Yahya develops a strong maths foundation

Yahya, 10 years old, is already a numbers whizz.

In Kumon Maths, he is already comfortably studying equations that Year 12 students work through.

“After getting this far in Kumon, I find it very easy to do maths in school”, Yahya says. “I can finish my work very fast and with no problems.”

“It feels very good that I can do advanced maths.”

Hamood and Shamama, Yahya’s parents, enrolled Yahya into Kumon Maths after seeing how his elder brother benefitted from the programme.

They say Kumon has helped Yahya develop a strong foundation in mathematics.

“Kumon has helped him to grasp complex maths concepts and to polish his mental skills”, Hamood and Shamama say.

“It’s also important that he has a strong foundation in mathematics as it is the basis of many fields of study which he may choose to pursue later in life.”

Sharlyn races ahead to Year 12 level maths

For 14-year-old Sharlyn, solving Year 12-level equations is no problem.

Sharlyn, who aspires to enter the medical profession, developed her maths ability with Kumon’s support. She has studied with Kumon since she was in Year 1.

“Kumon lets you go above your school year level in maths and to challenge yourself”, Sharlyn says. “Without challenges we can’t grow as people and get better at the things we like to do.”

“I also feel more prepared and confident about my studies.”

Kumon is a personalised learning programme that supports students in their maths and English learning.

In Kumon, advanced students, like Sharlyn, can tackle go ahead to tackle content that sufficiently challenges their skills and piques their interest, while those who may be falling behind are given the time they need to practise and revise so they can fill in any learning gaps.

Sharlyn says her strong maths knowledge will have real-world applications in medicine.

“Medicine is a very broad field that involves giving patients the correct dosages of medication and precisely mapping surgeries”, she says.

“I think maths is really going to help with that.”

Vivian, Sharlyn’s mother, says being ahead in maths helped grow her daughter’s confidence.

“She really likes a challenge with her work”, Vivian says.

Kyara writes her own story

The prospect of writing and publishing a children’s book with her classmates doesn’t faze ten year old Kyara.

The Year 5 student is working on a collaborative project with eight of her classmates to write a children’s book, which will be published in her school library. As Kyara is two years ahead of her school grade in Kumon English, she feels ready to put pen to paper.

“I think my Kumon English will back me up and I can use all the extra vocabulary I have learnt”, Kyara says.

Kumon English supports students learning by assigning them personalised learning programmes to develop their ability in comprehension and critical analysis. In Kumon English, advanced students can tackle learning that sufficiently challenges their skills and piques their interest.

Kyara says that in addition to developing her English ability, Kumon has taught her to embrace challenges.

“I face a challenge I work towards overcoming it”, Kyara says. “If you don’t try you will never succeed.”

Shauntel, Kyara’s mother, says Kumon supported her daughter to be more independent.

“She’s self-motivated and she studies on her own”, Shauntel says.

“This makes me feel more confident because I feel that no matter what Kyara chooses to do, she’ll smash it because … she’s motivated and she tries really hard until what she’s trying to do is done.”

Kyara aspires to be a journalist and TV presenter when she grows up.

Harshwardhan powers ahead in maths and English

At just ten years old Harshwardhan is smashing his way through high school maths and English.

The Year 5 primary school student has completed the Kumon English Programme, meaning he has the literacy ability of a Year 12 student, and is studying Kumon Maths at the Year 9 level.

Kumon Maths and English are personalised learning support programmes that allow students to study at their own pace. This means advanced students, like Harshwardhan, can race ahead to study content that is above their school grade, while those who may be falling behind can go back to practise and revise.

Harshwardhan says his Kumon Maths and English study has improved his confidence and knowledge.

“Kumon has helped me build confidence, improve my knowledge and my self-esteem and my belief in myself”, he says.

Kumon has also supported Harshwardhan to take on and overcome challenges.

“When I solve a difficult equation it feels good because I’ve learnt something new and I realise that I can actually do this”, Harshwardhan says.

“When you overcome challenges it does improve your self-esteem, your knowledge and it just makes you want to take on more of them.”

Harshita, Harshwardhan’s mother, says Kumon has supported her son to grow into an independent learner.

“Kumon doesn’t spoon-feed, they show children the technique for solving problems”, Harshita says.

“This supports the kids to become very independent, so they can eventually do the work by themselves. I feel independence is very important today.”

Harshwardhan aspires to become an electrical engineer when he grows up.

Layla launches ahead in maths

She’s only in Year 5 in primary school, but 10 year old Layla can already tackle many of the advanced maths problems that university undergraduates face.

And Layla, who aspires to become an astronaut, isn’t fazed by the inherent challenge of solving complex equations. In fact, she relishes in overcoming difficulties.

“It’s really fun being challenged, I think it’s a wonderful feeling”, Layla says. “I like maths because of the logic: however you ask the question, the answer’s not going to change.”

Layla says she was inspired by her father Liam, who holds a PhD in mathematics and is a former maths teacher, to excel in maths. Furthermore, this drive led Layla parents to enrol into the Kumon Maths programme in 2016.

“We’re personally not bothered whether or not Layla’s far ahead, but she loves maths. She wants to be far ahead and she wanted to do Kumon, so we supported her”, says Nancy, Layla’s mother.

Kumon Maths supports students learning by assigning them personalised learning programmes to develop their maths ability. In Kumon Maths, advanced students, like Layla, can tackle learning that sufficiently challenges their skills and piques their interest.

“For growing a student’s maths ability, Kumon is basically ‘practice makes perfect’”, Liam says.

“Whether this is by memorising times tables or learning and applying formulas, practise helps you to spot the same patterns and gives you more confidence with more complex problems.”

The Kumon Maths curriculum covers content from the preschool level, all the way to undergraduate university. Layla finished Kumon Maths last year.

Liam, meanwhile, says being strong in maths goes beyond just being good with numbers.

“It gives you the discipline not just to work out whether you’ve been given the correct change to pay for something, but actually spot patterns in things which may actually have nothing to do with numbers”, Liam says.

“It trains you in logic.”

How Kumon supports the growth of our youngest minds

Kumon’s experience with helping children reach their potential in Maths and English has shown that – so long as the child is ready – the earlier that a student begins learning, the better. Therefore, Kumon has a range of options available for our youngest minds, including Kumon’s Pencils Skills Programme.

To shed some light on the experience of our early learners, we spoke to some of parents of pre-schoolers who have enrolled their children into Kumon. Here are their thoughts:

“There’s a period when children are very open and curious and if you can catch them there, then the learning kind of happens naturally … the learning just becomes part of who they are, because they are still in their developmental stage. If you can catch them there then it all takes off.” – Leticia

“When I enrolled my children, both of them had very low muscle tone and their fine motor skills were very poor, so they couldn’t even hold a pencil. For me, the pencil work all came from Kumon. I just thought they’d be ready for kindergarten, I wasn’t expecting them to excel, just to be ready for school. Anything after that was exciting for me.” – Eva

“I’ve noticed that Kumon has helped in other areas, particularly with my little boy because he’s definitely more disciplined now. When my little boy is in class he knows that he needs to listen and focus and he knows that it’s important. He realises, in his own way that he’s learning. He tells me, “Oh mum, I did this today and I haven’t done that before.”’ – Tam

“I don’t think it is too much for my daughter to do Kumon every day because each workbook only takes a small amount of time. I thought to myself, ‘Why not start something that has some kind of system to slowly introduce her to difficult concepts?’ So starting one step at a time, with a little amount of my time and her time, we can achieve a bigger result.” – Stephanie

To find out whether Kumon’s Pencil Skills Programme is suitable for your child, please speak with your local Kumon Instructor.

After walking 800km, Anna hands in her holiday homework

Most students would take time off from homework while embarking on an 800km trek, but not 11-year-old Anna, who kept up-to-date with her Kumon Maths homework while she completed the Camino de Santiago.

The Camino de Santiago, or ‘The Way of Saint James’, follows one of the most significant Christian pilgrimages during the Middle Ages. This pilgrim’s route, part of the UNESCO World Heritage List, begins in the French town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, near the French-Spanish border, and ends in Santiago de Compostela, a city in north-western Spain.

Today, it still serves as spiritual journey for modern-day pilgrims and as a tourist track. While Anna spent 26 days trekking over mountains, through medieval villages and across dry Spanish plains, she completed her Kumon Maths work with her cousins, carrying her homework wrapped in a plastic bag that was placed in her backpack.

“I didn’t want to fall out of the habit of doing Kumon and I thought I might fall behind if I didn’t do it on the trip”, Anna said. “My two cousins who were with me on the trip also do Kumon, so we helped each other during the evenings when we had lots of spare time”.

Paula, Anna’s mother, said she was impressed that Anna wanted to keep up with her work and that Kumon has boosted Anna’s confidence.

“Anna likes to achieve, and I think that she’s seen herself improve over time”, Paula said.

“I think she gets a lot of satisfaction from Kumon and it’s not easy; she’s struggled sometimes, but I think it’s given her a good sense of what she can do.”

Anna aspires to be a doctor or scientist when she grows up, and would like to star in a musical.

As children prepare for the year ahead, you might like to consider how Kumon can help your child develop a daily learning habit as well as boosting their confidence. Enquire with your local Kumon Centre to learn more about giving Kumon a try in 2019.

Three ways to help your children love learning this summer

With the arrival of the summer holidays, children can play and live their daydreams without the interruptions of the classroom. Parents also finally have precious extra time to relax and spend with their children; whether this is on holiday, at the poolside or beach, or just relaxing together to read a favourite book.

The summer holidays are a time to show children that learning can be intriguing and enjoyable! Here are three ways you can help your children love learning this summer.

1. Encourage and engage with their curiosity

A curious mind is eager to learn more, and will serve children well throughout their education and life. Sometimes children ask thousands of questions each day! Answering questions honestly and genuinely will provide opportunities to discuss the question topic in more depth. If neither of you know the answer, then this is an opportunity for you both to find the answer together.

2. Get reading!

Summer is a great time for children to pick up a book, get lost in a story, and learn more while they’re at it!

Keep books by your children’s bedside these holidays, in the playroom—all over the house—and make sure they are in places within children’s reach. Bring books with you on car trips, to the grocery store, anywhere. Rather than handing them an electronic device, hand them a book they love.

3. For the long-term, help them develop a growth mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that one’s abilities and intelligence can be developed with effort and perseverance. Children with a growth mindset realise their effort has a direct impact on their achievement, they acknowledge their current abilities are a starting point for reaching their potential, and are more likely to put in the extra yards needed to succeed.

Kumon is enrolling throughout the summer break, and this could be a time to help you child begin to develop this mindset. Kumon’s programmes help students develop this way of thinking by building students’ confidence through its Maths and English programmes and showing them that with effort, they can achieve.

The numbers add up for Gisele, Chace and Charmaine

For siblings – 9 year old Gisele, and 8 year old Chace and Charmaine – numbers are a breeze.

The siblings have always had an affinity for numbers which their parents, Holly and Ady, were keen to nurture. As such, they enrolled their kids into Kumon.

“We discovered their interest and ability in mathematics while they were at Kindergarten,” Holly and Ady explain.

“Therefore, we hoped to find a well‐recognised system that can enhance their ability and equip them with the necessary learning skills”.

Gisele, Chace and Charmaine all aspire to be medical professionals when they grow up. They say Kumon has helped them become confident, independent learners.

“Kumon gives us a systematic way to practice our knowledge with clear achievements and targets”, say Gisele, Chace and Charmaine.

“Sometimes, we experience difficulty when studying advanced maths, but we are willing to learn by ourselves and find it fun to face the challenges ahead and we are determined to conquer them”.