Kumon for 4 yr old??

[mm23292]

My daughter has just turned 4, and is the youngest in her new reception class. Having had reservations of being slower than many of her older classmates, it turns out the teacher thinks she is quite advanced relative to her classmates. Big surprise to me, as I have not done anything to steer this. She has always liked writing and drawing, so is a very confident 'writer', knows all the letters, and can spell and write simple words. Pretty standard stuff I would have thought. We have been given a curriculum sheet of things they will be working towards, which includes things like learning to hold pencils and form letters, count up to 20, and relate numbers to number of objects....all things that dd has been doing naturally, for quite some time. I have heard a few people mention Kumon, and don't seem to be able to gleam much beyond the commercial blurb on it's website, so am wondering if anyone knows anymore about this? Is it something that is more suitable for older children, or for children looking to 'catch-up' in some way? Or is it something that might be useful in helping to challenge younger children who might need that little extra? On the other hand, the school she has just started, is very highly regarded, so should I just leave her to develop naturally within that environment as she has seemingly done this far?
Any experienced advice out there, or someone who knows more about Kumon or similar, would be much appreciated!

[silverysea]

My dd then 4 did some as a tag along with older sis. It was fun and she could progress at her own pace. I don't feel it is really necessary though for this age. I would be more inclined just to do some sticker workbooks from wh smiths with her, a little every day, and a homemade star chart to show her progress-you wiil be able to do it when it suits you both and you will spot weak spots better yourself.

We liked the letts ones with fairy stickers, don't know how far down they went.

It's tempting to hand some responsibility to tutoring places, and seems to save time, but in practice you are responsible for making them do rather repetitive worksheets every day and getting to centres parking etc on time in the rain is a pain, so that someone can record simple work you can do yourself in a few minutes. Sit in bed with a book with her!

[mystery]

My daughter has just turned 4, and is the youngest in her new reception class. Having had reservations of being slower than many of her older classmates, it turns out the teacher thinks she is quite advanced relative to her classmates. Big surprise to me, as I have not done anything to steer this. She has always liked writing and drawing, so is a very confident 'writer', knows all the letters, and can spell and write simple words. Pretty standard stuff I would have thought. We have been given a curriculum sheet of things they will be working towards, which includes things like learning to hold pencils and form letters, count up to 20, and relate numbers to number of objects....all things that dd has been doing naturally, for quite some time. I have heard a few people mention Kumon, and don't seem to be able to gleam much beyond the commercial blurb on it's website, so am wondering if anyone knows anymore about this? Is it something that is more suitable for older children, or for children looking to 'catch-up' in some way? Or is it something that might be useful in helping to challenge younger children who might need that little extra? On the other hand, the school she has just started, is very highly regarded, so should I just leave her to develop naturally within that environment as she has seemingly done this far?
Any experienced advice out there, or someone who knows more about Kumon or similar, would be much appreciated!

She's not of compulsory school age, and it sounds like she's not going to learn much at school for a while other than some nice times playing with the others, so you could take the opportunity to take her out of school on some days out!!

[mm23292]

Thanks Silverysea, definitely not one for hanging around windswept car parks, I think we would both tire of that one rather quickly! And like you say, there is a lot to be said for the ease and simplicity of letting her play with a few activity type books, in the comfort of home. Will have a scout around and see what's out there...thanks

And have just seen your post mystery.. didn't think of that. Just assumed once they were in the system, they were subject to the same rules as everyone else.. food for thought!

[scary mum]

Guest55 will be along shortly...

[Amber]

Guest55 will be along shortly...

...but Amber is going to behave herself for once.

[Guest55]

Just got back and have to put a Maths teacher's point of view!

Avoid Kumon it is not highly regarded - there are lots of things parents can do to support maths at home which are free and FUN!

[sbarnes]

Maybe we should turn this around and ask those parents whose kids have been through the Kumon methodology and get their feedback. How did the kids cope, was it useful, did they see a positive influence on their grades, was it sustained, the learning that is once Kumon stopped etc..Just a thought from the other side as it were

[Guest55]

Kumon is all about arithmetic; it's boring and repetitive.

Maths is about solving problems - something that Kumon just does not cover.

[yoyo123]

Kumon is all about arithmetic; it's boring and repetitive.

Maths is about solving problems - something that Kumon just does not cover.