Have you heard of Kumon? Seeing as they’ve been providing individualised Maths and English programmes for over 65 years so there’s a good chance you have!
We were invited by Berry, the instructor of Kumon Gladesville to visit with our 3 girls (aged 6, 9 and 10), to test out the classes and see what Kumon is all about. Our first impressions: result + affordability = winning combo.
Located within Gladesville Shopping Village, there is ample parking and it’s right next to Coles so while your child attends the 30-minute class you can pop into to grab the never-ending grocery items that are always needed!!
During our visit to Kumon, we were impressed by the diligence of the students, who showed great focus and concentration. It was great to see the students use mental calculation skills rather than using fingers to count – they were able to give precise answers really quickly.
We learned that each student in the classroom followed their own individualised study plans in either Maths, English or both. Many students were actually studying beyond their school-level materials – a year 2 boy was trying to solve division questions whilst a year 3 girl was tackling simultaneous equations (year 8 level), wow!!
First Steps
Before your child starts at Kumon, Berry, the centre instructor will usually organise a parent orientation to explain in-depth how Kumon works and what for parents to prepare. After that, your child will attend a diagnostic test at the centre. The results and observations will be shared after the test and Berry will also advise the best starting point for your child to begin with the program. Kumon aims to build confidence from day 1 by starting children on worksheets that they can complete easily, quickly and with a near-perfect score. This confidence will create an enthusiasm to continue to do worksheets and build their skills through the gradual learning process.
Kumon In-Centre Study Routine
Here’s an example of what an in-centre study visit looks like at Kumon Gladesville (KG):
- Arrival – student to present homework and KG to examine the homework and provide the appropriate classwork. This is where the centre allocates worksheets specifically for your child’s level, based on the homework performance and individualised study plan;
- Classwork Study – Student to complete in-class worksheets at KG;
- Marking & Correction – Once a booklet is completed, students get it marked and then correct mistakes until 100%;
- Check-out – KG provides students with suitable homework for non-class days based on the classwork performance; KG records all results on the student’s scorebook.
Daily Habit
A key successful feature of Kumon is its daily practice. Students are given worksheets to complete every day at home or in centre. It won’t take long for students to complete each day – only 10 to 30 minutes daily per subject, but it’s the daily accumulation that helps students to make big achievements.
Self-learning
Interestingly, another big focus at Kumon is self-learning. They place great value on students’ ability to study independently and encourage students to discover how to solve problems for themselves without being fed with the answer. Through doing exercises on their own, students gain confidence in their studies and develop the desire to advance further.
During our centre visit, we found both centre staff and students all endeavoured to keep the classroom very quiet. The instructions given to the students were brief and precise and they all eventually directed the students to go back to the examples on their worksheets. To solve the questions, the students ended up carefully reading the explanations on the worksheets and applied the knowledge learnt from the examples on to the exercises on their own. After self-studying and working out the answers through their own efforts and perseverance, students are rewarded with a great sense of achievement, which motivates them to keep progressing to more advanced worksheets.
Affordability
We were really surprised to find out how affordable Kumon actually is. Children are provided homework for almost every day of the year and can also attend 2 x 30-minute classes per week per subject at a cost of $140 per month per child.
That’s $140 for 8-10 classes + customised homework to cover every day of the month!
NAPLAN
NAPLAN is the hot topic this term, so of course, we discussed it with Berry. As NAPLAN tests skills that students learn throughout the years and not just in the lead-up to NAPLAN, the best way to get your child ready for NAPLAN is to continue to develop literacy and numeracy skills consistently. Kumon Maths and English Programs focus on children’s long-term education by developing their reading comprehension and mathematics ability, which form the foundation for all subjects at school.
Extend advanced students or support students who need help
Every child in a Kumon classroom will work at a different pace, on different topics at different levels. If your child needs extra support, that’s exactly what they’ll receive. If your super-star learner needs an extra challenge, prepare for a challenge – Kumon is ready for you also!
Kumon programs cover almost all ages.
2 Weeks FREE
Join before the end of June and get 2 weeks free. Contact Berry (centre instructor) for more information on 0478692266 or instructor@kumongladesville.com.au
