Self-learning: an invaluable ability for children

If your children enjoy learning on their own, it means that they have confidence in their skills and are able to take on new challenges. In Kumon, we identify this as self-learning.

Self-learning is seen as the ability to take in information, process it, retain and understand it without the presence of a teacher.

Kumon develops self-learning through allowing students to study ahead of school grade level when ready. As students advance ahead of school grade level in the Kumon worksheets, they learn for themselves what they are yet to be taught at school. They study the example, draw on previous learning and give it a try. They try, and try again, until they finally get it. Sometimes with a hint from the Instructor.

Self-learning has many benefits for students. In the below article, are five benefits of self-learning that may be of interest for readers:

1. Children develop better memory retention

Kumon believes that children who learn concepts on their own can better remember and retain knowledge. Based on our decades of experience in supporting children’s learning, when children are encouraged to retrace their steps by correcting mistakes or to evaluate how problems were solved, it is highly likely they will retain, in their long-term memory, the specific steps towards solving a problem.

2. Children take responsibility for their own learning

When children learn something on their own, they gain a sense of ownership for their work. They come to understand the link between the effort that they put in, and what they are able to achieve. Through this process, they develop a sense of responsibility towards their learning.

3. Children begin to develop a strong work ethic

As children develop a sense of ownership for their learning, they take responsibility for important tasks such as double-checking their work and correcting errors. They also come to appreciate the importance of developing a daily study habit. They come to know their limitations, and when it is necessary to ask for help. As children consolidate these skills, a solid work ethic evolves.

4. Children grow more confident as they self-learn

As children grow more confident by overcoming challenges, they will feel ready to tackle further challenges. Children who self-learn are less inclined to give up at the first hurdle. They try and try again until they get the answer right.

5. Children start to go beyond their comfort zone.

As self-learning ability develops, children will develop a mindset that no problem is too difficult to attempt. They will not be afraid to learn new things. Furthermore, they may exhibit an interest in taking on new experiences and challenges – things they are yet to encounter. With this mindset, their opportunities will widen.

These are only five benefits of self-learning for children. There are many further benefits. Equipped with the skill of self-learning, children can pursue their own potential at school … and in life.

Sandhya feels ready for a rapidly changing future

Sandhya Das Thuraisingham, a future student at the University of Oxford and former Kumon student, says studying Kumon Maths from a young age played an essential role in helping her to be ready for an unpredictable future.

Sandhya has been accepted into Oxford to study an undergraduate degree in philosophy, politics and economics. She hopes to travel to the United Kingdom to purse her studies in September this year, should conditions allow for the relaxation of international travel restrictions.

Despite global uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandhya remains cautiously optimistic. Sandhya asserts she is well prepared and that her former Kumon Maths studies played a key role in building her readiness for her future.

“I began Kumon while I was in kindergarten and continued to study the programme until around 2016, when I was in Year 9,” Sandhya says.

“The little bit of study required each day by Kumon helped me to develop discipline, independence, confidence and resilience. I was also encouraged in Kumon to continually set goals and to push my limits.”

Sandhya says Kumon instilled a mindset where she always strives for her best. This mindset gave her the confidence to apply for admission into her chosen degree at Oxford, she says.

Kumon also helped her to develop the needed life skills to attain her goals.

“Kumon showed me the value of persistence and repetition from a young age”, Sandhya says. “I think the Kumon worksheets are actually structured to encourage this development.”

“The worksheets allow you to gradually build up enough knowledge before you move onto the set of problems”, she continues. “The examples in the worksheets also give you enough information to self-learn; they give you the tools to work out the problems on your own.”

Self-learning also doesn’t mean being left unsupported when progressing through Kumon.

Sandhya says that while her Kumon Instructor always encouraged her to try to complete the problems in the worksheet by herself first, says she was always offered help if and when support was needed.

“Kumon students are used to being able to tackle, new and unfamiliar problems”, Sandhya says. “They are also used to seeking help when needed after having a go first.”

Kumon is a home-based, pencil and paper programme students can study every day on their own. For more information on Kumon’s home-based programmes, please contact your nearest Kumon centre. 

Operations will vary from centre-to-centre during this period.

Sandhya received her admission to Oxford with support from Crimson Education, a holistic US and UK university application support service co-founded seven years ago by former Kumon student and Harvard graduate, Jamie Beaton. Crimson Education offers programs for students aged 11-18 years old. To learn about their extension classes and support, visit crimsoneducation.org

Nick continues to learn through any situation

In December 2019, Nick, a Year 4 student, departed on a family holiday to China. Nick’s family trip was originally for two months. But as the COVID-19 crisis escalated, Nick and his family found themselves unable to return home.

These obstacles haven’t stopped Nick from keeping up with his study of Kumon Maths and English. Nick is keeping up with his daily study while in China. He continues to make progress.

“Kumon has helped me a lot, such as doing fractions in maths and learning English words and sentences”, Nick says.

“For me, it is important to keep learning and to maintain my study habit.”

Originally, Nick and his family arranged with his Kumon Instructor to bring two months of worksheets with them to China. After completing all these worksheets, Nick asked his auntie in Melbourne to get additional worksheets from Nick’s Kumon Instructor, and send them to him.

Nick then hand copies the photo of the worksheet onto a blank piece of paper and gets on with his study.

“Nick is independent, strong and self-disciplined”, says Nick’s dad. “He is strict with himself, keen to progress and doesn’t like to fall behind.”

“This is all due to the good study habit built up in his previous study.”

Nick’s dad also says that a supportive learning environment at home is conducive for his son’s progress.

“Nick has a quiet study environment at home; we are always there for him”, explains Nick’s dad. “We communicate with his Kumon Instructor proactively and prepare all resources for Nick. Whenever Nick encounters difficulties we are there to help.”

At the time of writing, Nick is three years ahead of his school grade level in Kumon Maths and two years ahead in Kumon English. He is a long-term Kumon student, having been enrolled for two years already. At the early stages of his Kumon study, he received greater hands-on support from his Kumon Instructor to build his independent and self-learning ability.

But as Nick progressed through the worksheets, he became more independent and consistent in his study, though he still participates in regular video sessions with his Kumon Instructor.

“My assistants and I always make ourselves available via Zoom and WhatsApp to support Nick and his family”, says Gloria, his Kumon Instructor.

“This has supported Nick to keep learning and to continue to make progress.”

Kumon is a home-based, pencil and paper programme students can study, at home, every day on their own. For more information on Kumon’s home-based programmes, please contact your nearest Kumon centre. Operations will vary from centre-to-centre during this period.

Certainty that learning will continue at home

With most children in Victoria now learning at home, Melbourne dad Kym is confident that his boys’ learning will continue to go smoothly with the support of Kumon Maths and English.

Kym – whose sons Levi, aged 8, and Jett, aged 6, study Kumon Maths and English – says continuing to study Kumon at home provides him with reassurance that both of his boys will continue to learn.

“The structure and support provided by Kumon’s home-based programme to drive our children’s education is invaluable”, Kym says.

“There’s a lot of unknowns going on at the moment, but there’s certainty and consistency with Kumon.”

Kumon is a partnership between student, parent and Instructor, which continues during extended periods at home. The Instructor creates an individualised study plan for each student, and sends home the worksheets they are ready to learn next on their own.

Students study their worksheets, daily. Parents encourage their children to complete their worksheets to the best of their ability. Parents then mark and grade the completed worksheets.

Kumon Maths develops calculation ability. Kumon English builds reading comprehension. Both are pencil-and-paper based programmes where students take out their worksheets, pick up a pencil, read, think, write, and use an eraser to correct their errors.

Usually, students would receive support from their Kumon Instructor, in-person, at the Kumon centre. Now, students and families receive regular communication via phone, email, SMS or video messaging.

“Our Kumon Instructor has been really consistent with her communication”, Kym says. “For example, we receive regular text message updates about the boys’ learning. That’s really helpful.”

For more information on Kumon’s home-based programmes, please contact your nearest Kumon centre. Operations will vary from centre-to-centre during this period.

Kumon Summer Giveaway winners

Congratulations to the winners of our Summer Giveaway! Doing a little each day can instil daily study habits that will be vital to success at school and beyond. We appreciate all of our students who chose to continue their study over the summer holidays.

Before we reveal names of the winners, we would like to mention that each voucher is valid for several years, the winners can hold onto their prizes and use them at a later date.

And now, we are delighted to announce our Kumon Summer Giveaway winners are as follows:

• Alan Y, Kumon Johnsonville Education Centre. Winner of the major prize of a $5,000 Flight Centre travel voucher.
• Omar T, Kumon Dannemora Education Centre. Winner of the minor prize of a $100 Hoyts Luxe Gift Card.

Thank you again to all families who continued their learning over summer, and congratulations to all our winners.

Kumon Maths and English, a home-based programme

Kumon is a home-based, pencil and paper programme students can study, at home, every day on their own. Our worksheets are ideal for extended periods at home.

The mathematics worksheets develop calculation ability. The English worksheets develop reading comprehension.

Learning continues at home

Kumon is a partnership between student, parent and Instructor. This partnership continues during extended periods at home.

The Instructor creates an individualised study plan for each student, and sends home the worksheets they are ready to learn next on their own. Instructors are also available for regular communication by phone, email, SMS or video messaging.

Students study their worksheets, daily. Parents encourage their children to complete their worksheets to the best of their ability. Parents then mark and grade the completed worksheets. While students do corrections, parents record the results on the study record sheet. (Ask your Instructor for a copy of The Value of Home Marking: A Guide for Parents and a record sheet.)

This daily process will ensure student progress.

Self-learning

As students advance in the Kumon worksheets, they become more confident to study the content on their own. Kumon worksheets are structured to allow progression in small steps. This enables students to advance smoothly from easy to difficult problems.

When they encounter something new, they study the example in the worksheet, draw on previous learning and give it a try. They try, and fail, until they finally get it. This is how Kumon develops self-learning.

Students come to expect the challenge of something new, and gain satisfaction in working it out for themselves. They develop a mindset that no problem is too difficult to attempt. Equipped with the skill of self-learning, students progress independently, at home, through their Kumon programme.

Kumon: sparking a lifelong love of reading

Being a strong reader is essential for Kelsey Davis’s law career. Kelsey, who studies a Master of Laws at Columbia University in New York City, reads, per week, an estimated 400 pages in prescribed texts.

“Obviously, in my job as a lawyer, reading is incredibly important, but it goes beyond that”, Kelsey says. “Communication is a fundamental skill in life and the written word is a key way that human beings communicate.”

“I think having great comprehension and communication skills is absolutely essential to success in life.”

Kelsey says studying and completing the Kumon English programme developed her passion for reading, her strong comprehension ability and her writing skills. Kelsey studied Kumon English in Canberra and completed the programme in 2006.

Kumon English develops a high level of reading comprehension ability in students. To inspire students to read widely, Kumon English contains more extracts from published texts than any other reading programme in the world.

Kumon also develops many transferable soft skills in students, like confidence, perseverance and self-learning. This is achieved because Kumon is individualised learning that allows students who are capable to study far beyond school grade level.

“In Kumon, you set your own goals and achieve them”, Kelsey says “You can study Year 10 work even if you’re only in year 8.”

“You can push beyond what you thought you could do before.”

Kelsey is in her second semester of her degree. During her first semester she studied human rights, civil procedure, financial statement analysis and corporate governance. Currently, she is taking a workshop on negotiation, a workshop on trial practice, an internship at the United Nations and a course in global financial regulation.

Kumon: building foundations for later learning

Kumon believes the early years of a child’s life are a vital period for developing the foundation for lifelong learning. This is why we encourage you, as a parent, to enrol your child at a young age.

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 is essential for the development of good handwriting. This is essential for your child to use the written word to communicate and express themselves.

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 colouring pictures with a thick crayon, to carefully drawing straight and curved lines. As children continue to progress with Kumon, they join their letters for cursive handwriting, form 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.  Build 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 learning sponges. Every new experience, every word they learn, every behaviour they adopt, are all about honing and moulding the holistic child.

What to expect in your child’s 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?

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.

As your child completes more and more worksheets, their concentration expands, confidence grows and a daily study habit forms.

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.”

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.”

Practice, challenges and a strong foundation

After the easy starting point, your child will encounter work that is more challenging.

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.

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.

Self-learning and confidence

Your child will begin to take charge of their learning and 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.

“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.

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.

Hayden develops lifelong study skills through Kumon Maths

Hayden’s Kumon Maths study went a long way to helping him achieve the International General Certificate of Secondary Education in mathematics. The IGCSE is an internationally recognized mathematics qualification set by the University of Cambridge.

Hayden, who is 16 years old and due to begin Year 11 high school, completed the examination last year to attain is IGCSE. Hayden  also completed the Kumon Maths programme in June. This meant he already mastered many maths concepts he encountered within the IGCSE examination, including trigonometry and quadratic equations.

Hayden says Kumon also helped him develop strong study skills.

“Kumon gives you the discipline to be able to sit down and actually finish something, rather than leaving it half done”, Hayden says.

The Kumon Maths programme develops quick, precise calculation skills for the study of high school mathematics. In Kumon all students also progress at an individualised pace. Advanced students can go ahead to study content that is above their school grade, while those who may be falling behind can go back to practise and revise.

As students progress through Kumon, they develop self-learning skill. Self-learning is the ability to learn something new independently, without being taught.