February 2014
Should I Correct My Child’s Mistake on the Spot?
it’s highly likely your child will continue
to make the same mistake over and over.
This only reinforces the error.
No. When you see your child making a
mistake in his or her daily Kumon work,
it’s natural to want to “help” by pointing it
out before it’s graded.
learn from their mistakes. This is because,
after your child has made the corrections
to their work, he or she is much less likely
to repeat the same mistake in the future.
But, while it’s totally understandable,
please resist doing so; without meaning to,
you may be hurting instead of helping.
This is why it’s important for you to grade
the daily work as soon as your child
completes a packet, rather than grading it
days later.
If, however, you grade the work the same
day, your child completes it, and he or
she corrects the mistake to 100 percent,
then this mistake is far less likely to be
repeated in future work.
If you wait until later to grade the work,
That’s a result you can both celebrate.
One of the key principles of Kumon is the
belief that it’s important for children to
About Kumon’s ASHR
Important Tips
Kumon’s Advanced Student Honor Roll (ASHR) is an
incentive program that recognizes children who are working
ahead of their school grade level.
The ASHR is computed several times a year. There are three
levels: Level 1 acknowledges students working approximately
one year above grade level; level 2 recognizes those working
two years above grade level; and level 3 honors students
working three or more years above grade level.
These are important milestones, because working ahead of
grade level helps ensure your child will stay at the top of the
class. Please talk to your Kumon instructor if you have
questions or would like to create a plan for getting your child
on the ASHR.
Be sure to home-grade the worksheets daily. Do not let your
child correct the worksheets him or herself. After home-grading,
the students need to correct all worksheets to 100 percent.
Please have your child put his or her name on the worksheets, as
well as the date completed and the time taken to complete the
worksheets. This is important information your instructor needs
to accurately evaluate your child’s progress.
Tuition payments do not qualify as a child care or dependent
care expense for tax purposes. Expenses for care cannot include
any amounts paid for food, clothing, education, or entertainment.
If you have any questions about this please discuss it with your
accountant.
Kumon of Framingham
630 Worcester Road,
Framingham, MA 1702
508-875-0552
[email protected]
www.kumon.com
Kumon of Franklin
291 E.Central Street
Franklin, MA-02038
508-541-1326
Why Doesn’t My Child Work One-on-One at Kumon?
Great question! When your child works
one-on-one with an adult, it’s tutoring.
Kumon is not tutoring in the traditional
sense, and we believe strongly that it is
much more effective.
Kumon is designed to develop
independent, self-motivated learners –
which can’t be accomplished through
traditional tutoring where a tutor sits next
to your child, explains each question in
depth, and then points out every mistake
as your child makes it.
At Kumon we believe that students must
be taught how to read directions and how
to follow examples independently; then
they should be given the opportunity to
practice these steps.
In more traditional tutoring, your child’s
tutor won’t be with him or her throughout
Kumon Success Stories
“Kumon has turned me into the math
person I always wanted to be. In
Kumon, I learned that with will and
persistent effort, your goals and dreams
are attainable."
- R.J., Kumon student from Tulsa, OK
"My daughter didn't like reading and
believed she wasn't any good at math.
After enrolling her at a local Kumon
center, she's become eager to read and
felt confident about her skills and
abilities."
- Amirta, Kumon mom from Charlotte,
NC
"I am very grateful for all the help and
guidance that I have received, and I
thank my parents for giving me the
opportunity to be a Kumon student."
- Rachel, Kumon student from
Columbia, MD
Learning to work
independently leads to
long-term success.
As well, Kumon worksheets are
designed specifically so students can
move through the program at their own
pace without assistance, as each set of
worksheets builds on the previous set.
the school day or when taking a test.
(Unless, that is, they are Early Learners,
as some of the Early Learner
worksheets are designed to be
completed one-on-one with Mom or
Dad.)
Therefore, your child needs to be able to
complete the material independently.
Yes, we must even allow them to struggle
from time to time. It gives a child a great
sense of accomplishment to struggle with
a new concept and finally solve it
independently. After all, isn’t that what
we have to do throughout life – learn to
solve problems on our own?
This is why Kumon instructors encourage
students to try to solve problems and
answer questions themselves before
asking for help.
As the adage says: “Give a man a fish,
and you feed him for a day. Teach a
man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.”
So it is with Kumon and your child:
Guide him or her step by step, and your
child will be successful that day. Teach
your child to read, calculate, and think
independently, and he or she will be
successful for a lifetime.
Question of the Month
Are There Kumon Milestones My Child Should Be Reaching?
The goal for Kumon is to see elementary students studying two years above grade
level in math and reading by grade 5.
Why is this important? Students studying at this level are generally among the best
in the class, rarely have difficulty understanding new material, can complete school
homework and tests independently, and earn high scores.
They are, in general, happy, confident students, well-positioned for success in
middle and high school. We believe this to be a reasonable and achievable goal for
most students.
So how do you know if your child is on track to be studying two years above grade
level? Kumon has set the following goals for elementary students: Level C by grade
3, which we refer to as “C by 3”; Level E by grade 4 (E by 4); and Level G by
grade 5 (G by 5).
Whether your child reaches these goals or is on track to reach them will depend on
several factors: First, is he or she completing all homework assignments on a daily
basis, correcting all mistakes to 100 percent, and attending class regularly?
Second, how long has your child been enrolled in Kumon? While the earlier a child
starts Kumon, the easier it is to become an advanced student, we find most Kumon
students begin to study material above their grade level by their second year in
Kumon.
Kumon is a long-term program. Our goal is to make high school work
easy and to prepare all students for college, but this does not happen
overnight. Those who are dedicated to completing their daily Kumon
assignments are on the right path. Keep up the good work!