While I do believe that Joseph will eventually catch-up to grade level, I also believe that this program will help him get ahead and lead to better confidence when in class.
The KUMON center is right next door to TaeKwonDo — literally next door. Until tonight, we’d never stopped by and didn’t really know anything about it. And honestly, with the name and only clientele we’d ever seen go in, I thought it was specifically for Indian-heritage students.
Well, given his recent report card (which was good, but not great) and his recent problems in school (which I’m not going to get into) we decided that assistance with reading and writing might not be a bad idea, at least for a little while.
KUMON is a program of repetition. They test the kids and then start them at whatever level they’ve tested and until they can pass that level 100%, they don’t go to the next level. So, it reinforces the basics like crazy. 2nd grade would be the equivalent of AI/AII, but Joseph tested at 4A level. So, he’ll complete 4A, 3A, and 2A before reaching AI/AII. He actually scored an 88 on the test which is 2nd grade level, but it took him 15 minutes, which pushes him “down”. The point being that it also builds test taking skills.
He really enjoyed our 2 hours there. Not only did he take the test, he also started the program – thus more practice/work and “taught”. Basically, once a week, they must go to the center. During the 30-60 minutes there, they do some activities, have them graded by a teacher, read to the teacher and in any time they have left they are the teacher to a younger kid! Joseph got to be the teacher last night to let him get a feel for things. He was very excited about that!
They also earn stickers, candy and KUMON dollars which they can use for “junk”. For every 25 stickers, they get a KUMON dollar. For every test they pass with 100%, they get 5 KUMON dollars, etc.
Every night, Joseph will have KUMON homework that he must complete (this includes weekends and holidays!). He is to be timed and we are to correct the work, but not correct the errors — only point them out and he must correct them. We are not to read to him, but he is to read to us. We’ve been given a specific book list for his level (and all the other levels) that we can choose from, but are to start at the lowest level (7A) and work our way up.
I’m told that most of the KUMON students end up in AG, because once they hit grade level work, it gets harder and they start pushing. Ultimately, they get ahead of their classmates. I just want Joseph to be comfortable with his current class, so this alone will be a big plus!
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen Joseph as excited about homework as I was last night. Oh, and by the way, there were tons of kids there — white, black, indian, asian and of all ages, but mostly (for a Thursday night) they are elementary school aged. Our neighbor was there and a friend of Joseph’s in school goes there.
Ok, wondering how much? $85/month. In my opinion and based on my 2 hours there as well, it’s going to be well worth it.