Do you remember when you started to read? Or when you started to do basic math? I don’t. But as our family enters the wonderful world of public school, we are quickly learning, you are never too young to start learning about reading, writing and math. As soon as they hit JK, they are doing letters and numbers. I think it’s great.
Our oldest, Harry is in Grade 1 and he is so eager to be able to read, he gets angry that it can’t happen faster. What a great problem to have. That’s better than no interest at all.
We have been reading to him since day 1 and I am sure that is a big part of why he loves books. Even when he was in daycare, the staff always would comment at how he just loved books and would sit and look at them every chance he got.
That being said, once this guy knows how to read, look out. I look forward to his story telling, his imagination and his overall interest in the world, just exploding. As I remember, I was not that into reading until much later in life. I could never separate reading for school because you had to and reading for pleasure because you wanted to. Now, I love to read when I have time and I love to write and be creative if you could not tell.
So as parents, can we help speed up this process of Harry learning to read? Or do we just leave it to the schools and wait for it to happen?
Fortunately, in 2015, there are so many options at our disposal to supercharge our child’s learning. There is the standard home tutoring, there are computer courses and web apps and there of course is parental help.
There is also one more option that our family has been given the opportunity to try out. It is called Kumon.
Kumon After School Math & Reading Programs
Kumon goes beyond the traditional tutoring I mentioned. Instead, children actively develop critical thinking skills while progressing independently through a carefully crafted, Kumon curriculum. The Kumon Math and Reading programs cover everything from counting to calculus, and phonemics to Shakespeare.
They use a worksheet system that enables children to learn new concepts on their own. Kumon programs allow students to progress one small step at a time through daily practice. From what I have seen so far, the daily practice is what makes it work. The program fits any age and any grade. The workbooks are matched to the level the child is at after an assessment by the Kumon staff. It’s not a blanket system where every starts at the same spot and follows the same process.
When I was first asked about trying Kumon, I was taken aback at first as I always thought Kumon was for kids who were behind or who had learning disabilities. I was very wrong. Their focus is about helping any kid improve on their own skills and move up the ladder when it comes to reading, writing and math.
The way it sunk if for me was, most kids take the summer off from learning which there is nothing wrong with. But kids who want to continue learning over the summer, Kumon is ideal. It’s not the summer school we all picture full of misbehaved kids and teachers who don’t want to be there. It’s hands on teaching and learning so when the kids go back in September, they are fully prepared to achieve great results.
I am not going to go into the specifics. If you want to learn more about who they are and what they do, you can go to their website.
My Thoughts So Far
I will tell you that the program is designed so it’s the same no matter where you live. If we move for example, it’s the same in every office or city. Harry can pick right up where he left off.
So far we have gone to an assessment and one class.
During the assessment, they evaluated where Harry was with his writing and reading and started him off with workbooks right away. Just the first day, he learned to hold his pencil correctly to reduce pressure and stress on his printing.
The workbooks are going great and Harry really enjoys it. Almost once a day he almost begs to work on his Kumon. I have noticed changes already and it’s only been a week.
Forget the usual gifts you want to give you kids. Giving your kids the gift of learning and making it easier for them to achieve is the best gift you can give. I plan on updating Harry’s progress on the blog every few weeks.
Keep on reading to the free world.
Upcoming Kumon Open Houses in GTA
Open House schedule | Centre Name | Building Name | Street | Suite Floor | City |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Agincourt North | 3850 Finch Ave E | Unit G9 | Scarborough | |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Cedarbrae | Cedarcourt | 3482 Lawrence Ave E | Unit 207 | Scarborough |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Chartwell Plaza | Chartwell Shopping Centre | 2329 Brimley Rd | Unit 201 | Scarborough |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Eastown | Eastown Centre | 2642 Eglinton Ave E | Suite 105 | Scarborough |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Huntingwood | 2190 Warden Ave | Unit G6-G8A | Scarborough | |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Malvern | 720 Tapscott Rd | Suite 203 | Scarborough | |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Middlefield | 3300 Mcnicoll Ave | Suite 213 | Scarborough | |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Morningside | Pleasant Corner | 1154 Morningside Ave | Units 201 & 202 | Scarborough |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Scarborough Town Centre | 1240 Ellesmere Rd | Scarborough | ||
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – West Rouge | West Rouge Plaza | 111 Island Rd | Unit 1 | Scarborough |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Westbourne | St. Bede’s Anglican Church | 79 Westbourne Ave | Scarborough | |
Sunday, Nov 15, 2-4PM | Scarborough – Parkwoods | 2167-75 Victoria Park Ave | Unit 202 | Scarborough |
I just want to be up front by saying even though the Kumon services are being provided to my son in exchange for my writing, the opinions expressed here are still my own and won’t be swayed.
#kumon