Is my Year 3C DS doing okay or should I get him tutor/kumon

[WineAndChocolate]

Hi all, dont come on here very often I'm afraid but I hope you dont mind me asking for some advice.

Just had parents evening and DS got a 4B in reading which I was really pleased about but his comprehension was only a 2B (although his teacher did say it was a new test and everyone in the class got a low mark in comprehension).

He is a 3C in maths. Is this okay or should I be thinking of getting him extra help?

He goes to a faith school which is very competitive and a lot of the children either have tutors or do kumon.

Saying children who have done kumon can't do maths is a hugely inaccurate generalisation. I personally know several staggeringly mathematical children who have done kumon to serve as counter-examples.

I expect that the reason it may seem that way sometimes is that children who take up kumon will tend to be polarised between those who really struggle with maths (more of these) and those who find maths really interesting and want to do more with not so many average at maths children in the middle. Even if kumon has helped the weaker mathematicians somewhat they may still seem weak at maths.

I personally think kumon is particularly good for those children who may or may not be good at maths but who are weak at arithmetic.

OK I will clarify that statement to
the children I know/teach who struggled with maths were worse after KUMON

There are different reading tests that test different skills in reading, however.

If you have a child who is weak at arithmetic, you still don't have to waste your money on Kumon. WHSmith will do just as well at a fraction of the price.

and there are lots of free materials available on the internet

www.primarytopics.co.uk/maths/calculating/mental/year3/year3.htm
www.primarytopics.co.uk/maths/calculating/mental/year3/year3.htm

That's not good at all mrz :( I do agree that you can do arithmetic practise using worksheets from Smiths or the internet instead (and for far less ££) , but some people need the incentive of going somewhere each week to make them do it (like weightwatchers).

wouldn't it be better for parents to offer the child a treat (equal to the Kumon fee) for completing x number of practise questions. I know what I would rather have when I was 8.

So you make the child sit down at home each week at the same time - buy them a new reading book each monthor soemthing as a reward still cheaper than Kumon.....

xposted with mrz - I agree.

There are a million and one fun games available online that teach mental maths without the children even realising they're learning.

I took an intervention group last year for children in year 4 who were below a year 2 standard. They would return to class and say "we just played games!" and I'd smile to myself. Yes, we had 'just played games' but they had learnt a lot (I hope!).

All of my games are bookmarked on my school computer, and I'm off work for the next week so I can't post the links, but one site I did use a lot was www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/ - try the kitten match. It's very cute, it's fast paced and it teaches quick recall of number bonds.

I also like www.ictgames.com/LIFEGUARDS.html
and
www.ictgames.com/sharkNumbers_v2.html
and
www.ictgames.com/save_the_whale_v4.html

www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/
www.ictgames.com/LIFEGUARDS.html
www.ictgames.com/sharkNumbers_v2.html
www.ictgames.com/save_the_whale_v4.html

woops

Frankly I can think of nothing more likely to switch a child off maths for life than having to turn up each week to a Kumon session and complete endless repetitive worksheets.

cool math
math playground

It might well work for some children mrz, though it does seem a rather inappropriately large reward for a young child per month to me. I was thinking the parents were needing the incentive to encourage the child regularly rather than the other way around. It would also need the parents to have some clue about the right level of question to set too - I know it's not rocket science, but some people would find it difficult.

Are KUMON fees inappropriately large then gelatinous?
The internet is a wonderful tool for finding out information and it's virtually free ... or parents could ask teachers.

Perhaps parents could promise a reward equal to one month's fee at the end of a year and save 11 months of costs

I wouldn't send him to kumon-I have found that they make DCs very inflexible in approach. I like ict games already mentioned. Also Woodlands Maths Zone
Play lots of board games and cards and chess.

Kumon fees are inappropriately large to give to an 8 year old for doing some worksheets mrz, maybe not so much on a one months fees per year if you agree with paying a child to do work. I've no idea if they're inappropriately large for a kumon tutor though. I agree the internet is fantastic, but it will only help a child learn maths if the parent has the discipline to use it regularly - not all do (I didn't).

For what it's worth dd was recommended to do kumon by an ed psych (she's dyslexic) - she's quite good at maths but always made loads of mistakes with arithmetic. Doing a little practise every day was actually just what she needed and it helped quite a lot but was rather mind-numbing and expensive. After about a year (she had the addition/subtraction rules sorted by now) we mutually decided to go the internet worksheet route instead, but unfortunately neither of us had the discipline to do it. About a year-18 months and probably less than a handful of internet worksheets later, she returned to kumon for about another year and got the multplication & division rules under her belt. It was probably about the most expensive way of learning tables there was but it worked for us. She is quite good at maths now by the way. I would recommend internet worksheets instead to people, but ONLY if you will actually do them!

My DD2 has asked if she can go!

I have said no.

but not inappropriately large to give to a Kumon instructor for providing worksheets?

I hope you weren't paying the Ed Psych for that advice gelatinous

I have no idea what proportion the kumon instructor keeps and what goes to the franchise mrz. I imagine it's not an an unreasonable amount that they keep though - they have to pay hall hire and other incidentals out of it too after all. How odd to equate an 8 year olds pocket money with an adults income.

Kumon has worked wonders for us on a confidence basis.
My dd has come on leaps and bounds.

I wasn't meaning the instructor kept it gelatinous ... just handing of an inappropriately large amount for worksheets

Ds wanted to do it too when dd was doing it Iamnotinterested, I relented and he lasted less than a month as I recall - It doesn't suit every child for sure. Mind you I used to get him to mark dd's sheets and he didn't mind that - so he sharpened his arithmetic too (or maybe that was just my excuse for lazy parenting )