I confess. It’s my fault that Alex doesn’t like math. Before he entered 1st grade, I thought it would be a great idea to give him the same advantage enjoyed by many successful Asian mathematicians. The media often reminds us that Americans are losing the math wars, and I didn’t want Alex’s path to Nobel laureate to be hindered by a lack of mathematical skills.
The Kumon Math program seemed like a good way to ensure that Alex gained those skills. Kumon started in Japan, but centers can now be found throughout the US. Students visit the center weekly for testing and to pick up a packet of worksheets that they complete daily. Based on the assessment test, they are placed at a level that they can comfortably handle. The Kumon philosophy is that repetition and success breeds math confidence and excellence.
Kayla enrolled in the Kumon program late in 2nd grade, when she started doing math fact drills in school. The Kumon practice was an extension of what she was doing in class, and it really helped to reinforce her school work. She gained confidence in her math abilities because the daily practice enabled her to shine in math class.
By 5th grade, daily Kumon practice had definitely lost its allure. The 10 minute worksheets were dragged out into hours. School math was easy, so Kayla saw no benefit to extracurricular math practice.
Meanwhile, we saw many Asian preschoolers picking up their Kumon packets and feared that Alex was falling behind. We enrolled Alex when he was in Kindergarten. Soon, he was completing worksheets with single digit addition and subtraction. This was much more writing work than the “easy” math in school. Kumon became a dreaded exercise in “drill and kill.” Eventually, we discontinued Kumon practice for both kids.
Now I’m paying for my eagerness by having to overcome Alex’s aversion to math. He just wasn’t ready to practice math facts when he didn’t understand the concepts behind the process. Kayla, on the other hand, asked to go back to Kumon. She is in a more challenging math class at school and she realizes that her math skills are rusty and slowing her down.
Learning math is like learning to play a musical instrument or to speak a foreign language. You need to build your knowledge base, bit by bit. You also need to do your daily practice. Kumon is an excellent way to provide the daily practice, but it is not a substitute for the hard work of learning to understand the ideas behind the problems.
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Thanks for sharing your Kumon experience. Each child is different. I have three daughters and each one of them presents a different learning opportunity for me. My oldest Kayla is 16, she is gifted and will be traveling to Japan this summer with a local student ambassador group. She was my first and I think possibly her familial order has proven to be an advantage for her. Emily will be 12 in June and she never ceases to amaze me. She is extremely intelligent, but lacks self confidence (I think mostly due to hormones). I am thinking of Kumon Math for her, because she is doing well, but not great and it seems to bother her. My only fear is that Kumon could make her hate math. Rachel is 11, my youngest. She just turned 11 in April (She and Emily are only 10 months apart). I am also considering Rachel for Kumon Math, but have the same fear of making her hate math. Rachel is not doing well in math this year. Her teacher said she daydreams and goofs off alot. I know Rachel is smart, but she certainly did not prove it to her teacher this year. My husband and I have a friend who just started teaching 5th grade last year and he has agreed to tutor Emily and Rachel two days a week this summer until school resumes. I have angst over my next step. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Deloris
Deloris,
My Kayla soon lost interest in Kumon again. It was just too repetitive and advancement is too slow for her.
I’ve been very pleased with Singapore Math (http://www.singaporemath.com) in homeschooling my son, and we are going to try it with Kayla this summer. We’ll start with the placement tests on: http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm
In the past, Kayla really got into Math when she participated in the Math Olympiad Contest (http://www.moems.org.) I’m thinking of trying to start this program in her current school next academic year.
My goal is to inspire both of my kids to want to learn for themselves. So, I keep looking for ways to make math skills something that they want to have.
For example, Kayla is very interested in earning money. She is learning about fundraising, budgeting, and eventually, investing with her Girl Scout troop. This year, she was solely responsible for accounting for her cookie sales.
Now, I just need to find reasons for her to use Algebra in her life!