Kevin , 11 Salim Lakhani, Instructor

 

When a group of adolescents face more than 100 global teams in a scientific challenge, competition can be fierce. Does luck determine the champion team?  Not if you ask Kevin Reyes, an 11-year-old boy who was on the winning team.  Their team, the Extremophiles, depicted an extreme environment when the earth’s atmosphere was saturated with carbon dioxide (CO2).  To survive that environment and make that toxic air breathable, they devised equipment that separated the CO2 from oxygen using heat and centrifugal force.  “Our team through a lot of hard work, team work, focus and dedication took first place with great distinction earning our prize by 22 points ahead of our competition,” says Kevin.

Motivating Your Children in 3 Simple Steps

Now that it’s October and the excitement of the new school year has worn off, some parents may be finding it difficult to keep their children motivated. By implementing these smart strategies at home, you can help keep your children as excited about the 40^th day of school as they were about the first.

Encouraging a Love of Reading

By encouraging a love of books early, parents can help their children develop inquisitive minds, full of purpose and imagination. The Kumon Reading Program aims to cultivate a high level of reading ability, while introducing a variety of literature to children. Through continual study and practice, children develop skills that lead to critical thinking.

Reading Aloud at an Early Age

Toru Kumon promoted the idea of children reading from as early an age as possible with the phrase, “reading before the age of three.” He stated, “Children can easily learn to read before the age of three if you have them listen to songs and read to them.”

The Kumon Reading Program begins at the preschool level by having children connect words to familiar objects. The assignments build incrementally, with each worksheet teaching a lesson that’s one small step more advanced than the lesson before, reducing the likelihood of students hitting a wall and becoming discouraged. To help encourage reading at an early age, Kumon parents can take advantage of resources like Kumon’s Recommended Reading List, which has a section dedicated to read-aloud books.

To Have and to Hold…a Pencil

The Kumon Program has recently added a new level that can help children become more enthusiastic about learning. Through the use of Kumon’s new Level Z, students learn how to hold and use a pencil and develop their pencil skills.

In an ever-growing digital world, are skills like handwriting becoming obsolete? Recent studies suggest that the answer is “no.” In a 2012 study, The effects of handwriting experience on functional brain development in pre-literate children, psychologists used functional MRIs to gauge the amount of brain activity triggered when children were shown letters and instructed to type the letter on a computer, trace it, or write it freehand on a blank piece of paper. Only the children who had drawn the letter freehand displayed increased neural activity when shown the letter again, implying comprehension and retention of the information.

Handwriting is an important part of completing the Kumon worksheets. For students to begin learning their letters and numbers and writing them correctly, proper pencil grip and a certain level of pencil skills are needed.  Level Z can help students develop pencil skills through the practice of scribbling and drawing lines, curves, and angles in a fun, colorful, and engaging way. In combination with other activities that advance motor skill development, Level Z will prepare students to write their letters and numbers for the first time with excitement and confidence.

Parents Ask, Kumon Answers Your Questions about the Kumon Program

For more than 50 years, the Kumon Program has helped students from around the world achieve lasting success. From counting to calculus and from fairy tales to Shakespeare, the Kumon Program equips students with the skills to tackle future endeavors as they strive to achieve their goals.  If you are new to the Kumon Program or are interested in learning more, here we answer frequently asked questions about the Kumon Program.

What happens in a Kumon Learning Center?

Every day, students from around the world arrive at their local Kumon Center to develop essential math and reading abilities. Founded by a parent who wanted to prepare his son for success, the Kumon Program has now helped millions of children worldwide through a step-by-step curriculum, with instruction individualized for each student’s specific needs and abilities. Twice a week, students spend 30 minutes (per subject) working on math and/or reading assignments at their local Kumon Center. Once assignments are completed, they are handed in to the center’s staff to be graded. Students then correct any problems marked incorrect until they achieve 100%. Successfully completing an assignment brings a sense of achievement that empowers Kumon students to take on the next one. When finished for the day, students leave the center with assignments to be completed at home. For more information on how the Kumon Program can help your child, we invite you to read “Understanding the Kumon Program.”

What makes the Kumon Program different from tutoring?

The Kumon Program is an academic enrichment program designed to help children of all ages and abilities become eager, confident self-learners. Tutoring is a short-term solution dependent on someone explaining and teaching concepts to those seeking assistance. Unlike tutoring, Kumon helps students develop skills needed to study independently and advance beyond their grade level, with the guidance of the Kumon Instructor. Through this development of self-sufficiency, Kumon Students become confident and motivated with each completed assignment.

Does Kumon have an incentive program for children?

Earlier this year, we launched kumon+, a new loyalty program that rewards students for investing time in their development through the Kumon Program.  As students progress through the program gaining valuable skills along the way, points are earned each month. As they accumulate, points can be exchanged for exciting rewards. To find out how to enroll your child in the Kumon Program, visit kumon.com.

How much does Kumon cost?

Kumon Centers are individually owned and operated. As such, tuition for the Kumon Math and Reading Program can vary from region to region. We recommend locating the nearest Kumon Center in your area and contacting the Instructor for pricing information.

How many Kumon centers are there? Is there one near me? 

The Kumon Program is the world’s largest after-school math and reading program. Today, there are Kumon Centers in 48 countries and regions across six continents. In the U.S. and Canada there are over 1,500 Kumon Centers. To locate a Kumon Center near you, we recommend using the Find a Center feature on Kumon.com.

Alex, Age 10 Anna Dabrowska-Radtke, Instructor

  Anna Dabrowska-Radtke, Instructor

Like many 10-year-olds, Alex Wang has an array of interests.  He’s spent the past few years playing the piano and violin as well as learning to speak Chinese and Spanish. Alex also enjoys playing ice hockey and basketball, and is a competitive swimmer.

One of his favorite hobbies is reading. To enrich his love of reading, Alex’s mother enrolled him at a local Kumon Math and Reading Center when he was in the third grade. He was already reading fourth and fifth grade level books at the time.  Alex enjoyed the book excerpts included the Kumon Reading program worksheets so much, he took it upon himself to read many of the books in their entirety.

“Alex is extremely motivated,” says Anna, his Kumon Instructor. He set a goal of finishing the entire reading program by the fourth grade.  He is so engaged in the program that he [once] rushed from his hockey practice to attend the last few minutes of an award ceremony held at the center.” While still in the third grade and focused on his goal, Alex reached level G in the Kumon Reading Program. This level contains material typically not encountered until the 7^th grade, such as extracting the main points, themes and story elements from passages. On par with his Kumon goal, Alex completed the entire Kumon Reading Program in 17 months while in the fourth grade.

The Kumon Reading Program improved his reading and vocabulary skills and gave him the confidence to enter the Word Master Gold Division Competition, a national competition that encourages growth in vocabulary and verbal reasoning.

“I am quite busy but I am able to manage these activities while still having fun with computer games and play dates,” says Alex. “If I have a secret to handle all these activities well, that would be I stay focused on every activity I do.”

Alex is also enrolled in the Kumon Math Program and will no doubt achieve new milestones. In the future he wants to travel the world and one day become a famous architect. As his mother states, “Alex’s determination and ability to concentrate and focus on every activity has taken him to where he is and will continue to propel him toward future success.”

For more student success stories like Alex Wang’s visit Kumon.com.