What's the best age to start Kumon?

At Kumon, we’re passionate about developing every child’s potential through our maths and English study programmes. We welcome and help children of all ages and all abilities, from two-years-old through to pre-university age.

Many parents considering enrolling their child in Kumon have the same question: “I don’t want to overload my young child, but equally I want to give them the best possible head start… So what’s the best age to begin Kumon?”

At Kumon, we believe that, essentially, the sooner children can begin, the better. This is why, at many centres across the UK, you’ll find learners as young as two and three beginning their Kumon journeys.

Here are the reasons we believe an early start is important:

Nurturing a love of learning
Young children simply love to learn; they are naturally inquisitive and keen to investigate everything about the world around them. Innately, children want to discover, and they take delight in being able to use their newfound nuggets of knowledge. Starting your little one on a learning programme is a great way to bring out their curiosity and help them experience the joy of discovering new things.

Instilling a positive attitude to study
If this natural curiosity is positively encouraged at a young age, children will grow up always wanting to learn. Children formulate their attitude to learning during their early years so, to help your child become a creative, adventurous learner in later life, it’s important to encourage and reward their learning from a young age.

Developing the brain
Have you ever wondered why children are able to learn languages faster than adults? Children go through a ‘critical period’, believed to occur from the age of two until seven, where there is rapid neural formation. A two-year-old, for example, has twice as many brain connections (‘synapses’) as an adult. We need mental stimulation in order to maintain these connections for the rest of our lives.

Engaging children’s brains during this biological window of opportunity is therefore vital and will have lasting effects on their cognitive, physical, and emotional development.

Preparing for school
Fun learning activities can help toddlers prepare for more formal learning they’ll experience at school. Scribbling and drawing, for example, helps to build up hand strength and dexterity, making learning to write that little bit easier. Encouraging young learners to ‘have a go’, explore, and think for themselves, helps them feel more confident and prepared for those first steps into school life.

In fact, the effect of a preschool education has been proven to boost academic performance right up until secondary school, so the sooner children begin to learn, the earlier they start to develop skills to gain the greatest cumulative benefit.

Kumon’s early learner activities have been carefully designed to put the building blocks in place for a lifetime of learning. Through the pencil skills programme, young learners practise drawing lines and curves on colourful, fun, and engaging worksheets, developing their fine motor skills and mastering their pencil grip.

The Kumon English Programme helps children experience the excitement of learning to read, with Kumon’s Recommended Reading List offering plenty of ideas for fun stories you can read together. Through the Kumon Maths Programme, young learners develop confidence in numeracy, which can make all the difference as they transition to school.

It’s never too early to start nurturing your child’s curiosity so that they will always love to learn. Speak to your local Kumon Instructor and participate in our Free Trial to learn more about how Kumon can help prepare your child for a lifetime of learning.