Questions you could be asking about Kumon

[Carolinemaths]

As a former Kumon Instructor and now a maths blogger, it's interesting to see the frequent requests for information and reviews about Kumon. Naturally some people feel love and some feel hate for this 50 year old program - my opinion is that it can work well but parents can certainly use a DIY approach and get even better results.

For those who want to figure out if Kumon is right for their family (yes Kumon can be even tougher for parents) I've got 2 questions that should help when trying to find out about Kumon:

1. What are the characteristics of your child and your family that makes Kumon work for you?

2. What problems have you had with the program and how have you dealt with them?

The answers should help to see if Kumon would work for your child and make people aware of the solutions to problems that do come up.

(I also have a survey on my blog with some more questions such as "Is it important if the instructor is not a maths teacher?" I'm interested to see if these questions can help parents when making that "Kumon decision")

So if you're child does/did Kumon, what are your answers to the 2 questions?

Have completed the survey. (1) I have three children and Kumon definitely works for them (have only done maths Kumon). In each case I have seen an appreciable improvement in their maths. Currently only the youngest child (8 years) does maths Kumon but I am about to re-enroll the oldest as I am not satisfied that his secondary school (admittedly a special school) is pushing him to achieve what he can. He is HFA and Kumon gave him something he was good at. He loves maths because once you know the right answer it is right every time. (2) God Kumon is so dull! especially for the parent marker. Top tips: always buy the answer book, its only £2 as is money seriously well spent. yes of course you can work out the answers but once they reach long multiplication the time spent working out the answers is more than a mum can bear! The only way to deal with it IME is to give no way out. Yes your children will whine and whinge (and understandably so) but your approach needs to be that come what may Kumon needs to be done. My 8 year old now does it first when he comes back from school because he wants to get it out of the way. The long term benefits are worth it.

Wow! Are instructors charging for answer books now? That's tough! Yes the answer books are essential for marking the work (and getting students to do their corrections straight away)

The "no way out approach" is a good one but can be hard to implement especially with the whining! I used to tell parents that they need to treat it like they would if their child refused to clean their teeth.

(Thanks for filling the survey btw )

As a "Thank You" to mumsnetters who filled in my Kumon Survey, I'm looking to giving away review copies of my newly completed: "The Ultimate Kumon Review".

It's a video and tool-kit to help parents ask the right questions to see if Kumon is right for their family. If you're trying to make that "Kumon" decision, send me a message through mumsnet "Message poster" or through the contact form on my website