Junior Kumon parents please contribute- really want your input.

[Anonymous]

why the anger in your posts? we make choices on behalf of our kids everyday and mostly to make them a better person. i don't understand why such anger toward one choice or the other, even if you think you've been judged?


What is the rush, and what does the "leg up" actually achieve? (and my kid is ahead in math without the worksheets or the $$$ spent)

Not being snarky -- I just don't get it.

Anger?

I just don't get why a human being would have a problem with young children that excel at club lacrosse and swimming, the violin or the Math Olympiaid? To develop their mastery these children engage in these activities. Or do you prefer to tell parents and the community which daily activities are appropriate for their children to engage?

My friends in NOVA, Chevy Chase and Bethesda have their young children engage in multiple sports (lacrosse, soccer, baseball) during the week and weekends. Lovely families and children some of whom are very talented in these activities. I also have friends that have their children engage during the week and weekends in math competitions and music. Also lovely families and children some of whom are very talented musicians and mathematicians.

From your posts, you have a problem with the latter group? You seem fixated on the ethnicity and race of talented and accomplished very young musicians and mathematicians? The irony is you do not have a problem (or fixation) with the ethnicity of talented and accomplished very young lacrosse players and swimmers. You seem to forget all of these talented young children spend time at their craft.

Please don't miscontrue my remarks as anger. They are simply observations.

[Anonymous]

What is the rush, and what does the "leg up" actually achieve? (and my kid is ahead in math without the worksheets or the $$$ spent)

Not being snarky -- I just don't get it.

In NOVA, club math costs $$$. Is club swimming, baseball, soccer, music and lacrosse free in NOVA?

[Anonymous]

What is the rush, and what does the "leg up" actually achieve? (and my kid is ahead in math without the worksheets or the $$$ spent)

Not being snarky -- I just don't get it.

What is the rush, and what does the "leg up" actually achieve? (and my kid is ahead in music, lacrosse, swimming and soccer without the club "worksheets" and "practises" or the $$$ spent)

Not being snarky -- I just don't get it.

Do you get it now?

[Anonymous]

Do you find that the Kumon program is more valuable than doing worksheets at home.

My 4 year old loves math, and on an impulse one day I bought a first grade math workbook. I've been doing them with her a couple times a week. She loves them. I've wondered how she would like Kumon as compared to just doing math worksheets at home.

[Anonymous]

No, I do not find Kumon more valuable than doing worksheets at home, or Khan Academy, EPGY or AGMATH at home. What is most valuable is daily participation of parents (loved ones) in these activities along with the children. This is the most defining value in my own experience. Young children quickly pick up on what parents value and deem important. This provides critical "buy-in" value as young children try to impress the ones that care, nurture, nourish and mentor them the most.

Without this critical guiding ingredient, Kumon may prove useless for many young children.

[Anonymous]

My child was not a big fan of doing math worksheets at home (we did the ones that have a mystery picture to color after you answer the math). She is liking Kumon so far (we are only a couple weeks into it). She is also learning to be more careful and not skip questions or only finish them halfway. She knows that she wants to get 100% on the Kumon. With the worksheets she didn't care so much and actually felt more defeated (not that she was doing so terribly, just that she gets angry with herself for getting things wrong and then would tell me "I'm NOT GOOD AT MATH." (that was before Kumon).

I could not let my child label herself as a math failure at the age of 7. So, that's when I looked into Kumon. She is just doing the easy stuff now and I tell her she is working on becoming a math whiz! She likes that it's a program that Mom didn't just make up for her to have more work. Also, as I mentioned she is starting to look through her worksheets and look for missed problems before she turns it in to me to correct. This is a good step. Plus, she really does need the repetition. What seems so easy for us to remember can be really hard for a child to internalize even after many repetitions in the same worksheet assignment. But, I think the repetition will help in the long run. I want her to feel successful when she opens her math book at school. I want her to think of herself as good at math.

[Anonymous]

That's great. You've found a system working for you and your daughter. The fit is what it's all about. When we participate in our children's activities at the dining room table whether Kumon or homemade worksheets, reading, watching educational videos or doing a scientific experiment we gain the best fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

why the anger in your posts? we make choices on behalf of our kids everyday and mostly to make them a better person. i don't understand why such anger toward one choice or the other, even if you think you've been judged?


What is the rush, and what does the "leg up" actually achieve? (and my kid is ahead in math without the worksheets or the $$$ spent)

Not being snarky -- I just don't get it.

Anger?

I just don't get why a human being would have a problem with young children that excel at club lacrosse and swimming, the violin or the Math Olympiaid? To develop their mastery these children engage in these activities. Or do you prefer to tell parents and the community which daily activities are appropriate for their children to engage?

My friends in NOVA, Chevy Chase and Bethesda have their young children engage in multiple sports (lacrosse, soccer, baseball) during the week and weekends. Lovely families and children some of whom are very talented in these activities. I also have friends that have their children engage during the week and weekends in math competitions and music. Also lovely families and children some of whom are very talented musicians and mathematicians.

From your posts, you have a problem with the latter group? You seem fixated on the ethnicity and race of talented and accomplished very young musicians and mathematicians? The irony is you do not have a problem (or fixation) with the ethnicity of talented and accomplished very young lacrosse players and swimmers. You seem to forget all of these talented young children spend time at their craft.

Please don't miscontrue my remarks as anger. They are simply observations.

OKAY...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What is the rush, and what does the "leg up" actually achieve? (and my kid is ahead in math without the worksheets or the $$$ spent)

Not being snarky -- I just don't get it.

What is the rush, and what does the "leg up" actually achieve? (and my kid is ahead in music, lacrosse, swimming and soccer without the club "worksheets" and "practises" or the $$$ spent)

Not being snarky -- I just don't get it.

Do you get it now?

No. I don't get it, and to the previous poster, this was my first post so please don't go off on me. I don't get it because I don't see what you get by forcing your kid ahead of where their brain would want them to be. Worksheets are crap, and teach skills without understanding. If you want to raise parrots, go right ahead.

[Anonymous]

No. I don't get it, and to the previous poster, this was my first post so please don't go off on me. I don't get it because I don't see what you get by forcing your kid ahead of where their brain would want them to be. Worksheets are crap, and teach skills without understanding. If you want to raise parrots, go right ahead.

We are a nation of parrots. I see them in the swimming pools, lacrosse and soccer fields, and music halls. Drills, drills drills. Teaching skills without understanding. It appears you are the exception. Share with us your unique skills and understanding. I'll give the Nobel committee your name.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

No. I don't get it, and to the previous poster, this was my first post so please don't go off on me. I don't get it because I don't see what you get by

your kid ahead of where their brain would want them to be. Worksheets are crap, and teach skills without understanding. If you want to raise parrots, go right ahead.

I know forcing is your word selection. But, this choice of word is far too mild. I actual have a torture chamber at home for our kids and their lesson plans. They were tortured all the way to academic excellence and the national awards. I tried to get rid of this device but the kids keep coming back for more. I'm not sure what to do. They have chosen the path of masochism.

I have not had a conversation with their brains. I have no glue where their brains want them to be. I'm sure you know where their brains want to be. At least, you know where their brains should be; that is, right behind your own children. Perhaps a functional intracranial MRI will provide glues and targets of where I should position those hyperactive neuronal connections. I guess since we live in the D.C. area the WPSSI will reveal the answer. But, like everyone else he took that 3 years ago with a 99.9 percentile.

Do you also know where their bodies want to be? My 6 year-old swimmer is much faster than the 8 year-olds in the County. I'm not sure where his body wants him to be in terms of pure speed. His body provides me no feedback. The pediatrician says he is in the 94th and 98th percentile for height and weight respectively. There we go agaim, those damn 90 percentiles. Perhaps I'll turn up the torture device and force him to slow and throttle down. Better, yet starve the bloody protoplasm to get him down to where he should be (? 50th percentile). Then, he will transform or reprogram from parrot to slow poke fish and not be ahead of where his body would want him to be. If only I could slow down his brain to a station where his brain would want him to be. Sounds vaguely familiar, leave no child, body or brain behind. I mean leave no child, brain or body ahead except, of course, your own children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No. I don't get it, and to the previous poster, this was my first post so please don't go off on me. I don't get it because I don't see what you get by

your kid ahead of where their brain would want them to be. Worksheets are crap, and teach skills without understanding. If you want to raise parrots, go right ahead.

I know forcing is your word selection. But, this choice of word is far too mild. I actual have a torture chamber at home for our kids and their lesson plans. They were tortured all the way to academic excellence and the national awards. I tried to get rid of this device but the kids keep coming back for more. I'm not sure what to do. They have chosen the path of masochism.

I have not had a conversation with their brains. I have no glue where their brains want them to be. I'm sure you know where their brains want to be. At least, you know where their brains should be; that is, right behind your own children. Perhaps a functional intracranial MRI will provide glues and targets of where I should position those hyperactive neuronal connections. I guess since we live in the D.C. area the WPSSI will reveal the answer. But, like everyone else he took that 3 years ago with a 99.9 percentile.

Do you also know where their bodies want to be? My 6 year-old swimmer is much faster than the 8 year-olds in the County. I'm not sure where his body wants him to be in terms of pure speed. His body provides me no feedback. The pediatrician says he is in the 94th and 98th percentile for height and weight respectively. There we go agaim, those damn 90 percentiles. Perhaps I'll turn up the torture device and force him to slow and throttle down. Better, yet starve the bloody protoplasm to get him down to where he should be (? 50th percentile). Then, he will transform or reprogram from parrot to slow poke fish and not be ahead of where his body would want him to be. If only I could slow down his brain to a station where his brain would want him to be. Sounds vaguely familiar, leave no child, body or brain behind. I mean leave no child, brain or body ahead except, of course, your own children.

full of anger

[Anonymous]

full of anger

Clueless in metropolitan D.C. Anger is at "occupy Wall Street".

[Anonymous]

No doubt, someone with pent up anger at GW

[Anonymous]

What on earth are you rabbiting on about? Is this supposed to be funny?

Anonymous wrote:

ahead.

I know forcing is your word selection. But, this choice of word is far too mild. I actual have a torture chamber at home for our kids and their lesson plans. They were tortured all the way to academic excellence and the national awards. I tried to get rid of this device but the kids keep coming back for more. I'm not sure what to do. They have chosen the path of masochism.

I have not had a conversation with their brains. I have no glue where their brains want them to be. I'm sure you know where their brains want to be. At least, you know where their brains should be; that is, right behind your own children. Perhaps a functional intracranial MRI will provide glues and targets of where I should position those hyperactive neuronal connections. I guess since we live in the D.C. area the WPSSI will reveal the answer. But, like everyone else he took that 3 years ago with a 99.9 percentile.

Do you also know where their bodies want to be? My 6 year-old swimmer is much faster than the 8 year-olds in the County. I'm not sure where his body wants him to be in terms of pure speed. His body provides me no feedback. The pediatrician says he is in the 94th and 98th percentile for height and weight respectively. There we go agaim, those damn 90 percentiles. he should be (? 50th percentile). Then, he will transform or reprogram from parrot to slow poke fish and not be ahead of where his body would want him to be. If only I could slow down his brain to a station where his brain would want him to be. Sounds vaguely familiar, leave no child, body or brain behind. I mean leave no child, brain or body ahead except, of course, your own children.