personally have my 2nd, 3rd, and 6th grader in Apples, the first book in the Elementary Series. {My 6th grader is behind in some math from public school, and does two lessons a day.}
I emailed Stan the other day {he always promptly emails back} and he suggests not starting Apples until 1st grade in most cases.
Our 8th grader is in Fractions, but he also reads Apples for fun.
Yes, fun.
Is it expensive?
Not only are most of the volumes $16.00-18.00, but they are hardback, non-consumable books you can use year after year. Stan also pays the media mail shipping {be sure to check the shipping box} when you purchase through Z-Twist Books. {You won’t find them cheaper on Amazon, and you won’t see free shipping either.}
So to recap, we LOVE Life of Fred. If you would like to learn more/see for yourself, there are helpful links all through this post, to just where you will want to go, just hover your mouse and they will pop up.. If you choose to purchase, there are no affiliate links or anything, I just try to make things easy to share with others.
If you feel like math produces only tears and panic attacks, I would run to the Life of Fred site now!
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