Anonymous wrote:OP here - so many great and helpful responses. Thank you!
We live in Bethesda, both Kuomn and Mathnasium are nearby.
what then are your thoughts on any of thses centers for more "remedial" math - this would be for my 5th grader. Have tried the super expensive specialized tutor route, I think the only thing that's done is cause a gaping hole in my bank account. He is struggling with moving further in math because he literally does not have the basics down yet - multiplication tables.
Wondering if Kumon might work for him, or if Mathnasium would be better. I plan to call each of the centers, but of course I know that they will tell me what I want to hear - that their center would be a perfect fit....but I know better than to believe only the words coming from those who will benefit financially from us going to their center.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP here - so many great and helpful responses. Thank you!
We live in Bethesda, both Kuomn and Mathnasium are nearby.
what then are your thoughts on any of thses centers for more "remedial" math - this would be for my 5th grader. Have tried the super expensive specialized tutor route, I think the only thing that's done is cause a gaping hole in my bank account. He is struggling with moving further in math because he literally does not have the basics down yet - multiplication tables.
Wondering if Kumon might work for him, or if Mathnasium would be better. I plan to call each of the centers, but of course I know that they will tell me what I want to hear - that their center would be a perfect fit....but I know better than to believe only the words coming from those who will benefit financially from us going to their center.
For your 5th grader you should try Kumon as long as you are willing to give it a 6 month commitment. They will give him a test to see what level he is at in math. If he does not know his addition and subtraction facts effortlessly and without hesitation he will start at level 2A. Ask your son what 7+6 is or 16-7 and 7x8. If he can't instantly answer then you should do Kumon. They start the kids at a level below where they are at so that the first month they get into a habit of doing the packet EVERY DAY - as in 365 days a year. Once you get into the habit and make it a priority it gets easier as long as you are consistent. My kids only missed a packet if they were really sick or something really important came up so they really did end up doing Kumon math 360 days of the year. It is really hard to do well in math at the middle school and high school level if you don't know your math facts automatically because trying to figure out basic facts uses up working memory that is needed to solve higher level math. There might be some people who have incredibly strong working memory that can do math well without knowing their math facts (really automatically knowing them and being able to say them within a second) but most people will struggle in math without the basics. My only regret for my son was not starting earlier. I started him toward the end of third grade when he struggled in math and hated it. Once he began to learn math facts he took off. Now three years later he is one of the top math students in 6th grade and loves math. Many of the kids in the top math class he sees at Kumon.
Anonymous wrote:OP here - so many great and helpful responses. Thank you!
We live in Bethesda, both Kuomn and Mathnasium are nearby.
what then are your thoughts on any of thses centers for more "remedial" math - this would be for my 5th grader. Have tried the super expensive specialized tutor route, I think the only thing that's done is cause a gaping hole in my bank account. He is struggling with moving further in math because he literally does not have the basics down yet - multiplication tables.
Wondering if Kumon might work for him, or if Mathnasium would be better. I plan to call each of the centers, but of course I know that they will tell me what I want to hear - that their center would be a perfect fit....but I know better than to believe only the words coming from those who will benefit financially from us going to their center.
Anonymous wrote:Kumon isn't tutoring, it is learning how to do math calculations quickly and accurately. They would test her and probably start her on addition facts, then subtraction, then multiplication, long division, fractions, decimals, etc. It would take her a 1 to 2 years to reach the Algebra level of Kumon.
Anonymous wrote:OP here, sounds like my DS is more of a Kumon candidate actually. He's in 5th. needs lots of help with speed and accuracy.
I am not strong in math so looking at her textbook won't help. I get cross-eyed just thinking about it.