When should I start Kumon Japanese? It is difficult to find an appropriate time to start Kumon Japanese, since it can be started from infancy to high school age or even as an adult.
In this article, we will examine the appropriate time to start Kumon Japanese.
Reasons for wondering when to start Kumon Japanese
Compared to other lessons or cram schools, there are clear reasons why you may be wondering when you should start Kumon.
There is no goal with a deadline.
Let us consider cram schools for entrance examinations. The purpose of attending cram school is, of course, to achieve good results in the entrance examination. Therefore, the time to start attending cram school is naturally calculated backward from the date of the entrance examination. For high school and university entrance examinations, most students start cram school at the end of their second year, when they begin to be aware of the examinations. For junior high school entrance examinations, the timing of entering a cram school is usually around the fourth grade. Some students may enter a school earlier to gain an advantage. Either way, the question of when to start school can be answered rather smoothly since the strategy is based on the goal.
The same is true for many lessons. If you want your child to achieve results in that area of study, whether it is sports or music, it is almost always best to start as early as possible. If your child has expressed an interest in learning something, there is no need to be hesitant about when to start, and if the reason for starting is to get a little physical exercise, there is no need to be so serious about the timing of the lesson.
However, Kumon is different.
This is not to say that there are no goals in Kumon learning. In fact, Kumon has many elements that can be used as goals, such as the ability to know which part of the grade you are currently studying by the number on the printout, receiving trophies based on your progress, and knowing your national ranking.
However, Kumon learning is basically at the pace of each individual. There are no fixed-date events such as entrance exams. Even in the same age group, there are children who are learning addition and subtraction and children who are learning factoring, so there is no way to develop a sense of competition. Without competition, there is no way to think, "Let's start before others do, and by what age?
There will definitely be few clues to help you decide when to start Kumon.
It is not an urgent subject.
Furthermore, compared to other subjects, there are fewer opportunities to start Japanese.
For English, a good time to start would be around the beginning of classes at school or when you are thinking about taking the Eiken test. In the case of math, since calculation skills become a concern in the early grades of elementary school, students may start Kumon in order to improve their calculation skills.
However, a lack of Japanese language skills is difficult to see. If your child has difficulty with Japanese, the first thing that comes to mind is probably kanji. Since they are conversing in Japanese on a daily basis, it is difficult to suspect a lack of reading comprehension. And when you think of having students learn kanji, Kumon Japanese probably doesn't come to mind. This is because measures taken by kanji drills and Kanken are more immediate than those.
Insufficient Japanese language skills will have a negative impact on all subjects in the long run. It is definitely a subject of high importance. However, in terms of urgency, a situation in which a student's Japanese language skills must be improved immediately to avoid serious problems is less likely to occur than in the case of English or arithmetic.
There is too little impetus to decide when to start based on external factors.
You need a trigger to start many things. It is difficult to start a diet when you do not feel fat, and it is difficult to start studying for an exam when everyone around you is playing. It takes a lot of energy to start things. However, in the case of Kumon's Japanese language program, I think that such a strong trigger will not come anytime soon.
Why is there no "trigger" to start Kumon?
The reason why the trigger to start Kumon seems weak lies in its founding.
When his mother saw an answer sheet that came out of the pocket of a second grader, Takeshi, she was concerned that the score was not very good for her child, who she thought was good at arithmetic, and asked her husband, Kumon's then high school math teacher, for advice.
The Kumon Method was not created to meet a clear objective. Rather, it was born out of a mother's vague concern to help her child acquire basic skills through self-study. Therefore, Kumon does not take the form of clearing exams or solving other pressing issues in today's society.
Even so, arithmetic began with a single trigger, "a mother's worry. However, when it comes to Japanese, even the element of worry is not included. The Kumon Japanese language program was born from the idea that the Kumon math classes had been so effective that the learning method should be extended to other subjects as well.
It is understandable if you look at the history of Kumon Japanese that the impetus for starting Kumon Japanese could not be found.
So how do you decide when to start Kumon Japanese?
If you cannot expect to find an external trigger, you must decide when to start on your own.
So how should we decide when to start? There is no single correct answer, but there are some ideas that may be helpful.
When can you start learning?
First of all, let's look at "when can I start Kumon?
Although Kumon is a learning school for a very wide range of ages, it is not possible to start Kumon Japanese from the age of 0. Unlike regular Kumon, however, Baby Kumon does not offer separate studies in Japanese, math, or English.
Although it may be difficult to imagine that children as young as 3 years old can start learning Kumon Japanese, Kumon offers seven different Kumon materials for preschool children, ranging from 8A to 2A. Even if your child cannot read or hold a pencil, there are materials that match his or her stage of development. Even if your child is not a particularly fast learner, it is possible to start Kumon at the age of 3.
At what age is it easier to learn?
Let's look at it another way. You can start Kumon as early as 3 years old, but you can also start learning as late as adulthood. What is the best time to start learning Kumon within this very wide age range?
My opinion is that it is a time when there is plenty of time to spare.
As I have mentioned, there are few situations in which the importance of Kumon Japanese is so high that it becomes urgent. It is safe to say that there is rarely a time in your life when you say, "Let's focus on Kumon Japanese for now.
However, Kumon requires students to study at home and solve a number of printouts every day, and to go to the classroom twice a week. It takes five or ten years to progress to the final material, and the cram school fee is about 8,000 yen per month, which is not a price that can be said to be inexpensive.
Kumon Japanese is the first thing to be put on the back burner when the time comes when you can no longer afford it.
The higher the grade level, the less you can afford.
So when is the time in your child's life when you can least afford it? The first time that comes to mind is before an entrance examination. Although studying before an entrance examination is certainly a higher priority, Kumon does not study for entrance examinations. In fact, the most likely time for a child who started Kumon at an early age to quit Kumon is when he or she enters a cram school for junior high school entrance exams.
The same is true for club activities. Especially if they belong to an athletic club, it will be difficult for them to balance schoolwork and club activities, let alone Kumon. Club activities do not start in earnest until junior high school. It is quite rare for students to be able to continue Kumon after junior high school.
The later the school year, the more likely it is that the burden of exams and club activities will increase. In this case, it is generally correct to say that the younger the age of your child, the less burden he/she will have.
Of course, it is not only the child who should be able to afford it. It is also true for parents. The younger the child is, the greater the burden on the parent, and the more independent the child becomes, the less mental and physical burden there is for the parent. Many parents, especially in the early years, may be too occupied to learn.
However, in terms of the best time for your child to learn, the earlier the better.
Starting as early as possible is the most effective way!
In this article, we have looked at when to start Kumon Japanese. It is not always easy to find the right time to start Kumon Japanese, but it is very important to improve your reading comprehension. Because it takes time to learn, it is important to start learning at a stage before various other more urgent events come into play and to acquire a solid foundation.