Pre-schooler Dakshith ignites his love of learning with Kumon

Four-year-old Kumon student, Dakshith, has been making hugely impressive strides with his learning since enrolling at the Kumon Corstorphine Study Centre, much to the delight of his parents and his Kumon Instructor. Dakshith joined Kumon at the tender age of three years and 11 months, and incredibly, in the space of just seven months, has progressed from the very basics of becoming familiar with numbers and sounds, to calculating speedy mental arithmetic and reading short stories.
 

Like any parents, Sakthi and Balamurali were keen to give their son the best possible start in life. Seeing an opportunity to provide him with strong foundations in maths and English, they enrolled Dakshith in the Kumon programmes in early Spring of 2020.

For very young learners like Dakshith, Kumon helps to nurture crucial motor skills as well as the fundamentals of reading and numbers; putting the building blocks in place for a lifetime of learning and preparing them for their first day of school. Dakshith has been building strength and hand-eye coordination via the enjoyable pencil skills programme, and has advanced in his abilities with numbers to the level of double-digit addition as well as subtraction; an impressive feat for his young age.

There are, however, many more benefits to the Kumon programmes than the clear academic advantages of gaining a head-start in maths and English. Dakshith’s parents have already noticed a huge improvement in a range of his developmental and life skills.

His mum, Sakthi told us, “Dakshith can now think independently and act fast when asked to do activities at pre-school. His listening skills and memory have improved a lot. Kumon has also greatly helped boost his confidence in the way he converses with others and how he carries himself. I’m sure this will give him an advantage as he grows up.”

So how has Dakshith coped with studying the programmes remotely, given that he began his Kumon journey at the very start of the lockdown period? Interestingly, Sakthi has noticed progression in a range of Dakshith’s skills from his attendance at Zoom classes with his Kumon Instructor. “Dakshith has learnt to study even when other children are talking in the class, which really helps with his concentration and focus. If Dakshith has any queries or needs clarification, Kanika (his Instructor), takes us into a virtual breakout room where she helps and explains, and then he goes back to the main class. Dakshith sees many other kids, older and younger. He observes them; he sees them working and thinks, ‘I also have to do my work fast. I want to finish first today’. It really helps him.”

Kumon Instructor, Kanika, is extremely proud of Dakshith and the progress he has made in such a short space of time. She told us, “Kumon works really well when kids join early. When Dakshith first came to me, his parents were worried that he didn’t have great maths and reading skills. So we started from scratch. In maths he started counting and now he can already add and subtract double digits. In English, he is capable of reading almost independently and can do simple comprehension. Dakshith is successful because he is very determined and he is also a deep thinker. He never misses his Kumon work and looks forward to learning new topics. This is also thanks to his parents, who have been a great team and have helped Dakshith achieve success.”  

Sakthi has equally positive words about Kanika, telling us, “Our child’s relationship with his Kumon Instructor has been an amazing experience since the start. He really likes listening to her instructions and is constantly making good progress under her guidance. We can sense the positivity and can feel the energy and passion she has for teaching. We trust Kanika’s judgement.”

Dakshith agrees, telling us, “She is the most amazing teacher I’ve ever had. I like to have her around, guiding and teaching me the Kumon problems. I love Kanika a lot!”

Dakshith’s parents have high hopes for his future, telling us that they would love for him to complete all the Kumon levels under Kanika’s guidance. “Kumon is THE way to ignite your kid’s smart thinking”, Sakthi advocates, and has already been making recommendations about Kumon to friends and family.

When he grows up, Dakshith’s ambition is to become a scientist. With such a positive attitude towards studying already instilled, we’re sure he will continue to take learning in his stride and succeed in any path he chooses. Keep up the great work, Dakshith!