The Life of Fred books don't feel like a regular math textbooks. They tell the story of an interesting young boy who uses math in the course of his daily adventures. The author uses humor and invites readers to interact with the story.
The Life of Fred series begins at the fifth grade level with fractions and continues with decimals and percents, pre-algebra (with biology, economics, and physics), beginning and advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, statistics, and linear algebra.
Math for Gifted Children
The Life of Fred series is often billed as a program for gifted children, but I would suggest that the author's approach makes math more accessible to all children. It's based on "stories and puzzles, rather than rule memorization and endless repetition," as Patti Miller pointed out in her review of Life of Fred for homeschool high school.
I began using the Fred series with my six- and eight-year-old daughters. The younger had been intimidated by math, but she quickly got excited about the silly, quirky story of Fred. Now she's proud of her collection of written exercises from the books and she has made some impressive links to her musical knowledge.
Self-Teaching for Verbal Learners
Patti Miller described the Fred series as self-explanatory. She said "... most young people will need very little assistance. More importantly, these are the books that may lure some kids into really enjoying and doing well in middle and high school mathematics. They are also the only math series which may cause the reader to laugh out loud and call younger sisters and brothers to hear a Fred story!"
This has certainly been the case with my daughters. The older reads the books on her own, while the younger and I often read them together. They laugh together about the stories and my younger daughter certainly loves to share with her big sister what she has learned.
Carla Marie Boulianne described the Life of Fred program as a verbal or literary approach to math. She said: "Young learners can relate to the character. Gifted readers will love a literary approach to mathematical concepts from whole numbers to computing the edged in a hypertesseract."
Math Approaches for Different Learning Styles
Boulianne gave further recommendation for learners with non-verbal strengths, such as kinesthetic and visual learners. My children play online math games and use math manipulatives to supplement the concepts presented in Life of Fred.
If you're looking for something different, Life of Fred is different from any other math series I've seen. The Fred series spans through college level, so children can enjoy the continuity of the story for years.
Sources
- Boulianne, Carla Marie. "Advanced Math for Young Gifted Children," Suite101.com, Oct 2008.
- Boulianne, Carla Marie. "Best Homeschool Math Curriculum for Gifted Kids," Suite101.com, Oct 2008.
- Miller, Patti. "Homeschool High School Math with Life of Fred," Suite101.com, Dec 2008.
Sara McGrath - Sara is a veteran homeschool mom of three, Usborne consultant, and the author of Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning.
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