Life of Fred. Say What?!

You may have heard that kids regress academically over the summertime. If you haven't, just google it. You can read all about "Summer Learning Loss," how awful it is, and what you can do to battle it. 

With that in mind, I totally intended to play lots of math games this summer to keep my son's brain juices flowing. As you know, I'm a fan of our homeschool math program, Right Start. It's fantastic. But every lesson requires my one-on-one attention. So by the end of the school year, I'm ready for a break. 

This summer we met Fred. 

A friend of mine lent me the first book in the Life of Fred elementary math book series. I think I told my son to do a lesson in it a grand total of two times before he finished the entire book on his own. He LOVES it. Fred has changed my life. (Ok, perhaps I'm being a little dramatic, but I am really happy to have found Fred!)

How to Organize Right Start Math Manipulatives!

Isn't it fun to get packages in the mail? I love getting school supplies like this! This is the box we got from Right Start Math...

After receiving it I wondered how in the world I'd organize all that stuff in a way that was uniform and accessible. I googled it and checked on Pinterest trying to find a storage system I liked and kept coming up short. After looking at a variety of storage containers from several different stores, I ended up finding JUST the perfect thing, and the price tag was minimal. I imagine I'm not the only mom who has wished for a good Right Start organization system, so I thought I'd share what I came up with.

Right Start Math Review

We have been using Right Start Math this year, and are loving it! Right Start takes a unique approach to math that just makes sense to me and I love seeing my son do well with it. (Here he is with little brother tagging along.)

Here is a glimpse into their philosophy:

•  "Informal mathematics should precede paper and pencil work. Long before a child knows how to add fractions with unlike denominators, she should be able to add one half and one fourth mentally." Instead of putting lots of abstract worksheets in front of a Kindergartener, we're working hands-on with quality manipulatives. A lot of them. 
• "The only students who like flash cards are those who do not need them." Amen to that. We use games, not flash cards, for practice. 

Math Resources for Home Educators

We start out Right Start Math for math instruction, which takes a unique approach that just makes sense to me, and results in excellent mental math abilities. I wrote a review of Right Start Math here. I think it's given my boys a fantastic foundation in math! 

We switch over to Teaching Textbooks when they're ready for it, around second or third grade. It's an independent math program, done on the computer. I was pleased with our transition from one to the other, and I think it was made easier in great part because of how well Right Start helped them understand math to begin with.  

We supplement with Life of Fred, starting in first or second grade. It's an enjoyable set of books that kids can do on their own, so we use it in the summer and/or for car schooling. I wrote a review of Life of Fred here. 


 
Here are the math freebies and online resources I've found...

Free Math Games & Drills Online...

• Shepphard Software - Games for Kindergarten to Pre-Algebra 
• AAA Math - Practice games and drills for K-8th grade
• Johnnie's Math Page - interactive tools & activities for kids and teachers 
• Number Munchers - a free version of Math Munchers Deluxe, for kids age 8-12