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JAN -JUN 2020
What to expect in your first year of Kumon Kumon and your little one
An early love of learning Building a foundation for high school ... and beyond
Editor’s Note
One of Kumon’s goals is to build each student’s foundation for future learning. Kumon Australia and New Zealand has dedicated this issue of Potential to sharing stories that demonstrate how this is achieved through the Kumon programmes. Our opening article is about five-year-old Lucas, who has developed a strong foundation in mathematics through only a year of Kumon Maths study. More importantly, Kumon has helped him build a foundation for his future – a love of learning. Our cover story shares the story of Kylinda. It explains how Kumon has developed in her a foundation of self-learning. This will benefit her throughout high school and in later life. Lastly, our feature article explains how a student’s first year of Kumon lays the foundation for advanced study. We hope you enjoy this issue of Potential. Sincerely, The Kumon Public Relations Team
ON THE COVER JAN - JUN 2020 KYLINDA
Contents MY KUMON JOURNEY
03
An early love of learning Lucas
a foundation for high 04 Building school... and beyond Kylinda
KUMON FEATURES
06 Kumon and your little one 08
Instructors’ quotes
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Building foundations for advanced study: what to expect in your first year of Kumon
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MY KUMON JOURNEY
An early love of learning
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ive-year-old Lucas has a strong advantage for his later life – a love of learning. At the time of writing, Lucas, from Sydney, has been enrolled in Kumon Maths for just over 12 months. Lucas has made rapid progress. He is already learning material at Kumon four years ahead of his school grade level.
This means Lucas is quickly developing his mental calculation ability, self-learning skill and a positive attitude towards learning. “I would say Kumon helped him develop self-confidence and persistence”, explains Cherry, Lucas’s mother. “I believe Kumon makes him keen to learn. This is very important for later on.”
Lucas started his Kumon Maths programme at three years old, starting with pencil skills. Cherry says this early start supported his progress through Kumon Maths. “I think kids are very fast learners at this age, they can absorb more than we think”, Cherry says.
In fact, the brains of early learners have been proven to be highly receptive to learning. As Harvard University research shows1, the early years are when the brain’s foundations are built. There were also many ways that Cherry supported Lucas at home. For example, as she saw Lucas’s ability rapidly developing, Cherry would play games with him that involved numbers, such as Monopoly. Cherry would encourage her son to take small,
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positive steps for his learning each day. She was also careful to avoid pushing him too far if he wasn’t feeling up to the task of learning on any particular day. “I would say never push your
child to do anything”, Cherry says. “It is more important, I think, just to develop their interest [in learning] and to show them how maths can be linked with real life.” Lucas, meanwhile, says he likes Kumon. “At Kumon I learn new stuff every week and I learn by myself”, Lucas says. He says he wants to become a teacher when he grows up so, “I can help other people become smart.” Lucas will start primary school next year.
https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture
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MY KUMON JOURNEY
Building a foundation for high school …
and beyond
K
ylinda, from sunny Cairns in North Queensland, will soon finish primary school. She also studies Kumon Maths at the Year 11 level and has completed Kumon English. Kylinda began studying with Kumon in 2014, when she was in Year 1. Kylinda is feeling prepared for her first year of high school in 2020. How did Kumon help Kylinda to prepare for high school? The Kumon programmes aim to produce the greatest improvements in maths and English in the shortest possible time. To achieve this, only essential topics are covered in the Kumon Maths and English programmes. “Choosing what not to teach is even more critical than choosing what to cover”, explained Toru Kumon, the late founder of the Kumon Method. “It is essential to omit material that is
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considered non-essential or of lesser importance, so as to effectively teach what is truly important,” he continued. “Kumon worksheets are materials that improve learning efficiency by omitting insignificant details.” This efficiency allows the Kumon programmes to develop students’ maths and English capabilities to an advanced level ahead of school grade. As Kumon helped Kylinda learn maths and English up to a senior high school level, she has the foundations to master most subjects she will encounter at school. “[Kumon has already] helped me to improve in other subjects in school, such as science, geography and history, because they involve English and maths as well”, Kylinda says. In addition to this academic foundation, Kumon helped Kylinda develop self-confidence and composure. This is because of
the daily study habit Kylinda built through Kumon. By studying Kumon worksheets, Kylinda overcame a small challenge each day. “As my Kumon is harder than what I see at school, and I study it each day, I feel I can take on harder challenges. I don’t feel as stressed”, Kylinda says. Kumon students begin to see challenges – like commencing high school – as opportunities for growth, instead of obstacles to avoid. Toru Kumon believed daily exposure to the small challenges present in Kumon worksheets was of tremendous benefit for students. “What we aim for is not just to improve students’ school grades by developing their abilities … but for students to attain the mindset for self-learning, and to acquire enough self-learning experience so that it becomes a habit”, he explained.
“We must allow children to experience the joy of self-learning and advancing on their own. We hope they will continue learning by themselves even after going out into the real world, and grow up into people who are proactive in everything they do.” Self-learning is the capability to apply current knowledge and skills to learn something new, without being taught. The development of self-learning is the result of committed study to a Kumon programme. When Kumon students encounter something a new problem or concept, they study the example, draw on previous learning and give it a try. They try until they finally get it, sometimes with a hint from their Kumon Instructor. This is how Kumon develops selflearning. Kumon students come to expect the challenge of something new, and gain satisfaction in working
it out for themselves. From this, they develop a mindset that no problem is too difficult to attempt. “When I get the answer right, I feel really proud of myself. It feels like my accomplishment and that feels really good”, Kylinda says. Kylinda is close to completing the Kumon Maths programme. Her goal is to complete in 2020. She hopes to become a medical doctor when she grows up. Kylinda’s younger sister Selina also enrolled with Kumon in March 2019, after seeing the progress of her older sister. At the time of writing, Selina, in Year 4, is already studying one year above school level in both Kumon Maths and English.
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KUMON FEATURE
Kumon and your little one Kumon believes children’s early years are a vital period for developing a foundation for lifelong learning. Below are three ways Kumon helps your preschooler to build early foundational skills.
1. Developing fine motor skills The development of your child’s fine motor skills will support the development of good handwriting. This will help your child to use the written word to communicate and express themselves.
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To develop fine motor skills, Kumon goes back to the basics. Before your child writes letters and numbers, Kumon ensures they grip a pencil correctly and builds overall pencil skills. Our exercises gently progress children from drawing straight and curved lines. As children continue to progress with Kumon, they write letters, form words and sentences, and write
neatly with speed and accuracy. We know there are many stages before a child can write with dexterity. Kumon’s programmes and Instructors support early learners through all the stages.
2. Building early study habits and academic ability Through Kumon, early learners are exposed to their very first reading and mathematical concepts. They also learn to read and follow examples, and build the very beginnings of their study flow. As these habits begin to develop, so too will your child’s academic ability. Depending on their ability, early learners enrolled in Kumon Maths will count, read, trace and write numbers. Those enrolled
in Kumon English will recite words, phrases and short sentences, as well as tracing and write letters of the alphabet. Gaining a head start on these foundations will be of lifelong benefit for your children.
3. Nurturing A positive attitude towards learning Our Kumon Instructors and assistants will praise your child for each little milestone they make in their learning. This is to ensure that your child will grow to associate learning with enjoyment. When children are young, they are natural learners. With your support, Kumon’s programmes will nurture their inbuilt curiosity and interest for learning.
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Feature
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simple, dents with a u st es d vi ro structors Kumon p om Kumon In ve to learn. fr lo ts s gh er n si ar in le s. Early s gain some early learner proach. Let’ ow they help h t u o systematic ap ab n o gi -Oceania re from the Asia
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The most important aspect of easing early learners into Kumon is sharing Kumon’s learning vision with parents early on. The key to success for early learners is that parents support the children as much as the Instructor does during the short preschool sessions. I invite parents to observe the first few sessions. Young children can be intimidated by their first Kumon classes and having their parents present helps them to relax. This also demonstrates to the parents how to complete the worksheets with their young learners in an enjoyable and effective way.
Ms Suvra Nanda Kumon India
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Early learners often to Kumon with uncertainty. They wonder, ‘What is all this about? Will my mum be there?’ Thereby, an early learner’s first interaction with Kumon must be a very warm and comforting experience. I make sure the child feels that Kumon is something they can and want to do. I want them to have a good experience.
Ms Cindy Koh Kumon Brunei
Young children love routine, being able to successfully complete a task and being praised for their efforts. Kumon is a learning programme built upon routine. By having at each student study of the ‘justright’ level, our early learners experience success each time they study a set of worksheets at the Centre. In Kumon, we also encourage parents to become involved and praise their children. Their support and encouragement make a world of difference for our early learners!
“
Ms Barbra Tan
To equip early learners with the right study approach for advanced learning, we build a methodical learning plan and work together with parents to achieve learning goals. By guiding and motivating students to keep trying, praising and encouraging them frequently, we build young and confident self-learners who enjoy studying on their own!
Kumon Singapore
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KANZ FEATURE
Building foundations for advanced study: What to expect in your first year of Kumon Confidence, mastery of the basics and a strong study habit are foundations for advanced study. These foundations are what Kumon aims to develop by the end of a student’s first year. What can you, and your child, expect to see and experience during your first year of Kumon?
Karna, a parent from Melbourne, says Kumon had this effect on his children. “Kumon is helping my children to overcome those fears and feelings of, ‘I can’t do it’”, explains Karna. “Now my kids, even if it’s difficult they will say, ‘I’ll give it a try’. That’s what they say. That’s what we want.”
Easy Starting Point As a Kumon student, your child will begin with worksheets that are very easy for them. So easy, your child will complete many worksheets, with a near perfect score, in a short amount of time. Your child will feel sure they can do the worksheets; they will be willing to do more. As your child completes more and more worksheets, their concentration will expand and a daily study habit will form. This process is known as the easy starting point. It takes up the first few months of a student’s Kumon programme. Toru Kumon, the late founder of the Kumon Method, designed the easy starting point to be a motivational tool. “Most children have no interest in their studies if [it] is too difficult”, Toru Kumon wrote. “Therefore, by having students begin at a level that is below their academic ability when starting Kumon, [they] achieve many perfect scores and increase their interest and motivation.” 10
Practice, challenges and a strong foundation After the easy starting point, your child will encounter more challenging work. When needed, they will practise worksheets to decrease the number of errors, reduce a completion time, review an earlier topic, or consolidate their knowledge of a new topic before they move on. The right amount of practice, with a daily study habit, will lay the foundation for smooth progress. “I think this builds children’s confidence and gives them a good foundation for higher levels [of learning]”, says
Monica, a Kumon parent from Brisbane. Toru Kumon explained that practice consolidates students’ knowledge and increases their confidence. This process leads to many small improvements, such as sitting still and concentrating on worksheets for longer periods of time; working quickly and constantly moving their pencil; not moving their eyes from the worksheet, neatly writing answers, and moving to the next worksheet page after completing their current one. You may start to notice these changes in your own child.
Self-learning and confidence Your child will begin to become a self-learner. They will also reach Kumon International Standard, the benchmark for study just above school grade level. Around this stage, it is likely your child will develop the confidence to know they can answer questions and solve problems if they try.
Progress and motivation As your child begins to encounter more difficult work, motivation levels may fluctuate. Toru Kumon maintained it was essential that Kumon Instructors and parents keenly observe students’ progress, and praise the child for their effort. “A long time ago, a student of mine received a score of zero on three consecutive tests”, Toru Kumon explained. “You might think there is no way to praise a score of zero, but when I reread the answer sheets more closely, I found … what was written on each test was different. On the first test almost nothing was written, but on the second one, some things were written and some problems were attempted – definite signs of progress.” “It is very important to have powers of observation to discover your child’s strong points. Watch for specific signs of progress and praise and encourage your children”, he concluded.
“Kumon has helped [my daughter] Tia to develop the habit of studying on a daily basis. She has become more confident”, says Abhinav, from Auckland and the father of an advanced student. “Kumon helps kids with their learning. It helps in overall child development.” Tia is seven years old, an aspiring doctor and advanced Kumon student. She says Kumon helped her greatly. “I am more confident and am able to help other kids in my class with their learning”, Tia says. “I find it easy to do my work in school. I am able to learn things quickly.” Toru Kumon always argued that advanced students are confident in their abilities and have the skills to learn new concepts independently. “Excellent students do not just develop academic ability, but also have the motivation to quickly become skilled in everything they do”, Toru Kumon said. “These children know the joy of taking the initiative and know how to improve something. Even when something is new to them, they are willing to give it a try.”
We encourage you to discuss your child’s progress with your Instructor should you have any questions regarding your child’s first year at Kumon.
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