Review Detail

I've used the beginning of the elementary books with my "advanced" daughter in kindergarten and first grade, and the fractions/decimals books with a middle school son.

I found the early elementary books alleged scaffolding to be rather scattershot and random. My daughter originally found the whole concept of learning Fred's way fascinating, but that waned by the time she finished half the book. "Well, I like the story about Fred, but it didn't teach me much real math." I agree with her. We looked at another one at the bookstore half a year later and she wasn't interested in bringing it home. I can't imagine using Fred for anything but a supplement for elementary math.

The fractions and decimals/percents books were also originally well-received by my middle school son as well. He loved the story. This child did struggle with math, and I was hopeful that the entertaining story would reel him in. He loved the story aspect and the tiny problem sets. Unfortunately Fred lacked teaching the WHY of the math and my son struggled to learn new concepts with these books. Anyone can memorize an algorithm, but if he isn't taught how and why it works, it won't be retained long term. After my son learned his fractions and decimals with a traditional math book that explained the concepts thoroughly he could enjoy Fred as a fun summer review. Again, this would not be sufficient as a primary math text, but it could be a fun supplement for the right kid.