I wrote an Instagram post yesterday and mentioned the math program we use, Life of Fred. I anticipated that I’d get questions about it, and sure enough, I did! In order to answer some of those questions, I put together this little blog post. I hope it helps you see the process we went through as we began using this curriculum, as well as the things I’ve come to deeply value about it.
If you have further questions, feel free to comment here, send me an email through my website, or message me on Instagram. I’d love to connect with you and help you if I can.
And now, here are 10 things I want to tell you about Life of Fred Math!
We LOVE IT!
This is our second year using it.
This year we are ONLY using Life of Fred for math.
We started with the very first book last year, all 4 kids together. It was super easy at first and the big kids were a little taken aback. “This is too babyish,” they said.I asked them to give it time. I asked them to trust the process. I asked them to trust me.
They did. And soon, they totally loved it! Math became one of our most favorite subjects. Which has not been the case in 10 years of home schooling.
We flew through the early books and when it got more difficult they slowed down. Each kid is working at their own pace, in different books now.
These books teach SO many math concepts at all levels. It’s not “grade level” math. It’s just the building of one mathematical understanding upon another. And it works! There is so much learning happening, across all subjects, in each and every lesson.
Because Life of Fred uses a narrative style to teach, my story loving kids connected with it immediately. They recall concepts along with the story and it makes the learning stick like it never has before.
I also love that this is not “drill and kill” style teaching. Rather, the approach is “broad and deep”. The idea is to build a love for learning about all things. And to include math as one of those things your student loves to learn.
Lastly, you need to know, it will take courage for you to use this math program. Because Life of Fred is different than the norm. At first, you’ll probably feel like your kids aren’t doing enough math. You might worry they’re behind their grade level peers. You have to TRUST THE PROCESS. And then be willing to do things differently because it’s working for your kids.
And now, I’m throwing in a few more things here because I want you to know them and because that’s how I roll. 😉
Life of Fred math is straightforward. It doesn’t come with lots of manipulatives or things to cut out and all kinds of things to prepare ahead of time. I’m the kind of teacher who gets overwhelmed by lengthy lessons, and lots to prepare before I even teach. I love the simplicity of Life of Fred. I also love that the simplicity in no way detracts from the learning my kids are getting.
Life of Fred math goes from kinder all the way through college!! That’s right. Life of Fred covers algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics, statistics and calculus. There is also chemistry, beginning readers, and even language arts! Visit the website here to see all the books available.
Life of Fred math is super affordable. It’s just one book at a time. I love that! Also, the books are hard cover and are non consumable. That means they can be used over and over for all your students. Your kids do their work in a separate notebook. You can buy each book individually on Amazon as you need them. Or you can buy whole sets.
If you or your kids are struggling with math, I can’t encourage you enough to try starting your own math journey with Life of Fred books! It might just change everything.
Last thing. This is not a sponsored post. I just really love this math curriculum. So I want to share it with you. But even if it was a sponsored post, my words would be the same. I never recommend anything to you that I don’t use and love. Just wanted you to be sure you knew that. 😉
Again, I hope this was helpful for you. Please let me know if you have further questions. And here’s something this former math phobic never dreamed she’d say, Cheers to Math!
Greta
This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for clicking through and showing your support.
