Kumon maths - does anyone send their children?

*mudangel*

Wondered if anyone sends their child/ren to Kumon maths? What do you think of it and how have your children found it?

My daughter’s been receiving tuition in maths for about the last 18 months. It’s gone well, but she’s become a bit stale and I think she could benefit from a change.

Kumon appeals to me, because it sounds as if it encourages children to become responsible for their own learning. That she’ll be doing about 20 minutes’ work in her own time each day also sounds good for growing her knowledge. It’d be interesting to hear how other parents have found this aspect of Kumon.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

mrcow

How old is you daughter? And is she "behind" in maths?

*mudangel*

She is 10 (year 5). No, she's doing fairly well in maths, but only as a result of extra tuition. I would say she is about average. Prior to tuition she fell behind as she lacks confidence in the subject and can often be shy in asking for help.

She does quite enjoy going to extra maths, so while she continues to benefit I'll keep her going along.

dizziblonde

I've found kids I've taught who've done Kumon struggled applying it back across into more school-based Maths (can't think of a better way to phrase it to be honest) - might just have been the personality of the child in question though - I know it works for some. I've never had a problem setting work to be done at home when I've tutored children - always done it gladly in the past - is it worth asking your existing tutor to do that?

Spendless

Do you mean she receives extra tuition via school? Just 18 months seems a long time to receive tuition. I've no experience in my kids having extra tuition in maths, but I once engaged a private tutor to fetch my son's literacy grades up and was amazed how little time it took on a 121 basis. She's turned him round in 4-5 1 hr lessons at home.

BitterAndTwisted

My sister and brother-in-law had both of their kids receive tuition in maths with Kumon. Both of them found that what they were studying with Kmon was covered in school slightly later on, so they were up-to-speed and full of confidence. They achieved very high grades in A level maths and science subjects and both went on to study science for their degrees. One is still studying at Uni and the eldest achieved a first-class honours degree and is expected to be a really high-flyer in her discipline.

The parents think it's the best money they ever invested in their children

embob74

My DD attended Kumon when she was in Yr 5 at primary school as she was very behind in maths.
To be fair I only gave it six months before I gave up and the tutor had told me I should allow 1 year to 18 months in order to see a marked improvement.
I stopped DD going as I found it to be very repetitive. At first that was a good thing as repitition can help in learning times tables but then I realised I was paying £50 per month for my DD to tick boxes. And when I found out that they sometimes had school students supervising the children I decided enough was enough. Nice work if you can get it!

My DD struggled all through primary and was always classed as very behind and then within the first year of high school she was up to the same level as everybody else. I do feel the primary school found it easier to label DD as behind so it wouldn't affect their SATs scores in her final year. She didn't need extra tutoring after all - I always find a different teacher can mean a different outcome.
So in summary I couldn't recommend Kumon - not enough actual teacher involvement, they just tick sheets and hand out more sheets depending on what answers the child gets right/wrong.

*mudangel*

So far, quite a range of opinions.

Spendless, no, she's not tutored via school. We identified a need when her confidence appeared to be lacking, so the private tuition has mainly been to tackle this and facilitate further learning.

Know what you mean about ticking boxes, embob74. The last place I sent her to did seem to be a bit like that.

Will be interesting to see how she responds to Kumon. She's having an assessment in September, so I'm interested to see how that goes and also to meet the tutor. DD responds so well when she likes the person teaching her.

Nicki

i did kumon with my son when he was in year 1 and 2 (so right at the youngest point they take them) for about a year. We did it because he had no confidence with maths, even though he was doing averagely well in class he would always say he couldn't do it and was stupid. It really boosted his confidence quickly, and he shot to the top of the class, where he has stayed ever since even though he hasn't done it for years now (now about to start year 8).

The only thing I would say is that I didn't find it at all leaving the child to get on with it. That might depend on your child though. I had to persuade my son to do it every night, then sit down with him and mark it, then get him to do correction, re-mark, re-do corrections until he was 100% accurate. This took about half an hour a day and was a total nightmare if for any reason he missed a night and we had to catch up later in the week before his class. Although I was pleased with what it did for his confidence, from that point of view I was glad when he gave up.

pacific4130

*mudangel* wrote: »

She is 10 (year 5). No, she's doing fairly well in maths, but only as a result of extra tuition. I would say she is about average. Prior to tuition she fell behind as she lacks confidence in the subject and can often be shy in asking for help.

She does quite enjoy going to extra maths, so while she continues to benefit I'll keep her going along.

Perhaps it would be worth spending some time working on her study skills too. Help her to build a solid foundation which will serve her well in all subjects.

anonymousie

Hmm. Personally I'd keep her with a 1:1 tutor who can tailor the work to her needs.

Nicki it sounds like you did all the work anyway!