Who's done Kumon? Tell me your experiences, please.

[frogs]

Contemplating doing Kumon maths with ds (just 6, Y2), as his maths is a bit erratic, and I'm concerned that he hasn't really understood how numbers work, even though he can get the right answers some of the time. Ds is one of the youngest in his year and although his reading is fantastic (reading proper books independently) his maths is nowhere near the same level. I don't want to be a pushy parent about it, but I know dh had to retake his maths O-level four times, and I don't want that to happen to ds if possible.

Any experiences of Kumon? Is it worth it or not? There are a few kids in his class who do it, but they are in the very top group, and I wondered whether there might be some competetiveness about who's on which level. Or else that it might be off-puttingly boring.

TIA

I know one of the older sisters of a classmate of DS did it

And she was very very poor at maths

Not really sure what it involves though

I'd be interested in views here too - hopping onto the thread - as I've got similar issues, frogs, with my DS1 just gone into Y3 - excellent reader, OK-ish with maths but just doesn't seem to get it. But I'm a bit worried Kumon would put him off by forcing him too much.

We haven't done Kumon, but a friend of mine teaches it. IMO Kumon can be a great confidence boost, as well as boosting ability, as long as the family put in the commitment. The basic ethos is the child should do 10 mins per day. The worksheets are not exactly thrilling and exciting (!) but it's the cumulative effect of frequent practice that should have a positive effect. Along with loads of praise and rewards, etc.

If I were you I'd ask to go along and have a look at the group, chat to the leader to see if you get along (some are failed/wannabe teachers ...), and have a look at the materials. I know some children do Kumon for years and years, but I don't think this is the way to maximise benefit. I would suggest committing some time effort (and money) for a term, and see how it goes.

HTH

Message withdrawn

is it number bonds and times tables?