Anyone Send their Kids to Kumon?

[vhoffman]

We have two kids in public school, but we're not entirely satisfied with the quality of education they're getting. Overall its a good school, however, I don't feel they spend enough time on the "core" subjects, like reading and math. I know many people who supplement their childrens' education with the Kumon system. For us, it would cost approximately $400 a month--2 children X 2 classes (reading and math). It would involve 2 afternoons a week. For us, $400 is a fair amount of money that we could be putting into their college fund. However, if they don't get a firm foundation in the basics they won't make it to college, anyways!

Well, I would just like to hear from other parents who have sent their kids to Kumon and their opinions--are they staisfied with the results? Is it worth the money?

BTW, we looked at another similar program, Sylvan. We attended one of their orientations, which, of course, looked good. However, we requested to observe an actual class. We got a different impression from the actual classes, as opposed to the sales pitch orientaiton. I saw a lot of bored kids just sitting around reading or doing worksheets, with teachers who appeared to be just "killing time" until the parents came to pick up the kids. Also, the sylvan system seemed too heavy into the "rewards" thing. They have a rather involved system of points, earn enough points and the kid gets some sort of prize, usually some cheap toy. Well, it seemed they could get points for just about anything, including showing up and writing their name on the paper! The points and rewards might motivate some kids, but my son was overly interested in the toys (they had a display table). That's all he talked about for the next two days--how he was going to get this or that toy. That's all well and good, but I want him to learn to read for the enjoyment that the skill brings, not just master little basic tasks for the toys. My impression with Sylvan was that I would be paying a fortune for a bunch of cheap junk! So, if anyone has had experience with Kumon, I'd like to hear opinions, good and bad! Thanks!

 

[ChloeChipper]

All 3 of my kids did Kumon, for various reasons. I dont know if doing BOTH Reading and math is good, however. Each 'subject' will have homework every day (about 20 mins or so). Its a lot to ask of the kids to do both. I never did both subjects, we just focused on math.

My daughter needed some extra help back in 3rd grade or so & we found that Kumon caught her up quickly & gave her solid basics in math that she was able to build upon. She did Kumon for about 4 years. Once she hit middle school she had so much homework that we just couldnt squeeze the Kumon in.

My oldest son is very smart & we used Kumon to give him extra challenge. He flew through the levels and enjoyed being able to go at his own pace. He did it for about the same amount of time as my daughter did. He went way beyond every other kid in the school & even won some national Kumon awards.

My youngest son never really did well with Kumon, although we tried for a couple years. He was not motivated to do the work. He would mess around and was basically wasting my money. I think it did help him stay with his class, but he never got the full benefit of it.

Kumon is great for many reasons. I am sure that the person running the class told you already, but here is what we liked about it:
1. Kids work at their own pace
2. Kids work longer on specific things that cause them trouble
3. They can go faster through things they already understand
4. Kumon is all about repetition, which DOES get boring, but it also gives the kids an instant feeling of "I know how to do this already" instead of "this is too hard!"
5. The new concepts are shown in tiny dosages, so kids dont realize that they are learning something new.
6. The kids look forward to the level tests so they can move up, its not a stressful or negative thing
7. Hours are flexible. Our kumon here allowed kids to come anytime between 2 & 7pm Tues/Wed/Fri and then there were hours on Sat am, too. So you chose your two class times a week and just went. You are not committing to a specific time or anything, its really nice.

I would rethink your plan of doing both subjects, at least at first. Choose the one thats most important for you. Then you can always add the other in later.

Hooked on Phonics worked for us - it really did! If your son is having trouble learning to read invest in that program. I know its much better now than it was when my kids were small. All 3 of mine used the program and quickly learned to read & all now love reading!

 

[sara74]

Does Kumon have workbooks for school age kids? I use the preschool ones with DD and they are great. I wouldn't consider paying that much unless they were falling behind/having problems. Otherwise you could perhaps spend the same afternoons with your own homeschooling version of math and reading. Lessons in cooking/measuring, shopping (making change, addition and subtraction) and many others! They wouldn't cost you in $, just planning time. There are so many homeschool books and websites where you could find enrichment activities you could do with the kids to reinforce/teach what you feel they are lacking! Then you could put $300 a week away for college and save the rest for your vacation fund!