KUMON - Anyone started from 2.5 years old?

[Mummyof2blueeyedcuties]

Hi all, has anyone got any experience of KUMON from 2.5 years old? I can see many starting from 3-4 but wondered if it’s worthwhile 2.5? Thank you

I’m going to try and put this in the nicest way possible as you seem to be a bit confrontational about this…

2.5 year olds need physical, social, emotional and communication skills first.

Any additional learning can be incorporated into that, examples could be:

counting the steps as they go up and down,
talking about the shapes of things at the park,
who has the biggest cake?
Look Freddie, our house has number 12 on it - a one and a two, next door has a one and a one so their house is eleven,
pouring water in the mud kitchen - learning about capacity,
noticing things around them like tall buildings or little flowers.

These things are more incidental and can be things that are repeated and gradually build into your day or way of life which means they’re more likely to be embedded and build a foundation for maths.

At a young age doing worksheets or being forced to sit to complete a task may cause resentment and do the opposite of fostering an interest in maths.

And you still have plenty of time.

OP no one has been toxic or vile.

People were responding to your question about tutoring a 2 year old child. The consensus is that this is OTT even if Kumon do offer it.

If you're an accountant and your husband is a banker then really there's no need to go down that path - save the tutoring for when they're struggling and heading for public exams.

Wouldn’t watching Numberblocks be more appropriate? My dd who loves maths now, loved Numberblocks as a child, it taught her some times tables before she’d even started school. Also lots of learning through play and ‘helping’ with the shopping.

yes they have, I’ve been reporting them and it’s getting removed because some have been vile

Unless they have already been removed (I don’t think so) nobody has been disrespectful or vile on your thread OP. You asked the question, people answered and very many of them disagreed with kumon for toddlers. You were given alternative ideas. None of this is toxic. Respectfully, you’re massively overreacting. Nobody is attacking you or your parenting …

Yes hun, the posts were removed!

No. No. No. Play games & have fun.

When posts are removed the missing post is replaced with a message saying it has been deleted.

Don’t know what to tell you guys, want to see emails?!?? Get a life Jesus Christ

Hi OP, I originally came from Asia and most of my friends remain there. The academic competition in Asia is extremely tough (beyond a lot of people's imagination) and many many parents send their kids to tutoring classes as early as 2.5 to prepare for the elite / top primary school's interviews when they turn 5. One of my friends send their son to Kumon before he turned 3 and he has been so far ahead in maths since then. He could already memorise the times table at the age of 5. It is not uncommon in Asia to enroll kids in Maths Olympiad classes even before they start primary school. Another friend of mine who lives in London (also Asian) is also very ahead in maths and could already tell you what 9*9 is when he was 5. Not only in maths, they are also well ahead in reading and other logic-related games.

When talking about fine motor skills, these kids can already use chopsticks at a young age. So even just putting a straw in a juice box or opening and closing lunch boxes do not seem like a big challenge to them.

I'm saying this because I understand there may be cultural differences between the East and the West when it comes to education. Also, every child is different so your child may be more mature or capable and can start Kumon at 2.5 but others may not be.

My child knows all the numbers to 100 and alphabets A-Z when he was only 2 (that surprised the teachers in his nursery's toddler room) because I taught him and played games with him since he was very tiny. I am also currently thinking if I should send him to Kumon when he starts preschool (3.5 YO). Some parents in Asia say that some kids love to be taught by other adults (or teachers) and get praised by other adults. They get stickers or gold medals and etc after a class. It boosts their overall confidence and makes them want to do better next time.

Yes, learning through play is important but I think sitting still to learn something for 10-15 mins a day isn't going to damage their brains either. The teacher in Kumon did tell me that most of the kids at 3 that they teach can focus for about 15 mins max, so they limit their session to about 15 mins only (once a week, one subject only).

Instead of following what the education professionals write in their books, why not just take your child to their trial classes and see if they will like Kumon. What If your child is really resilient and patient and actually can sit down for 10 mins a day do their tracing and counting worksheets, and is also a big fan of maths and reading. Then it's good news. If they don't like it, just stop and try again later. If they are ok with it, carry on. Again, every family is different. Your parenting style may be different to your neighbour's. Don't limit or suppress your child's potential and don't underestimate their ability.

You’re not exactly pleasant yourself.

then there's parents moaning that kids in England start formal education too young and you want yours doing work sheets at 2 and a half 🙄

Have you looked at Abacus instead? Not sure what age it starts but the method seems more engaging and it’s a cool party trick to do mental math really fast!

I’m an Oxbridge educated mathematician. I love maths. It is my favourite thing.

I am really not a fan of Kumon. Kumon takes something beautiful (maths) and makes it dull and repetitive. Maths is joyous - children should be taught that maths is joyous.

Mathsy things I did at home with my kids.(Note - mine are teens now so I struggle to remember what age I did things at someone of these will be too easy and some too hard.)

Tipping out a box of raisins. Counting them. Eating one. Counting again. Repeat until all gone. Occasionally get greedy and eat lots and see what happens!

Climbing stairs whilst “counting and stomping”. We always counted. We always stomped. When counting got too easy we counted (and stomped) in 2s, 3s and 5s. (I refuse to confirm or deny whether I personally sometimes like to count in 13s, 17s or 19s when I climb stairs alone now.)

Board games. Lots and lots of board games. Especially ones with a dice. I worship Orchid toys.

House numbers. My husband’s face when out walking with dd when she was about 3 and she suddenly said “Yay! This is the odds and evens road!” (Most roads in our city count up one way and down the other.) My husband is not a mathematician.

Card games. This is at least partly my dad. He is mad on cards. Pack of cards and a cribbage board. Take it in turns to turn over a card and count it along the board. See who wins. And then slowly make the game more complex. Dd could play a decent game of cribbage before she started school. (Hey - it could be worse - it could have been poker!)

Grains of rice. We used to make patterns with rice. Different piles going up in different patterns. You can dye rice really easily so that also made it more fun.

Number patterns. 9 times table on your hands. Multiply 2 digit numbers by 11.

We also used to have a scorch mark on our microwave from an experiment we did to calculate the length of microwaves. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that one (although it is super fun!) if you don’t want to risk burning your house down. That one was dh’s idea though - not mine. (He is a scientist!)

Death by Worksheet.

We are a very educated household, and our children show signs that they want to learn. Shoot us for wanting the best for them.

Well just give your children the gift of your time then, play games, give them maths experiences rather than rote learning. Interest in maths isn’t really something you can pay a company such as Kumon to instill in children.

Have a look wise crack, it clearly says MNHQ have removed them. Maybe scroll to page 1

Do you mean to be so rude to everyone? You might possibly be the rudest, most obnoxious poster I’ve ever come across on here. At time of posting, the deleted messages weren’t showing to me and clearly to the previous poster also, as well as other people who commented.
You seem very quick to call others ‘vile’ … maybe take a look at yourself too?

I understand, we are the same and when you see those books being marketed as appropriate for 2 years old you are begin to wonder if that might be a good idea. My daughter shows interest in numbers, letters and reading and I also had similar thoughts. However, I would follow @Mumofteenandtween advice, I think she's given you (and me!) a lot of great ideas. I can add one thing to her very extensive list - a toy cash register. My daughter is completely obsessed with it and I can see she is trying to figure out adding up numbers.

kumon does not give a solid foundation in maths. It is rote learning and formulaic. A foundation in maths comes from experiential learning, allowing children to understand the number system and make connections and generalisations. As a teacher, I see over and over again that the Kumon children may accelerate initially with functional maths, but they start to struggle with reasoning and problem solving as they don’t have the depth of understanding. I would personally avoid it. If you want to make a start, I would recommend the White Rose maths app, alongside developing mathematical language and experiences such as cooking, weighing, measuring etc.

It’s important for young children to really understand what a number/amount is. They need to be able to consolidate number, ie, recognise that an amount of objects remains the same, even if you move them around. Try that with your child - put out some objects, get them to count them and then move them around. Ask how many. If they have to re-count, then they aren’t yet able to consolidate. Subitising is also important, ie recognising an amount without having to count it. Dots on a dice are an example of this.

Both of these skills are so important for early number sense. Much more important than pages of sums.

If you are a very ‘educated’ household OP
why do you want to use Kumon ?

Watching numberblocks would be better

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_bRavc-qerkEyGo-gkM9uOrg-BoNeRDU&si=gIYzPFdfk-7bOUQQ

Then when she's older, if she's showing strength in maths, look at Beast Academy.

Another option would be the preschool math at home book by Kate Snow

A 2.5 year old won't even be able to write or read, much less do both independently while also learning and practicing math independently, which is what a Kumon center would require

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving!