Dave-

Welcome to the forum. I loved your thoughts on homeschooling!

It's nice to know that a "math guy" likes the Life of Fred books. I have talked a bit with Stan also, and we have several of his books in our home library. He is an amazing man! I am not such a math person though, and it is good to have my positive impression confirmed. Two things I'd like to say about the books though-
1. the stories are so enticing that my kids tend to read ahead and do not always do the math along with them. My seven year old, for instance, has no interest in trig, yet she has read the entire Fred story in that edition.
2. the books have relatively few problems and I wonder if that is "enough" to cover a subject.

take care-