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Unsolicited Raves from Readers . . .

 

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Dear Mr. Schmidt,
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your Life of Fred books. I could not put the first book down! I read the first eight chapters straight through and may read more this weekend. This is so much more fun than what I've been doing (Abeka grade 6) because of the humor. I think it's funny how Fred always puts noses on his animals. I also really enjoyed the flood chapter because I love studying weather. My brother, who is in 4th grade, is supposed to wait till I finish this book to start, but he heard me and my mom laughing, and wanted to start now. By the way, I live in Kansas, like Fred. Thank you for putting humor into my math.

I have to say that even though I am the mother and the teacher, logic is something I will look forward too. I majored in art and logic in college. All of my children absolutely love your books and I am filled with gratitude that you took time to write back to my daughter. I wish you could see the huge smile that lit up her face when she found out she actually got a response from you. We plan to collect all of the books you have out and any future ones.

My autistic child who is the oldest thrives with this math program. I was making it no where with him until we started this.

Keep up the good work :)

Mr. Schmidt,
I just wanted to write to and tell you what a blessing Fred has been to us! My 8 year old son has struggled with reading. He tells me he hates it. Then we discovered Life of Fred! He loves hearing what Fred is up to. He loves your turn to play problems. I heard that you had beginning reading books. I thought well why not? We received them in the mail today. He was so excited to have more Fred! He sat down and read the first two books to me out loud!! He went to bed saying he could wait to read the next book! Thank you again for Fred!

Hello! I am a curriculum consultant and yesterday I tested a homeschooler that uses Life of Fred. I wanted you to know that in the Calculations section of the WJ-III Tests of Achvt (the top nationally-normed standardized achvt test) this student scored a 99.9 National Percentile RANK! This is one of the highest scores I have had in this section is 12 years of testing. I have had 99.9 but it is rare, very rare! Maybe only 5 in 12 years of testing. She had excellent problem solving abilities as well, and performed above average in Applied Problems. One of my daughters just finished up the 7th grade Teaching Textbook Curriculum today, she used Horizons til 4th and then jumped to 7th grade in TT. I took a look at Life of Fred after the scores and I was very impressed.

Dear Dr. Schmidt,
My 8-year-old son considers, "Life of Fred" to be his favorite subject, giggles his way through every chapter and tells all of his public schooled friends about Fred and his adventures. We gave "Life of Fred: Fractions" to a cousin (his mother is a math teacher) for Christmas and even my husband asked for your Statistics book for Christmas. He took statistics in college and uses it in his business, but said he would like a better understanding. You have him hooked. He watched a few of your videos from your website tonight, enjoyed them immensely and said, "I wish Stan were my dad." That might be the weirdest compliment you get all year, but it was sincere. God bless you and thank you for all you do.

Hi Stan,

I'm writing you today to let you know the LOF series is the only math series my son has used from Algebra through Calculus. On his recent ACT test, he received a 36 in math. One of his sub-test scores was a 17, so we assume he missed ONE math question on the whole test. Not too bad!

He also had a 730 on the math portion of the TASC test (the new GED test). (500 is passing and 800 is perfect.)

Thank you for providing a rock solid math program.

We are smitten with the math curriculum called Life of Fred. It is fascinating and fun, it teaches a ton, not only about math, but also about a broad spectrum of studies as well. In the very first book called “Life of Fred: Apples,” kids learn about Orion’s belt and deciduous trees. How’s that for interesting and full-featured? The curriculum covers preschool all the way through college. Lessons are presented in chapters with engaging stories and real-world math application. It teaches logic, not just math facts. My second grader is already dabbling in algebra. My kids are downright enthusiastic about math, and that was not the case before we met Fred. My guys can’t get enough of it. They actually get excited and beg to do more. They both went into hysterics when their new Life of Fred t-shirts came in the mail. Would that all subjects could be this effective and enjoyable.

Dear, dear, Dr. Schmidt,

Every now and then, I have this uncontrollable urge to thank you for all your work on the Life of Fred series and how it has impacted our lives.

The great news is that I have shared LoF with a fellow homeschooler, and she is reveling in it with her son. He recently had a surgery which wiped out the part of his brain that can do math, and he is totally digging Fred and all his antics. Like all Fred kids he is begging for more and learning tons along the way. He is also, of course, feeling mighty smart because, as we know, these are more than just math books. They contain nuggets of wisdom that broadcast o'er many disciplines, but it is done in a way whereby you don't realize you are learning stuff. Or, rather, you don't realize that learning is not supposed to be so much fun.

I was delighted to see that you have a book on Elementary Physics. My seven-year-old who can't read a single word to save his life but who is a whiz at sciency stuff and who has already made it to the middle of your Edgewood book can't wait until he's learned enough to read your physics book. He knows what physics is and has always used words beyond his years despite his struggle with what no doubt must be dyslexia. Thanks to you, it is not hard for me to convince him that he is rather bright because he can use big words and is even starting to do algebra.

Mr.Schmidt,
I'm in 7th grade. I love Life of Fred Math! Up until this year I hated math! My mom ordered Life of Fred and I was like "whatever". I got the first set to work on over the summer and was like "this is SO COOL"! I love a good story, and I now look forward to math every day! I will finish the intermediate series this week and start Fractions And Decimals and Pre-Algebra 0-2 soon! Thanks for bringing exactly what I've always wanted in math!

Dear Mr. Schmidt,
I am 6 years old. My mom is really glad she found your books, because they are the only math books I like. I am working on Farming right now, and I had a lot of fun with question 3 in chapter 12. I think the sets I came up with are funny, and I want to share them with you:
      the number of flabbergasted blobs in your ear
      the number of cities on your head
      the number of presidents made of cheese
      the number of swords in your bed
      the number of squids that smell like chocolate
Do you think they are funny?

I want to tell you how brilliant these books are. My daughter has a pretty severe dyslexia along with working memory issues. When we pulled her from public school she had just finished third grade, yet could not do basic addition. Even simple math was a tearful endeavor. Because of her working memory issues, the drill and kill approach does not work—her brain just cannot retrieve that kind of information. We went back to Apples and began afresh, and she has just devoured your books! Math now involves giggles, requests to do more chapters, and she tells the stories to her friends and family! It has been a complete turnaround.

My oldest is a freshman in high school, and has always been gifted in math. When we began homeschooling, we checked out the Beginning Algebra book for him from our local university library—and it has kicked his rear end. He is so used to plug-and-play formulas, that he is unable to think about math or problem solve. So we have taken him back to the Intermediate Series, which he loves, to get the foundations of thinking about math in a new and practical manner. He is really enjoying it, getting through five or six chapters a day. Of all the things your books teach, I think this is what I appreciate most—they make math practical and challenge students to develop problem-solving skills as much as they do in learning basic arithmetic. Thank you so much for the time and the energy that you have poured into these books—you are literally changing lives with them!

Dear Dr. Schmidt,

Permit us to gush more about your Geometry book...

Love the way your "Your Turn to Play" leads students to ahhhaaaa moments before theorems are introduced .... pure poetry!

.

Dr. Schmidt,
I can not thank you enough for sharing Fred's story! They have truly changed our lives and are making my 8 year old son a better person. I had noticed some wonderful changes in his behavior and when I complimented him on them, he informed me he didn't want to be like C.C. Coalback or his sister! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Hi Stan!
I just want to let you know that Life of Fred has changed our lives! My 9 year old daughter has hated math from the beginning. We tried several different math curriculums
over the last few years. Nothing worked! Her standardized test scores were very low, and so were my spirits. I started to feel like a failure because she just wasn't getting it, and everything math related was a battle. I was told about Life of Fred, but I hesitated to try it because nothing else had worked, so I figured that wouldn't either. I finally decided to give it a try and she loved it! I knew she loved it, but I wanted to see if she was really learning math, so I gave her a standardized test again. After just two months of using Fred (Apples to Dogs), her math score went from 25 to 94. I couldn't believe it! Needless to say, we will continue through the elementary series this fall when she is in 4th grade. Thank you so much!! I was considering stopping homeschooling until we found Fred, but now we are on a good track again. I can't thank you enough!

Dear Dr. Schmidt,

Thank you for the great books you have created. I enjoy Fred's adventures and how he needs math every day of his life. I have loved your books from front to back. I'm 11 years old and have recently finished Life of Fred: Advanced Algebra. I'm eager to start Geometry, and I'm loving every part of Fred's adventures when you're teaching algebra. Because of your books, I fell in love with the subject of math again. How many 11-year-olds know how to graph in three dimensions?

When a teacher at my school noticed how good I was, he asked me,"How are you so good at math?" I responded to him that Life of Fred was the key to excellence in math. I showed him the book. He took note of the title, the great low price, and your name. He now vows to keep up with me using the best math book ever. Because of your books, my brain functions in math 1000% better. So I thank you for creating the best math book ever. THANK YOU!!!!!

Dear Dr. Schmidt,

My son has always loved math. As a toddler, instead of drawing pictures, he would write pages of math problems. When he went to kindergarten, he enjoyed doing square roots and long division. He commonly did math worksheets for fun, and continues to do so. His desire for learning more complex math was not met at school at all.

When we were homeschooling for a year, we were introduced to your books. I would like to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! He LOVES your books! He reads them and re-reads them. He so enjoys your humor and Fred's adventures. My husband and I appreciate that your books have allowed him to advance through math at his own pace and make him responsible for learning the concepts as he reads. (He loves your books so much he actually asked for them for Christmas!)

Thank you so much for sharing your expertise in a way that has resonated with my son, as well as countless other kids. We are truly grateful that we were introduced to Fred.

Dr. Schmidt,
Just ordered 3 more of your books (Geometry, Trig and Calculus), and couldn't resist thanking you again for writing these books. A year ago I finished teaching 9 homeschool kids Alg 2 using LOF. Six of those kids took the local community college entrance exam and scored high enough to get into their honors program and get full scholarship. Several of these students HATED math before I started teaching them! They were sent to me because their parents were struggling too. Some of the younger siblings of these kids have not come to me, because their parents got them LOF and now they don't need my help!

Hi Stan,
I am writing to thank you for giving us the best few weeks of math that we have had in 6 years of homeschooling. Not only have there been no tears over math, but my daughters seem to be enjoying themselves. Your books are remarkable in that they are working well for both my
daughters, one who is a highly visual, right-brained thinker and the other who is more of a left-brain thinker.

Dear Mr. Stanley,
As you know, school is out now... I never thought I'd say this, When I didn't have Life of Fred, I never missed math. But now I have it, I actually miss it! Don't tell my mom though??. How are you? Are you writing any more books? Write me back!

Dear Stan -

I am a homeschool mom to a 12 year old daughter with learning challenges. We have struggled with math since she was little, until a tiny little math teacher named "Fred" came into our lives.

For all the searching I have done for math curriculum over the years, I don't know why I had never heard of Life of Fred Math until about 2 months ago, but there it is. She announced to me last night that math is her FAVORITE subject. In no way did I ever expect her to tell me that math is her favorite anything!


Stan,
Thank you again, for teaching my oldest boy to read, for restoring a mom-daughter relationship that was butting heads over math time, and for bringing laughter into our home. Even my husband likes to join the fun and asks to hear about Fred's antics at the dinner table. I love that each of my children are learning to self-teach.

Dear Dr. Schmidt,
I would like to thank you for your brilliant Fred books. My three 12 year old boys (triplets) have developmental delays as they were born 14 weeks premature. Math and reading have always been an incredible struggle for them. Fred has changed all of that. Not only do they love Fred, they look forward to reading about him everyday. In addition, my 7 year old son is reading the beginner reading books. He cannot get enough of them.

Just to let you know, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Life of Fred math books!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I have had no success whatsoever with traditional math books, but these are amazingly clear, and in terms I can picture and understand. I find myself finding all these random math problems in everyday life, just like Fred does. Thank you sooooooooo much! Oh, and now I know what alliteration and onomatopoetic means - among other wonderful words, and economics, biology, and even history. God bless you for your contributions to society. : ) No, seriously, God bless you. He has used your books to bless me so much. And I really appreciate your boldness in putting His truth all throughout the books, and portraying it as a normal part of life. Books like that - especially school books - are so rare these days.

Dear Stan (aka Fred)
I just wanted to thank you for making such a delightful series of Math books! My oldest son just turned 4 years old and LOVES doing Math! he can't wait to find out what Fred is up to next! In fact, he'll get up after he's fallen asleep at night and ask if we can do more math...he doesn't ask for a drink, or a cookie, he wants to do math. Thank you for creating such a fun math learning series and making so much fun that I don't mind doing math with him when he asks!! I'm learning the stuff I never learned in school!

History was my favorite subject. Then I got life of Fred. This is an awesome curriculum.

Dear Mr. Schmidt,

I just finished the third book of your Language Arts series. This is email is a big THANK YOU!!!

I LOVE your English series. My mom is getting mad at me because I am now constantly correcting everything that is in English - OK, I'm not correcting everything, but she says so ;)

I am fourteen and I am going to take college classes in the Fall. I had some worries about how I would do in the English part of the placement test. After completing Classes; I am feeling much more confident. You covered most of the areas I was having trouble with!

Thank you so much for writing the Language Arts series and the Math series! Fred really makes learning both subjects entertaining and easier.

Dr. Schmidt,

I can't thank you enough for what your books and ministry have done in our lives. Life of Fred has so profoundly changed my daughter's view of math and now I just ordered your first language arts book with high hopes.

My husband, a Ph.D in Chemistry, who did seven levels of Calculus, was so skeptical of LOF but after seeing my daughter finally "get it" and actually have fun doing one (or several chapters) of math, he quickly changed his mind.

Anyway, the real reason for writing you was to say that I thank God for you every time I see your name and so appreciate the signed prayers book. I don't even know you but I know I will call you brother in heaven.

God bless you and your family, your ministry, your work and all your endeavors.

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that Life of Fred has made a tremendous difference for my son. We were using workbooks and activity books and websites and anything I could find - all kinds of math resources up through his 6th grade year. During 7th grade he used Fractions, and Decimals & Percents. His standardized tests from the end of 6th grade to the end of 7th grade jumped from the 26th percentile to the 66th percentile in computation, and from the 59th percentile to the 86th percentile in math concepts. Math has been the only area where he struggled and I have been agonizing for years over how to help him. I cannot thank you enough. You and Fred have turned math completely around in our home. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You have no idea how miraculous these books are to us! It's only the difference between hell and heaven.

Dear Stan,

I just wanted to write and say, "Thank You!" for the amazing Life of Fred series. My 13 year old daughter is in love with Fred, and so am I. We became acquainted with the sweet little guy two years ago, when my daughter was in 6th grade, and I decided to have her work through the Fractions and Decimals & Percents books along with her Horizons workbooks. She fell in love, zoomed through the books, and asked for the new Pre-Algebra with Biology book to do over the summer.

She was done with the Beginning Algebra book by early January, so next we had her work through the Pre-Algebra with Economics book. (She would really hate to miss any of the Fred story.) She took the ACT in February for the Duke TIP program. We were expecting her to do well on the Reading/English sections, since those are her strengths (and she did amazing), but we were absolutely SHOCKED by her math score. She received a 26 on the math section after doing algebra for less than one year! She said she was surprised by how many problems she knew how to do. I think it's because LOF teaches her to think, not just work problems. Just wanted to let you know that LOF absolutely is working for her, and we are going to continue with your wonderful series.

. . . You should have heard the shameless chortles of glee from daughter #1 when she came home from her hike.  She dove right into the advanced algebra book, completely ignoring her hiking partner who surely thought my daughter had dealt a death blow to sanity.  We, of course, shared freely with our guest how wonderful your books are, and their mom looked through the books and wrote down your web address.

We received the Trig book on Friday. . . . The book looks wonderful and my daughter has her old math excitement back.  I believe this book (and series) is an answer to my prayers. . . .I found her at 7 am this morning, working problems with gusto!  God bless.

Dear Stan,
Thank you for your wonderful series.  My two teens are enjoying Beginning Algebra and Geometry.  I will hear chuckling and "Listen to this..." quite frequently.

Hello, Dr. Schmidt,
Let me congratulate you on your fun, original math series. . . .  I ordered your Beginning Algebra text. 

I was pleased that there was no extra shipping charge. . . .  I was jaw-droppingly amazed at your fast shipping (ordered Thursday late, arrive Saturday.)  Then I opened the book.  Next cool surprise—how often do you get a math book signed by the author?  Sweet!

Finally, I started reading.  And grinning.  And laughing.  It was wonderful!!!!  What a hoot—I knew my 12 year old son would love it.  We had some friends over after church on Sunday and they took to reading passages out loud.  Who knew math could be so entertaining?  You have truly used your gifts in a way that will bless many people.

Dear Dr. Schmidt–
I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that my 11 yo said something yesterday I never heard him say before: "I really like math—this algebra is fun!"  We are all enjoying LOF Beginning Algebra.  I have recommended it to friends as well.

I had been struggling for months over what to use for my math geek, and this was just the ticket.  I bought the whole set of six books, and everyone in the family—even the nonmath folks—dived into poor Fred's Adventures.

Dear Stan,
. . . I'm happy to report that we've started two of my boys (the 6th and 8th graders) on Beginning Algebra and they're whizzing through it and enjoying it.  I love the questions!  We've got some great mathematical thinking going on here.

LOVE your calculus book!  Far better than my old college calculus books!!!  This will not only help me teach my son, but I have been wanting to teach other homeschooled high schoolers advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus.  Once I have time to start my classes, I may be ordering lots of books for my students.  I especially appreciate all the humor.

Thanks Stan,
We have 2 boys who are always fighting over whose turn it is to do LOF so we thought we would get a second copy.

[Enclosed a photo of his 13-year-old son] "absorbing" algebra and Life of Fred.

Mr. Schmidt,
You are God sent!   For years I struggled with basic math. I spent two (or was it three?) years working in Saxon 5/4 and another two years going in circles in book 6/5.  I'd resigned Math to the dull and dry.  Any hope of finishing arithmetic before college age seemed impossible. The endless problems made me prefer the dentist to a math professor.  Oddly enough, when Mother called a Saxon pro for advice he told her to give me MORE problems to help bang it into my brain!  (My words not his.)  I was 17 and still stuck half way through 7th grade math.  In Feb. 2007, my Mother found the most curious looking textbook; it was called Life of Fred.  Instantly I loved it.  Within one month I had gone through Fractions with flying colors—amazed at the ease with which I was now empowered in Math.  This week I finished Decimals and Percents and began Beginning Algebra.  I feel as though I am in a dream and for so long have dreamed of the day in which I would be officially introduced to Mr. X(Algebra.)  Thank you, thank you, a 1,000 to the infinite power thank you! :)

My boys couldn't put it down.  You are hysterical!

Life of Fred?  The best thing I've ever read. No joke.

My friend . . . has been raving about your math books at church, and they have circulated among our homeschoool community like wildfire.  This is mostly because her math-adverse daughter . . . after years of resisting traditional math instruction, ensconced herself in the living room easy chair and completed something like 25 lessons of one of the pre-algebra books in one weekend, Voluntarily!!!!

My engineering husband took a two minute look at the trig book and said "I like it, it's real math applied in real situations, let's get some."  He's also delighted with the sense of humor throughout the books.

Dear Dr. Schmidt—

. . . enjoyed thumbing through the algebra book.  What a marvelous sense of humor to complement your technical knowledge!  I'm enclosing a check for the book plus a small donation for the "Fred Fund!"  Oh, and the next time you're in [city deleted], my son says that he'd love to buy you a strawberry shake!  You've won over the lad already!  God bless you.

My 14-year old worked on the algebra book all the way home from Colorado.  A very good sign!

Dear Stan,
Just wanted to say thank you for discussing the books and your ideas with me.  The girls have received them and she has buzzed through the first half of the BA.  She wanted to review and get accustomed to your style of teaching prior to taking on the AA in a couple of weeks.
She can't stop giggling while studying that book.  I can not imagine Algebra like that.  She told me to relay to you that she is "enjoying" her math.

Stan,
I have just started reading your Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra and am entranced.  I hope to use it in the Beginning Algebra class that I'll teach next fall.  (I teach full time at a community college in Arizona.)

I really appreciate your modest pricing and your desire to help people love math.  Your prices are much better than other curriculum.

I work for the Department of the Navy.  Your statistics book opens the possibility of teaching a stat course here for all of the officers who report for two to three year tours of duty as "test directors". . . . I was not ever one to read a math book but this stuff is fun and at age 62, I actually feel like I'm starting to really understand what I have been doing for the last 40 years.

Oh Yippee! now I can start at the beginning of math and finally get it through my thick head!!  Can't wait.... This will be great for the grandkids to start with also.  I'll be ordering a ton of books!!!

Hi Stan,
I'm just dropping a note to say how much my son and I are enjoying Life of Fred Beginning Algebra.  There are no tears and tantrums around algebra (that's my enjoyment) and my son cheerfully does his math. . . . He's accepting algebra as useful now, which is something we had many debates over previously.  And on those days when I'm frustrated with homeschooling a pre-teen I just read a page or two of his math book and I start to giggle—we laugh together and the stress dissipates.  Thanks, Stan, for giving us sanity via your insanity.

Dear Stan,
I wanted to write you a quick note to congratulate you and thank you for your amazing "Life of Fred" books.  They are both fun and rigorous—just like math and just not like most textbooks. . . . [My friend] met you at a homeschooling fair and bought your beginning algebra book. She lent it to me to see if I would want to use it, teaching my algebra course.  I read more than a hundred pages the first night and my fiancé and I both finished it within a week.  My students just got their books yesterday and are eagerly reading.  I recommended your book to a homeschooling parent, whose children are now loving it.
I'm privately tutoring another homeschooled student in geometry.  We just decided to switch to your book. . . . My fiancé and I are requesting the rest of your books as Christmas presents. 

[a posting on a chat site]  . . . was struggling with Saxon Algebra last year (she was doing Seton curriculum and so we had to use Saxon—which I personally don't like).  I pulled out LoF Algebra—she whipped thru it and was able to catch up and finish Saxon no problem.   Besides, the guy—Stanley Schmidt is a riot!

Hello,
My daughter, a senior in high school is using your Calculus text this year.  She enjoys coloring in the cute little ducks, but is also learning.

Hi Dr. Schmidt,
I wanted to let you know what a joy it is to study your math book series. I'm an attorney and a CPA. . . . I decided to start from the beginning with your Beginning Algebra.  What a great way to teach math!  My wife thinks it humorous that I come home after a long day at work and pull out your math book after dinner to enjoy myself.  Your teaching method is compelling and entertaining. . . . I never enjoyed learning math like I have with your books.

Dear Professor Schmidt,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write the Life of Fred books. . . . When my daughter was 8, she asked to be homeschooled, and I have tried many different ways (Saxon, Math-U-See, aleks.com, card games, computer games, song) to try to help her at least tolerate it, including not doing any formal math for a year.  She is now 11 and realizes that she does need to learn Math to get into a University, but to put it mildly, it is not her favorite subject even though she is good at it.  We have been doing Pre-Algebra.

On Saturday, my friend lent me a her copy of "Life of Fred: Fractions".  That evening after supper, I started to read it and giggled so much my daughter came and sat beside me to see what I was reading. . . . We got a piece of paper and a pencil, and she wouldn't stop until we had read five lessons. . . . She said: "This is the funniest math book I have ever seen."

It was her bedtime, and I hid the book because I knew that if she found it she would read the story. . . .

Tonight, she asked to do some more.  I kept saying "OK, that's enough for today; we can continue tomorrow," and she kept saying "Just one more page," and we're at p. 74 after two sessions.  Incredible.

Dear Mr. Schmidt,
Thank you for you wonderful math books.  We started w/ calculus when we first found out about your books a year ago because my son had already finished Saxon thru Advanced Mathematics.  However, now that he is just finishing his junior year of high school and taken the SAT, we find that his verbal SAT scores exceed his Math SAT scores by anywhere from 110 to 210 points.  His weaknesses appear to be in the Advanced Algebra and Trig problems so this summer he is using your Advanced Algebra (already to great success on practice tests) and now your Trig book to attempt to raise his Math SAT score this coming October.  Your books are making the whole process ENJOYABLE!

LOVE the books.  can't believe they actually exist!!!  you've ended my math search for high school and myself!!! thankyou thankyou thankyou

Both my daughter and I were thrilled when we began to read through the books.  This is the FIRST TIME EVER I have seen true excitement from my daughter when it comes to math!  She took the book into her new room and read the first several pages.  I could hear her LAUGHING as she read.  She begged to begin her new math the next day.  The most amazing part is that we just began our "summer." 

Hi,
First of all, FANTASTIC!!!
My brother-in-law just showed me your books and I can't believe that someone likes Math as much as I do.  I have been teaching Developmental Math at our local college for over 10 years, and I fight every year with the big shots on making my class more like your books. . . . You have restored my hope in mankind.

Thank you for making math affordable as well as interesting!

My 11 year old daughter just took a peak (read the first chapter) at her 13 year old brother's Beginning Algebra LOF and said to herself (but I heard her) "This is fun!"  Thought you would enjoy that testimonial.

Dear Dr. Stan:
We received the Geometry and Adv. Algebra books Friday.   Wow! first time in 53 years I've ever wanted to take a pencil and paper and actually work out math problems. . . . Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me last week.  I really enjoyed it.

Dear Dr. Schmidt,
Thank you so much for your willingness to spend your valuable time with me on the phone last week.  I was truly blessed. . . . I feel your curriculum is so fresh & fun for our children, that I would love to see other[s] have access to it.

My 11 yo son just loves the Fred math.  He'll see something in other books or just in daily life and say Fred... this.... or Fred... that....  He saw a random bicycle riding along the sidewalk, and then a random kid walking and he made up a D=RT problem right there in the car as to when the bicycle might catch up to the walker.

Dear Stan,
. . . I am on the last few pages of your Beginning Algebra, which to my complete surprise has made algebra enjoyable.  I borrowed a [non-Fred] intermediate algebra text from my community college and it just makes my eyes swim and then I get really mad and fume at the small-minded "math-o-crats" in the institutions of higher learning.  And then I can't think.  And then I break down crying with frustration that my life is being held hostage by those idiots.  When I run into fellow students at the community college we swap math crying jag stories.  I tell you all of this in an effort to convey my gratitude to you.  I am confident that your advanced algebra book will be just as sturdy a life raft as the first one has been in the choppy seas of algebra subterfuge.  Thank you.

I am using Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra for my 7th grade GATE Seminar math class.  No more groans, instead we have laughter.

[a Web site review]    All Hail, Fred and Stan!
My girls hate, despise, abhor, and in all other ways dislike math. They are each anywhere from one to three years behind in this subject. No math book or approach is going to make this their favorite subject.  But we may have found something that will make the topic more palatable.  Five days ago, we ordered, sight unseen, The Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra from Polka Dot Publishing.  Today, we are swooning over it.  Yeah, yeah, I know, math is a serious subject—and there's certainly been no laughing around here about it before.  Today, though, we're giggling.  Stanley Schmidt, PhD is obviously a genius.  He approaches math in an almost chatty manner, telling the story of little Fred, age six.  (Okay, it actually starts the day before Fred's sixth birthday.)  As Fred encounters the need for algebra (in his admittedly somewhat atypical life), the concept is then explained.  Very logical, but a much better approach for my language oriented girls. . . .And what I've seen convinces me his material are worthy!  Check it out for yourself!

Dr. Schmidt,
Sir, I bow down to you. Your approach to math is precisely the one our family needed.

Hi,
I've just been introduced to your Life of Fred series by a friend I deeply respect.  She has spent 20 years as a special ed teacher, writes curriculum of her own and manages to teach difficult subjects to children labeled incapable of learning.  Needless to say, her opinion holds much weight we me!  And, she's raving about your books.

I've borrowed her first few books to see exactly what makes this curriculum so great in her eyes.  After working through the Fractions book, I'll have to say, it's the most unorthodox, unusual teaching material I have every seen!!!!

. . . From the time I was in 2nd grade, I cried my way through math.  In high school, I wrote my best friend's term papers and she did all my algebra.

Now, here I am with your book; this thin funny little thing that's filled with obscure (and seemingly pointless & unrelated!) information.  And yet, I've found myself sitting at the kitchen table, giggling over the story lines, working out problems and actually "getting it" for the first time in my life!!!!  :)

And that's a very good thing since I am now a homeschool mother of 5. . . .  I'm wondering where Fred's been all my life????!!!!!  :)

. . . Just so you know, even my 7 and 9 year olds are BEGGING me to read the story of Fred to them!!!!  Enough so that they're grabbing paper and pencils attempting to answer the questions with their siblings so I'll read more!!!  I've never seen anything like it. 

 

 

 

 

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