
Life of Fred Pre-Algebra 5 Book Set: Fractions, Decimals & Percents, Elementary Physics, Pre-Algebra 1 & Pre-Algebra 2
I was highly suspicious as I listened to Louisa 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! How could a girl who hates math actually be enjoying Algebra and really learning the terminology as well as how to do the operations? I contacted Stan Schmidt, the author of the Life of Fred, and a retired college math professor of 28 years whose self-proclaimed mission is to help kids love math. I asked him, "How do I know a student who does Life of Fred will retain it?