Life of Fred--Fred's Home Companion: Advanced Algebra (Life of Fred)

by P.h.D Stanley F. Schmidt Author

(From Amazon): My daughter used to hate math. Then we discovered The Life of Fred and now she LOVES math! At first, I was highly suspicious as I listened to her laugh through her math lessons and totally enjoy doing them. I was stunned to watch her go straight for math when she started her homeschool work each morning. I picked up the book and read an outlandish story about a miniature boy named Fred and all his adventures. I couldn't imagine she was really learning math, so I asked her to tell me what she had learned so far in the 16 lessons she had completed. She quickly jotted down this list for me: infinite sets, natural numbers, integers, set notation, ratios, coefficients . . . (need I go on?) I was impressed to say the least! If you are a nervous mother who really wonders if this could possibly work, these Home Companion books were written for you. These books are study guides that give daily lesson plans, lecture notes for teachers, outlines of the lessons, extra problems not in the book, answer key, quiz and test materials. I have a divided opinion on using these books. If the Life of Fred is working for your child, and they are learning and enjoying, then why mess it up? Life of Fred is meant to be self-taught and I found with Louisa that she just zoomed on her own, and any interference from me would truly have been just that: interference! On the other hand, if you need the security of knowing what is going on and making sure your child is progressing, then buy these books. Hardcover, 128 pages. Review by Diane Hopkins.