Customer Reviews
Kelly of Silverton, OR, 10/18/2012
UPDATE: After we finished Life of Fred I was curious to see if she really and truly *covered* Algebra. Blessedly, oldest daughter was game to "test" her knowledge as well. She re-took the Algebra I Teaching Textbooks course to see if she truly had picked up Algebra as thoroughly as she had hoped.
She completed the course with an overall grade of 97%. Needless to say, yes, Life of Fred worked.
Not only did it cover the material, it helped her overcome the idea that she couldn't "do" Algebra. Life of Fred was well worth the time we invested in what we considered, at that time, an experiment!
Kelly of Silverton, OR, 6/13/2012
Algebra I was a hit! After failing miserably with Saxon Algebra & TT Algebra, we decided to give Fred a shot. Our daughter loved it. She has never loved numbers, but Fred has given Ana a new level of tolerance for mathematics.
What we loved: We loved the entertainment factor. More than that, the way he explains algebra made it very understandable for a girl who feels competent with WORDS and over her head with numbers!
What we used: We used BOTH the book & the home companion. The book alone would not have been sufficient for her.
When all was done: We are "testing" Fred right now by having her go through Teaching Textbooks Algebra again quickly. Remember, she has tried TT before and couldn't finish it. However, this time around she is finding she understands it all and it's simple. Success!
Caveat: We went on to Geometry after Beginning Algebra and found that more difficult. I think the Home Companion is really necessary for kids struggling as it is difficult for them to "play" without fully understanding the concept and not having a fair number of problems to practice on and cement each concept before moving on.
Remember that this is not your typical textbook. You can't simply do Chapter 1 followed by Chapter 2. You really need to read Chapter 1, move into Chapter 2, come back and re-visit Chapter 1 concepts a bit, slide over to Chapter 3, re-read a part in Chapter 2... Well, you get the idea.
Loved it.