FAQs during Coronavirus

Kumon was, in fact, designed to be a home study programme! Our founder, Toru Kumon, started the Kumon programme as a father creating worksheets for his son to study independently at home. With daily practice, his son’s maths ability naturally began to improve and so did his confidence. He allowed his son to study by himself and to complete any corrections. Because the worksheets were individualised to his level, he was able to progress smoothly and quickly to concepts far beyond what he experienced at school. As such, Kumon is completely suited to the home study environment.
 
Your Instructor will provide necessary input in terms of ongoing feedback, assessment, and guidance. This is achieved through careful monitoring of student results and progress, ongoing communication with you and your child, and occasionally some additional observation and guidance through online tools.

All Kumon students benefit from a daily, structured programme of learning that is specifically tailored to their own ability. This regular routine allows our students to progress beyond expectations whilst developing their confidence, concentration and attitude to study.
 
With schools closing, we need to ensure that our children are given structured study, and we need to help them to establish a routine at home. Kumon will give your child this structure, and it will offer them a learning programme that is specifically designed around their own needs and ability. You will also receive regular guidance, feedback, and communication from your Kumon Instructor. In time, we aim for our students to progress far beyond their academic year and study advanced material with fluency, confidence and independence.

Unlike many other programmes, Kumon was specifically designed as a home study programme. In particular, the programme has been built around the idea of ‘small steps’ – that is, once the foundations have been established, the difficulty will increase in small steps. This allows our students to take on new learning in precise increments that build on previous learning. Knowledge is then consolidated through repetition until the child is ready to progress to the next small step. In this way, any child is able to take on new learning by themselves.

Kumon offers maths and English study programmes, and study of a second subject is a great way of ensuring that your child progresses in both subjects during this school closure period. Just speak to your local Instructor who will make arrangements for your child to start a second subject.

Parents play a key role in supporting home study. This is primarily achieved by:

• Providing a motivating learning environment – Your child should study at a regular time and place each day, without excess noise or distraction.
• Marking work every day – We provide you with answer books, and if you can mark your child’s work immediately after they have finished, they will be able to complete their corrections by themselves. Doing this can help to encourage a sense of curiosity and promote a good attitude to study.
• Encouraging independence – Kumon is a self-learning programme. Encourage students to tackle the work by themselves and try to solve problems even if they aren’t sure at first. This helps to develop self-learning ability, and it allows our students to complete their study with a feeling of ‘I did it!’.
• Giving praise and encouragement – Students will increase their motivation as they become more adept at self-learning. Give students plenty of concrete, specific praise, and look for opportunities to praise your child for trying to solve a problem even if they were uncertain of the answer at first.
• Giving regular feedback to your Instructor - Kumon students succeed through their own efforts, but that success is made possible by a partnership between the student, their Instructor and their parents - the Kumon Triangle. Maintaining good communication with the Instructor is vital to ensure a child is maximising their potential.

Yes! In fact, many parents are choosing to enrol their children on the Kumon programmes now in order to supplement home learning activity provided by schools. Kumon offers home study programmes that give structured, continuous learning to students based on their individual ability, with expert guidance and online communication from our network of experienced Instructors.

Contact your nearest centre to discuss how your child can start their Kumon journey.