Four tips for optimising your child’s home study
Kumon Mathematics and English are daily study programmes. Students generally attend the centre once or twice a week, and are assigned worksheets for daily home study. The right amount of practice and a daily study habit – ideally no more than 30 minutes per subject, per day – prepares your children for higher levels and lays the foundation for smooth progress in Kumon.
As home study is a core component of Kumon, below are four tips on how parents can establish ideal study conditions and motivate their children:
1. Try not to spend more than 30 minutes on each subject. The goal of Kumon is not to cram, but rather to teach students the power of small, consistent efforts towards achieving larger goals. If a student studies mathematics or English worksheets that are at the ‘just-right level’ – the point of difficulty between too easy or hard – then they should not have to spend more than half an hour to complete their set. Exceeding this time limit will likely be counterproductive, as it drains students’ motivation for completing the next day’s homework. We advise parents to notify their Instructor if their child is taking too long to complete a particular set. The Instructor can advise accordingly and take the appropriate action to help the student.
2. Schedule a regular Kumon time. ‘Kumon time’ is a set time for students to commence their home study of worksheets, providing a helpful structure for consistent, daily study. ‘Kumon time’ can vary depending on the worksheets your child has been assigned. Many families find that the morning is best for ‘Kumon time’ as it helps the child focus for the day ahead. Of course, the exact timing of ‘Kumon time’ is up to each family to decide.
3. Establish a Kumon study space. The bedroom, living room, study; these are some of the spaces where students might go to complete their homework. There are different approaches. The space where your children study at home will vary, depending on age and how much parental supervision they need. We suggest that students should study in a place free from distractions and in an area that will become their regular study space. To learn more about establishing a Kumon study space, click here.
4. Be present when your children are studying. During the first year of Kumon especially, students are building their study skills. To support, we recommend that parents be in same room as their children when they are studying to ensure their centre study is being replicated at home. Students should be working quickly, with pencils moving and eyes focussed on the worksheet. English students are often reading aloud, as well. Breaks should be kept to a minimum so that learning can continue uninterrupted. In the later stages of Kumon, students who can self-learn advanced material may not need parents to be present.
For further tips on how to support your children’s study at home, speak with your Kumon centre and visit the Home Study Portal.
