Kip McGrath vs Kumon?

[SixtyFootDoll]

DS2 is yr 2 and is finding maths really difficult.
Today he asked if he could go to a 'maths club'?
Dont know where he got the idea from.
We have Kip McGrath and Kumon locally, but was wondering what others experiences are?
I know they are franchises and a private tutor would prob be better>
But I think he would find the group aspect more 'fun' in one of the classes.
Thanks

[SixtyFootDoll]

?

[magentadreamer]

I don't have any experience of Kumon but from what I've read on here it appears to be very repetative and bores the DC to death in most cases. My DD did attend a Kip Mcgrath centre at the end of Yr6 for Maths and she enjoyed going. Kip only has qualified teachers teaching a max of 6. Dd did 6 different activities in her 80 min session so things were broken up. A Kip Centre is obviously only as good as the owner and teachers working in it but for my DD it has given her confidence in Maths and she has made great progress in the first year and a bit of High School.

[SixtyFootDoll]

Thats good to know that KM has qualified teachers.
Thanks for your answer

[GrimmaTheNome]

It occurs to me you should ask your DS if someone mentioned a maths club to him - he must have picked up the idea from somewhere - maybe one of his classmates goes, in which case that might be the deciding factor.

I saw a friends' DD's Kumon worksheets and they looked deadly dull - repetitive arithmetic, and this was for a yr6 child. My friend thought it was helping though.

[SixtyFootDoll]

I did ask him that Grimma as it came out of nowhere.
He doesnt know anyone else who goes, he said he thought it 'would be a good invention'?!
I will ask his teacher i she knows anyone else who goes though.

[thirtysomething]

DD goes to kip McGrath - I'd give it 7 out of 10! Yes, the teachers are all qualified and groups are small but the homework they give out can be a bit odd and not consistent with level the child is working at. DD enjoys it though as the lesson is very varied and a lot of it is done in a fun way on the computer. She is definitely making progress there. My only other complaint other than the bizarre homework is the lack of feedback on progress from the centre. You have to make a big deal really in order for them to book you an appointment to chat to the teacher-given that it's £25 a lesson this seems a bit churlish to me.

[littleducks]

I was just checking out the Kumon website and they are doing free trials (2 weeks) countrywide atm, might be a good way to check it out?

[BarkisIsWilling]

Have to say thirtysomething, that our experience of KMcG is quite different. Our centre is staffed by Phil & Andrea Redman and they always have time for parents.

(I hope they don't mind my naming them)

[Crocky]

thirtysomething, that does sound odd and nothing like my experience of Kip.
Ds went once a week for a while. Had to give it up because we could no longer afford it.
At the end of every session the teacher would come out and spend a couple of minutes talking individually with each parent. Just a quick 'he has concentrated really well this week' or 'struggled with such and such so i have given him some more practice for homework.
We never had to force the feedback at all.

[Crocky]

Crossed posts with Bark

[thirtysomething]

Crocky I think that it's a bit variable maybe as it's a franchise set up - ours is a bit of a victim of its own success i think as there are so many children there I don't think the teachers have any time between lessons to chat to parents - you can't actually physically get near them as there's a huge crowd of children/parents waiting for the next lesson and DD and all the other children from the lesson that's just finished have to try and push their way through the waiting children....Don't get me wrong overall we're pleased and she's still going...just wanted to point out some of the disadvantages to give a balanced view!

[SixtyFootDoll]

Is it realy £25 a lesson?
Kumon is £50 a month.

[BarkisIsWilling]

SFD, at KM the children are taught/worked with one-on-one and do things like typing, science, composition/essay writing, maths and english.

Don't know much about Kumon, but the above seems good value.

[SixtyFootDoll]

Ahh OK.

[sprat1]

Maths Whizz on the computer might be worth a look

[BrigitBigKnickers]

Kumon is death by worksheets.

Kip mcgrath is a combination of written and computer based work with 1-1 tuition. Lots of variety.

My DD has had Kip tuition for over a year (actually had her last session last Weds.) She has really enjoyed it and the teacher (highly qualified and experienced)she had was fab.

It is a franchise so I suppose the centres vary but I know people who use three different Kip centres in our area and they are all very pleased with the tuition. Sounds like thirtysomething had a bad experience with the centre her DD used- nothing like what we have found.

If you pay for 6 weeks or more at a time the sessions are cheaper. We paid for 6 weeks at a time and it was about £23 per week. Sessions were 1 hour and 20 mins and on average three in a group. You get a few mins feed back after each session. Homework was always relevant.

I wouldn't pay £50 a month for worksheets. There are too many good resources for free on the internet.

[SixtyFootDoll]

Thanks all. Maths whizz looks good, have asked DS's teacher waht she thinks.
Am more tempted by Kip McGrath to be honest.

[paddingtonbear1]

One of my colleagues says his ds has recently started KM, and enjoys it so far. They tried Kumon but their dc just found that very dull. I did think about KM for dd but I don't know anyone who has used the centres near us (stockport/macc).

[BarkisIsWilling]

Paddingtonbear1, I believe the KM centres offer a free taster lesson. You could try that perhaps?

[LynetteScavo]

We found Maths Whizz great...way better than Kumon, which to be honest was boring, and almost pointless.

DS has also had a tutor come to the house, which has definately benefited him, as he had an hour of one to one, so it might be woth considering that.

With Whizz, the child initially does a fun test, which gives you a very clear idea of their strengths and weaknesses, "maths age" etc.

I'm considering doing it again with both DSs

[BarkisIsWilling]

here

[BrigitBigKnickers]

Top Marks is just fab. Type the subject in the box or the area of maths (e.g. shape and space) and it links you to loads of games and resources and tells you what key stage they are suitable for.

Primary Resources is another fab one.

HTH!