Junior Kumon parents please contribute- really want your input.

[Anonymous]

DS, 3.5, wanted to go with his sister to Kumon so we just enrolled him. Loves it. He will be going to immersion school as well , not worried about boredom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just signed up my 4 year old (turns 5 in Dec.) for Junior Kumon yesterday, math only. He will go to kindergarten next year and is at a play based preschool. I asked his daycare teachers if they ever insist that a child pick up a pencil or crayon to practice writing their name or to draw/ color if the child doesn't want to and they told me they would only encourage him but never insist. As a result he never chooses to any fine motor activities. I love the center and love that he gets to play outside a lot and explore, but his fine motor/math skills will be behind when he starts K if we don't do anything. I don't want him in an academic preschool so I think having him do Jr. Kumon math will be a good balance since it is 10 minutes a day at home five days a week, and two, 30 minute sessions at the center. Of course, we could probably replicate what he will learn at Junior Kumon, at home but I don't have time to gather math packets together.

We read tons of books to him and have taught him letter sounds and blending at home, so he is picking up on reading. We specifically told the center we only wanted math and they were perfectly happy just to have us sign him up for math. We play math games with him at home (cards, board games, etc.) so orally he is great at answering math questions, but he really needs to improve his fine motor control and learn to write the numbers. I visited 3 Kumon centers and each one was slightly different in terms of price, hours, length of contract vs. month-to-month, if they offer a dedicated jr. kumon room, etc. He tested into the lowest level 7A, which didn't surprise us. We signed up at the Kumon center farthest from our house, but it had the best Jr. Kumon instructor / time/ and room. The Kumon instructor told us, on average, he should complete 7A (numbers to 10) in one month, 6A (numbers to 30) in 2 months, 5A(improving number writing skills) in one month, 4A (reading, writing, and reciting numbers to 50) in three months, and should be working on level 3A(numbers up to 120 and learning addition) by the time he starts K in 11 months. If he progresses at the average rate then he will have gone from being behind for his age to above grade level in a year. I think that is worth the approximately 1300 to 1400 to dollars it will cost in total.

We do plan on having him continue with Kumon math right now, but we will re-evaluate in a year to see where he is at. To the PP poster or anyone else who knows about Kumon, do you think these rates of progress are accurate? What math level is your second grader at Kumon?

Wow, I just realized that I posted this almost a year ago, so I will provide an update. My son ended up passing out of the Jr. Kumon program in 6 months (passed level 3A). He spent 3 months in level 2A (addition facts to 20) before I withdrew him in May. For my son it was worth the 1,000 dollars that we paid. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the math knowledge that was so beneficial, what he really got out of it was a vast improvement in his writing /fine motor ability as well as the ability to sit at a table and to focus while completing a paper and pencil task. As I posted before, he attended a play-based preschool with no formal academic program. When he started Kumon he could only write two numbers and could only write the first three letters in his eight letter name. He could also only sit at a table and work for five minutes. By the time he finished in May he could write 50 numbers at one sitting without a problem. He could focus for 20 to 25 minutes at a time. He was proud of his hard work and progress. I don't think I would have challenged him enough at home. It was nice to be able to talk to his Kumon teacher to see what amount of work they thought was appropriate. He just started kindergarten and is doing great. The homework takes him 2 minutes because he can write so quickly. He says school is fun because he is able to keep up with all the coloring and writing. Several of his friends who were with him at the play based preschool are having trouble adjusting to kindergarten. They are bright, articulate, creative boys but they are having trouble sitting down in class and keeping up with the written work. I don't agree that kindergarten should be so academic, but since it is - I am glad my son is prepared. I feel like he got the best of both worlds- a fantastic play-based preschool/daycare 8 hours a day and 10 to 20 minutes a day of exposure to formal academics.

I ended up pulling him out because I wanted to work on conceptual math topics at home before he worked on the drill. He was so far ahead with memorizing facts without having great number sense that I decided to buy a home math program and now we work on conceptual math at home. I might put him back in Kumon in first or second so he really can have down all his math facts.

[Anonymous]

To each his own. Our DC loves Jr Kumon. She's 4

[Anonymous]

Wow, I just realized that I posted this almost a year ago, so I will provide an update. My son ended up passing out of the Jr. Kumon program in 6 months (passed level 3A). He spent 3 months in level 2A (addition facts to 20) before I withdrew him in May. For my son it was worth the 1,000 dollars that we paid. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the math knowledge that was so beneficial, what he really got out of it was a vast improvement in his writing /fine motor ability as well as the ability to sit at a table and to focus while completing a paper and pencil task. As I posted before, he attended a play-based preschool with no formal academic program. When he started Kumon he could only write two numbers and could only write the first three letters in his eight letter name. He could also only sit at a table and work for five minutes. By the time he finished in May he could write 50 numbers at one sitting without a problem. He could focus for 20 to 25 minutes at a time. He was proud of his hard work and progress. I don't think I would have challenged him enough at home. It was nice to be able to talk to his Kumon teacher to see what amount of work they thought was appropriate. He just started kindergarten and is doing great. The homework takes him 2 minutes because he can write so quickly. He says school is fun because he is able to keep up with all the coloring and writing. Several of his friends who were with him at the play based preschool are having trouble adjusting to kindergarten. They are bright, articulate, creative boys but they are having trouble sitting down in class and keeping up with the written work. I don't agree that kindergarten should be so academic, but since it is - I am glad my son is prepared. I feel like he got the best of both worlds- a fantastic play-based preschool/daycare 8 hours a day and 10 to 20 minutes a day of exposure to formal academics.

I ended up pulling him out because I wanted to work on conceptual math topics at home before he worked on the drill. He was so far ahead with memorizing facts without having great number sense that I decided to buy a home math program and now we work on conceptual math at home. I might put him back in Kumon in first or second so he really can have down all his math facts.

Your son did not go very far in 10 months ($1,000/10). Did he do his exercises daily? He seems to have moved at a snail's pace!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Wow, I just realized that I posted this almost a year ago, so I will provide an update. My son ended up passing out of the Jr. Kumon program in 6 months (passed level 3A). He spent 3 months in level 2A (addition facts to 20) before I withdrew him in May. For my son it was worth the 1,000 dollars that we paid. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the math knowledge that was so beneficial, what he really got out of it was a vast improvement in his writing /fine motor ability as well as the ability to sit at a table and to focus while completing a paper and pencil task. As I posted before, he attended a play-based preschool with no formal academic program. When he started Kumon he could only write two numbers and could only write the first three letters in his eight letter name. He could also only sit at a table and work for five minutes. By the time he finished in May he could write 50 numbers at one sitting without a problem. He could focus for 20 to 25 minutes at a time. He was proud of his hard work and progress. I don't think I would have challenged him enough at home. It was nice to be able to talk to his Kumon teacher to see what amount of work they thought was appropriate. He just started kindergarten and is doing great. The homework takes him 2 minutes because he can write so quickly. He says school is fun because he is able to keep up with all the coloring and writing. Several of his friends who were with him at the play based preschool are having trouble adjusting to kindergarten. They are bright, articulate, creative boys but they are having trouble sitting down in class and keeping up with the written work. I don't agree that kindergarten should be so academic, but since it is - I am glad my son is prepared. I feel like he got the best of both worlds- a fantastic play-based preschool/daycare 8 hours a day and 10 to 20 minutes a day of exposure to formal academics.

I ended up pulling him out because I wanted to work on conceptual math topics at home before he worked on the drill. He was so far ahead with memorizing facts without having great number sense that I decided to buy a home math program and now we work on conceptual math at home. I might put him back in Kumon in first or second so he really can have down all his math facts.

Your son did not go very far in 10 months ($1,000/10). Did he do his exercises daily? He seems to have moved at a snail's pace!

Perhaps I wasn't clear. He went from 7A to 3A in six months which, I was told by his Kumon teacher is good progress - five levels in six months.

[Anonymous]

Ouch, $1000 for worksheets you could have printed off the internet for free!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just signed up my 4 year old (turns 5 in Dec.) for Junior Kumon yesterday, math only. He will go to kindergarten next year and is at a play based preschool. I asked his daycare teachers if they ever insist that a child pick up a pencil or crayon to practice writing their name or to draw/ color if the child doesn't want to and they told me they would only encourage him but never insist. As a result he never chooses to any fine motor activities. I love the center and love that he gets to play outside a lot and explore, but his fine motor/math skills will be behind when he starts K if we don't do anything. I don't want him in an academic preschool so I think having him do Jr. Kumon math will be a good balance since it is 10 minutes a day at home five days a week, and two, 30 minute sessions at the center. Of course, we could probably replicate what he will learn at Junior Kumon, at home but I don't have time to gather math packets together.

We read tons of books to him and have taught him letter sounds and blending at home, so he is picking up on reading. We specifically told the center we only wanted math and they were perfectly happy just to have us sign him up for math. We play math games with him at home (cards, board games, etc.) so orally he is great at answering math questions, but he really needs to improve his fine motor control and learn to write the numbers. I visited 3 Kumon centers and each one was slightly different in terms of price, hours, length of contract vs. month-to-month, if they offer a dedicated jr. kumon room, etc. He tested into the lowest level 7A, which didn't surprise us. We signed up at the Kumon center farthest from our house, but it had the best Jr. Kumon instructor / time/ and room. The Kumon instructor told us, on average, he should complete 7A (numbers to 10) in one month, 6A (numbers to 30) in 2 months, 5A(improving number writing skills) in one month, 4A (reading, writing, and reciting numbers to 50) in three months, and should be working on level 3A(numbers up to 120 and learning addition) by the time he starts K in 11 months. If he progresses at the average rate then he will have gone from being behind for his age to above grade level in a year. I think that is worth the approximately 1300 to 1400 to dollars it will cost in total.

We do plan on having him continue with Kumon math right now, but we will re-evaluate in a year to see where he is at. To the PP poster or anyone else who knows about Kumon, do you think these rates of progress are accurate? What math level is your second grader at Kumon?

Wow, I just realized that I posted this almost a year ago, so I will provide an update. My son ended up passing out of the Jr. Kumon program in 6 months (passed level 3A). He spent 3 months in level 2A (addition facts to 20) before I withdrew him in May. For my son it was worth the 1,000 dollars that we paid. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the math knowledge that was so beneficial, what he really got out of it was a vast improvement in his writing /fine motor ability as well as the ability to sit at a table and to focus while completing a paper and pencil task. As I posted before, he attended a play-based preschool with no formal academic program. When he started Kumon he could only write two numbers and could only write the first three letters in his eight letter name. He could also only sit at a table and work for five minutes. By the time he finished in May he could write 50 numbers at one sitting without a problem. He could focus for 20 to 25 minutes at a time. He was proud of his hard work and progress. I don't think I would have challenged him enough at home. It was nice to be able to talk to his Kumon teacher to see what amount of work they thought was appropriate. He just started kindergarten and is doing great. The homework takes him 2 minutes because he can write so quickly. He says school is fun because he is able to keep up with all the coloring and writing. Several of his friends who were with him at the play based preschool are having trouble adjusting to kindergarten. They are bright, articulate, creative boys but they are having trouble sitting down in class and keeping up with the written work. I don't agree that kindergarten should be so academic, but since it is - I am glad my son is prepared. I feel like he got the best of both worlds- a fantastic play-based preschool/daycare 8 hours a day and 10 to 20 minutes a day of exposure to formal academics.

I ended up pulling him out because I wanted to work on conceptual math topics at home before he worked on the drill. He was so far ahead with memorizing facts without having great number sense that I decided to buy a home math program and now we work on conceptual math at home. I might put him back in Kumon in first or second so he really can have down all his math facts.

Parent of a 3.5 year old preschooler here. Thank you SO much for giving us an update. Please ignore the trolls on this board.

I know I want to eventually enroll DS in Kumon. I wonder if he is too young at 3.5. He just started tracing and cannot write any letters yet and can count to 20 but can't write numbers.

I wonder if enrolling him now would only frustrate him. We have had a hands off approach so far. We read books all the time and put no pressure on reading/writing yet.

[Anonymous]

I'm just curious to know how many kumon parents would do it if there was no social pressure to have your child excell? I guess the "competitive edge" thing sometimes strikes me as the parents' own insecurities. Not always the case, I'm sure. Same thing with early pushing of sports. A previous post referred to adults who resented both their tiger moms and those who resented theirpussycat moms. How about a happy medium. Our culture tends to go overboard and to extremes everything! I would be concerned that kids would be burnt out by the time their self-motivation kicks in. With sports many are sick of it by the time group sports are so helpful and developmentally appropriate. Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

PP, that was my concern as well. My two kids went to a play based preschool and my ~130 IQ child was average to late reader and very average at math compared to their counterparts at school. My other kid with a ~120 IQ (has fine motor issues so score might have been higher) was way behind peers. Later in the year, I saw several families from the play based school at the center. Some started their kids the year before schools and others started late like we did after realizing our kids were not keeping up wit their peers. I'm sure that my kids could naturally catch up but meanwhile they are starting to judge themselves against their peers as being smart or not. I did not want my kids to think that they aren't as capable as their peers especially since a lot of them are just more prepared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the mother of a high school student and sister of a kindergarten teacher I warn you that this advance instruction often leads to boredom in the classroom come kingergarten because many students will not be as advanced as your child. This begets a whole set of issues. Bored child, frustrated parents, beleaguered teacher.

What is this goal of this advance instruction? What do you hope to accomplish by this leg up? As I often ask, where's the fire? Many schools do not differentiate in math until the upper grades, including some of the most selective privates.

I'm a NP who opened this thread because I'm thinking about signing up my 4 year old DS in Kumon. He's also at a play-based preschool, like the other PP and while I love the school, think I need to do more for DS before he goes into KG next year.

I just want to say that this line of argument drives me nuts! Why in the world is that a reason to not teach your child? You're worried about your kid 'knowing too much'??

I'm not the PP who keeps talking about sports, but would you use the same logic in sports? Would you not make your really good swimmer practice as much because you don't want her to be 'too advanced'?

The thinking that we should slow down our kids educational advancements so that they are not 'bored' in school is so disheartening to me.

FWIW, I'm not Asian, but I have a math/science background myself and want to encourage it for DS.

You are exactly like me. I am mom to 4 year old in play based preschool that loves the school but disappointed there isn't even 30 minutes in a full day to do a little instruction--alphabet, letter writing, phonetics.

Big brother went to Montessori until K and did great. I am worried little one will start off behind in K

[Anonymous]

I'm just curious to know how many kumon parents would do it if there was no social pressure to have your child excell? I guess the "competitive edge" thing sometimes strikes me as the parents' own insecurities. Not always the case, I'm sure. Same thing with early pushing of sports. A previous post referred to adults who resented both their tiger moms and those who resented theirpussycat moms. How about a happy medium. Our culture tends to go overboard and to extremes everything! I would be concerned that kids would be burnt out by the time their self-motivation kicks in. With sports many are sick of it by the time group sports are so helpful and developmentally appropriate. Just my opinion.

I would recommend you head for the beach and relax with your kids while they are growing up. This will avoid their burn out. You have every right and ability to make this choice?

[Anonymous]

Let's agree to come back here in about 20 years or so and we'll see how all of these Jr. Kumon geniuses end up. That would be interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, that was my concern as well. My two kids went to a play based preschool and my ~130 IQ child was average to late reader and very average at math compared to their counterparts at school. My other kid with a ~120 IQ (has fine motor issues so score might have been higher) was way behind peers. Later in the year, I saw several families from the play based school at the center. Some started their kids the year before schools and others started late like we did after realizing our kids were not keeping up wit their peers. I'm sure that my kids could naturally catch up but meanwhile they are starting to judge themselves against their peers as being smart or not. I did not want my kids to think that they aren't as capable as their peers especially since a lot of them are just more prepared.

This is why I am going to look into it for my play-based preschool kid. I feel it is unfair to throw him to the wolves, e.g., amongst kids that have been going to more academic preschools the past few years. He also has a late spring/early summer bday so will also be on the young side in K. I want him to like school and not feel such a struggle in K. I was surprised how academic my other son's K year was. He was at a great Montessori for three years prior so he went in ahead and this was good for his confidence. A friend of his from our play-based preschool is really struggling (now I first grade) and he is a naturally bright kid! They teach my current preschool child nothing but random environmental and tree-hugger facts. Not seasons, not abcs, not numbers, etc. it is pretty ridiculous. He does have fun. If we hadn't moved from the city I definitely would have put him in same preschool that big brother went to.

[Anonymous]

I hope to have a job in 20 years and be off antidepressants so I will not have to come back here in 20 years. Don't worry I plan no homework and worksheets for my kids with lots of play and relaxation.

[Anonymous]

At our "play-based" preschool, the teachers teach writing, counting, and other "academics" during the pre-K year. It's "play-based" but not all play; good balance between academic learning and lots of unstructured playground time/imaginary play.