Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

Tagged: Life of Fred, LOF

This topic has 9 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 9 months ago by Heather.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

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August 27, 2012 at 12:25 am
Heather
Participant
I wonder if anyone here has used Life of Fred as a stand alone math curriculum. I hesitated to purchase it before due to the cost, but I have obtained a copy of the first on for $5. Yay! So, anyway, I am starting it with my 2nd grader tomorrow who has had a very hard time finding something that works for him. The lessons look relatively short and sweet, but is it enough to be a stand alone? If not what do you use along with it?
Thanks so much in advance for your input!
August 27, 2012 at 9:04 am
Renelle
Participant
Hi Heather,
We’ve used LOF alone for 6 months and think it is terrific. DS10 picked up Teaching Textbooks 5 which we’ve had sitting here and chooses to do it. He has completed TT4 and is playing with TT5 but he eventually finds it boring. Personally I can see us always sticking with LOF where other things will come and go. I don’t require anything else with LOF and think it is a stand alone programme. I do find alot of home schoolers use another programme with it, but I feel it is overkill. It looks at things differently (better) IMHO.
I had a friend high school math teacher check it out and at first he didn’t like it, but as the books progressed he saw the benefits and thought it great and stand alone. His opinion helped me relax about it and we are happy with it.
It is different for everyone and as with anything it is how you use it.
Warmest Wishes, Renelle
August 27, 2012 at 10:13 am
Heather
Participant
Thank you, Renelle! That was the answer I was *hoping* for. I am excited to get started with ds on it. I’ve been praying for something that he’ll be able to “get” and I hope LOF is it!
August 27, 2012 at 10:27 am
Heather
Participant
Oops, double post!
August 27, 2012 at 12:40 pm
4myboys
Participant
From the website:
“Life of Fred Jelly Beans is a hardcover textbook containing 128 pages. This book is not consumable. All answers are written on separate paper or in a notebook. It is designed to be read with the student.
Life of Fred Jelly Beans contains 19 lessons and is designed to take approximately one month to complete.”
I love Fred and so do my boys, but I cannot see this as a completely stand alone curriculum for a couple of reasons. The content may be there BUT here are some things to consider:
1) Concepts are covered in a wonderfully engaging manner, BUT most students will need more practice than what is offered in the few questions at the conclusion of the chapters. They will at least need conversations with the parent to ensure they can apply the concepts beyond the scinerio in the book. Some children will require hands on learning to solidify concepts in their minds.
2) If each book only lasts 1 month, you are going to either finish the books REALLY fast or need to do something else for math for the rest of the year. If your child is ready to go through them one right after the other you could finish them all in one year. Maybe you don’t want to do that. You will still have to plan other activities for math for part of the year.

August 27, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Jennifer WI
Member
I’ve thought about LOF a LOT. Here’s what I’ve come up with, for what it’s worth.
The Elementary books I would not use as a stand-alone, but I WOULD use them ALMOST stand alone. =) Clear? What I mean is this. I would be doing flash cards with them. Card games. Dice games. If there is a page where we count by 2’s to 20, I would continue working on counting by 2’s, only higher. If there are problems she doesn’t get, I may make a few more of my own. At the Elementary level I can still do that! Also, I like Kumon word problem books with Fred Elementary. So I have my dd7 doing LoF Cats right now, but she is also doing Kumon Word Problems Grade 1. She will do grade 2 as well this year. They have 36 section, I believe, with about 10 problems or so each section. So, since there are 36 weeks in a school year (although we do more) I can have her add in a couple story problems each day along with Fred. Or I could have her do one section a week if I like that better. Make sense?
As far as LoF Fractions and above, I do believe it could be stand alone for many children. My ds12 is not mathy. He finally has made it through the Fred Fractions books and he felt such a sense of accomplishment in passing the very first Final Bridge with a passing score. I am still going to make him do the other four Final Bridges for practice anyway before he’s officially done. I know some kids will pass right through the Fractions book by 5th or 6th grade. Well, he actually went through part of it, then backed up all the way to the beginning and did it all again, because he was stuck on multiplying fractions with mixed numbers. It took him going through it twice to truly understand that he has to change it to an improper fraction first. But now he HAS it. He will be starting the Decimals books soon and is very excited to FINALLY get to hear more story. If we get to a place where he is stuck we will use Khan Academy online. That should be plenty to get him some more practice and get him unstuck, and it’s free.
Ok, I have to go. Hope you find some wisdom in all of this. It was a fast response and I haven’t re-read it. Hopefully it makes sense.
August 27, 2012 at 5:15 pm
nebby
Participant
I did a blog post on LOF because I seem to get so many questions about it lately:
http://lettersfromnebby.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/life-of-fred-math/
The short answer for me would be, the elementary series is probably harder to sue as a stand alone but from fractions on it certainly could be.
Nebby
August 27, 2012 at 6:28 pm
LDIMom
Participant
My son used LOF Fractions and Decimals & Percents in 6th grade as a stand-alone that year. It really was just what he needed to go back over these concepts that he had been given in public school, but which he was frustrated and mostly not understanding of them. He started loving math again after LOF. He is NOT using the upper level books right now. I just felt they were not what he needed, but he did complete LOF Pre-Algebra I in the first sememster of 7th grade last year.
I can see us using the upper level books as supplements, but not as the whole curriculum b/c he is not mathy and needs more. Maybe one of our sons could use LOF alone, but time will tell. I am always looking for used copies b/c I would love to own the whole collection of LOF Fractions and above. I don’t think we’d use the elementary books, but I’d buy those at a cheap enough price if the opportunity ever arose.
HTH
August 27, 2012 at 7:14 pm
Des
Participant
LOF can be used as a stand alone program. For lower elementary students, each book should take one month to do, you are to do them every year in order to solidify the facts that are taught. HTH
August 28, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Heather
Participant
Thank you all for your responses…from both sides of the fence! I started LOF with my second grade boy yesterday and I think it’s going to work out well!