life of fred butterflies elementary math series chapter 1

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Butterflies is the second book of the Life of Fred Math Elementary series. This book is a particular favorite for Rock Your Homeschool because we love to learn about the butterfly life cycle!

A few tips from our personal experience before we get started on our Life of Fred Math Extravaganza.

If your child is old enough (I'd say at least Kindergarten level-but you know your child best!), start a notebook with them to record their answers. Have them decorate it-markers, stickers, whatever-bling it up!
If your child is not quite old enough, still start a notebook with them! They will enjoy drawing pictures for answers or just doodling. They will love working alongside their older sibling(s)!
If you are starting Life of Fred Butterflies, I highly recommend getting a Butterfly Garden or Pavillion (we get ours through Insect Lore). Busy Boys Brigade absolutely adores this project! Watching the process of caterpillars transform into butterflies is breath taking! Great way to add a bit of scientific observation to your lessons!
Pause after every other paragraph or so and assess your child's comprehension. Ask if they have questions. Highlight key concepts. Maybe even give a sneak peak into activities or crafts that you found at Busy Boys Brigade!
Have fun! Life of Fred is all about fun! There really is no need for drill and kill (although if that is what floats your boat, go for it!).
Brigade tidbit: Smiley had started learning basic addition facts. He got the concept but occasionally had difficulty recalling an answer (or 5!). Was it laziness or being bored? Not sure. But, what I do know is once we began reading Life of Fred Apples, Smiley was rattling off basic addition answers. Was it from prior work? Did it just click for him? Honestly, I think it was because pressure was off and he was having fun.On to the first chapter! Life of Fred Butterflies begins right where we left off in Apples. The first chapter is entitled "Kingie Dreams". Kingie is Fred's doll and friend (interesting story...you must read!)

Basic math concepts covered in Chapter 1 include:

5 +4=9
one yard=3 feet
5 o'clock
number of members in a set

If you are not familiar with Life of Fred math, you may be asking yourself how does these concepts all relate? Addition, measurement, telling time, and higher level math? I know-it seems crazy-but it works!

Somehow Schmidt has found a way to interweave all of these concepts into an entertaining story. And your child is soaking up the information the whole time!

To keep us organized and take a further look at these concepts, I put together an Activity Planner full of lesson extensions for this chapter (scroll down to bottom of post for free download!). I often need our activities planned out and prepared before we start-or I get distracted and skip important activities!

These busy boys keep me hopping and if I am not prepared-oh boy! I don't have time to keep going back to a website by checking on my computer, tablet, or phone. Once I whip out one of those tech devices, look out! One of the boys wants to hop on, grab it, or picks up on my distraction-and a 10 minute craft can turn into 1 hour!

So, I put together Life of Fred Math Chapter Activity Planners. These books just have so much in them-and I want to make sure my boys get their maximum benefit!

I will *only* include 6 activities, crafts, or worksheets with each chapter. There are many more ways to work with the presented concepts.

I have chosen these activities based on:

supplies on hand: I really try to be A.F.A.P. (as frugal as possible). I try to use what we have or find objects to recycle/upcycle. Occasionally, you will see an item that needs purchased (i.e. special snack or craft supply).
my boys and their likes: I am primarily designing these activities to use with my boys. If I don't think they will enjoy or benefit from an activity, I don't include it.
my boys and skills/concepts they need to work on: Again, this is for my boys. I am going to focus on their strengths and weaknesses-and plan accordingly.

Just click on the button below and subscribe for Life of Fred Butterflies Chapters 1-10! I also included a FREE PRINTABLE LIFE OF FRED ACTIVITY PLANNER-BLANK if you would prefer to create your own activities, crafts, and snacks. (And if you do, come back and share! I'll add your ideas to these posts for the benefit of all!!)

The FREE PRINTABLE LIFE OF FRED MATH ACTIVITY PLANNER below has a total of 4 pages. (**side note: I keep my printable simple and in black and white. We only have a black and white printer, I think it looks better, and it seems cheaper to me. If you would like color, have your kids color the pages!)