To Kumon or Not to Kumon

My son - he is turning 4 soon - goes to Kumon. He did trial course for 2 weeks and he liked it. It's been more than a year now since he started. Now he can count more than 200 and almost starting addition but there were ups and downs. He didn't like to do homework for a while but now doing Kumon homework has become his daily routine. Are you thinking about enrolling your older children? Do they want to join Kumon? Do you have specific concerns? I'm here to help!

If money isn't a concern and the child is thoroughly enjoying it, that's fine. But there's nothing special they do there that you can't do at home, and maybe a lot better since you know your kid better than anyone, especially with so many amazing and FREE resources on the Internet. My 5 year old is nuts about science and there's SO much great stuff that museums and aquariums all over they country have made available online. Right now, he's hooked on the "Ology" pages at (I think) the American Museum of Natural History. Just google for "ology." The Monterey Aquarium also has wonderful stuff for kids, parents and teachers.

Be wary of anything that's too pedantic or academic, because that can often adversely affect their creativity, curiousity and sense of wonder. I think it's far better to let the child do a little open-ended exploring until they find something interesting that really hooks them and then help them find resources to really delve into... whatever it is. (Like mine recently went a little nuts on the topic of bioluminescent deep sea creatures, and with him I learned way more than I ever wanted to know about a truly disturbing creature called the "Angler Fish".)

For younger kids www.starfall.com has great stuff on learning to read. Or mathisfun.com. And there are TONS of links to all kinds of cool stuff from the hoagiesgifted website:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm

Find an interest and google away and maybe you can use that Kumon money for the college fund.

By the way, have you ever used the "Images" option on google? I've used it to find everything from pictures of baby raccoons to medical photos of various skin conditions when my little one woke up at 3am with a bizarre rash and I wanted to know if it was hives or not... Good stuff!

S.,

I had both my daughter and son in Kumon for a number of years. My thoughts are this... Kumon is great for a child that doesn't have any issues at all with learning (and I'm not talking serious ones, just any at all). My son is younger and was doing very well. My daughter wasn't improving that much. I kept asking the director and she kept telling me it was a long term commitment and that we would see dramatic results at some point.

Very long story short, my daughter has been struggling with reading (had 3 years in a row of bad teachers) and wasn't going to benefit from Kumon no matter how long we kept her there. She needs help with reading that is specific to her deficits (was evaluated by a woman that explained to me she just wasn't taught properly and she will be fine after a few months of private tutoring).

If you children are truly okay with their reading and math (don't struggle at all) then they would probably benefit from Kumon (it's a one size fits all and there isn't any attention to individual needs but it does accelerate the learning).

Also, the younger a child begins Kumon the better. In my opinion (and it's just that...one person's opinion) your older ones may be too old to start but your youngest would definitely benefit.

Hope this helped,
L.

Sonja:
I agree with several persons who have already responded. Because math is applied, Kumon is good for math and for children who have a overall good foundation in math. Their program for a student who struggles with certain concepts(foundationally), to me tends to be more fustrating at best. If a child doesnt understand a concept it needs to be explained and retaught until that child masters the concept BEFORE they can move on. Reading requires a different approach altogether and that methodology does not work well for students with reading needs. Reading has too many different facets (comprehension, phonics, fluency etc). We have used the Tutoring Club. There's one in Duluth and in Alpharetta for both math and reading. They test for grade levels and strive for 2 grade levels above. We have had wonderful results. The tutors there are really good with my kids.

I started my son in kumon when he was four from recommendation of several moms in the area. My son is now almost ten and he has done both math and reading throughout this time period. There Are always pros and cons to everything probably because every child is different. For my son it was a way of life from the beginning. It's is really important to start kids early. All of our children are bright when they are young. They pick up a language early they are so inquisitive but as kids grow the newer stimuli becomes fewer and fewer. The thirst for knowledge blunted. I truly believe that consistency is key whether it is done at kumon or anywhere else. For me it is difficult to consistently stimulate my kid unless forced to do so. Kumon is very labor intensive for both parent and child. I'm not sure if self confidence is the key as properly nurtured kids will be confident but kumon offered more than education. It offered time management skills focus and drive for my son. I would highly recommend kumon but understand as with anything in life is perseverance is the key. So where is my son now ? He will finish the reading in two months and he will complete math two months into fifth grade He ranks no 3 nationally in math and 10 in reading. Kumon has foster skills behind learning the material. It has fostered focus and drive. Granted it is labor intensive for both of us and am glad we did it but looking forward to the end as well.