Let me tell you first. No child can continue to enjoy learning all the way through to the final Kumon materials. Every child has a point in time when he or she finds Kumon troublesome, and the difference comes in how they spend that time or whether they quit. The role of parents is to reduce the burden on their children and help them to continue with Kumon.
In this article, I will explain the reasons why Kumon motivation always drops off at some point and the stance that parents should take.
Sometimes it progresses faster than the parents expect.
Regardless of the grade level, Kumon students can progress through the material as long as they keep up a steady pace of study. If a child is able to continue with Kumon for a certain period of time and is willing to tackle homework, he or she will be able to progress beyond the current grade level.
This is "anticipatory learning," a major characteristic of Kumon, and the child can acquire the basics on his or her own, depending on his or her level of understanding.
If you are a parent who sends your child to Kumon, you are more or less expecting a certain amount of anticipatory learning. Kumon's materials are alphabetized by grade level, making it easy for you to see your child's progress.
And if your child is able to continue with Kumon to some extent and is learning ahead of his or her peers, it probably means that Kumon and your child were once a good match.
However, there is an unexpected pitfall here. Sometimes, the learning process goes further than the parents anticipated.
In some environments, it is normal for students to be three grades ahead of their peers in kindergarten and nursery school.
Parents who want their children to learn ahead of their peers may expect, for example, "It would be great if they could add and subtract before entering elementary school. It would be great if he/she could memorize up to 99" would be the majority. However, if Kumon works well, the progress will far exceed expectations. It is likely that students will be in junior high school level material before they enter elementary school. They are likely to finish the high school course even though they are still in elementary school. It is not unusual for a child to reach such a level of learning through Kumon if he or she is a good match.
Even if they do not progress that far, it is normal for them to learn about three grades ahead of their classmates if they continue with Kumon for a certain period of time. Because Kumon steadily builds up a foundation, it is possible to learn surprisingly advanced units.
Somewhere along the way, you will reach a unit where it is difficult to understand the examples.
Whenever you get to a difficult part, your motivation will drop.
Kumon is about looking at examples and solving problems with similar patterns. It is a repetitive practice of patterns rather than thinking. However, as the unit progresses, there will be units where understanding the examples itself is difficult.
Children who are suited to Kumon often enjoy practicing repetition and solving problems quickly and accurately more than they enjoy understanding the examples. If they cannot understand the examples and have trouble solving the problems themselves, they will not be able to feel such enjoyment.
Even under such circumstances, homework must be done every day, and if students skip one day, two days' worth of homework will be piled up the next day. This is a situation that many Kumon students have experienced, and it is a place where everyone's motivation to study Kumon is lowered.
It is easy to get stuck in English if you are not ahead in Japanese
Children who are ahead in English are especially prone to this situation. This is because reading comprehension is the main focus of English materials, so there will be cases where reading comprehension itself is not up to par. No matter how good your English is, you cannot read a text that you do not understand even in Japanese.
Also, even in Japanese, there will be situations where you will get stuck. This is also a problem of reading comprehension. Repetitive practice is useful for learning patterns, but if you want to develop your reading comprehension = the ability to think, you will need a completely different kind of hard work than repetitive practice. This is not to say that reading comprehension cannot be acquired through Kumon. It means that a different kind of hardship will appear.
Arithmetic, on the other hand, will be somewhat less at risk of getting stuck. This is because there are not many problems that deviate greatly from the pattern of the examples.
Some materials are enjoyable at younger ages, but the period of time when you can fake it with fun is short.
When a child's motivation to study wanes, the first thing on a parent's mind is to make learning fun. If studying itself is boring, then why not give them materials that are designed to make studying fun? This is a valid idea to some extent. Nowadays, there are many materials that make learning fun, and if the students are actively engaged in learning in whatever form, they will be able to acquire the content more easily.
However, there is a limit to this approach. There is not a long period of time in which materials that make learning fun are available.
For addition and subtraction, there are fun games that can be played on apps. There are also many materials that make learning English conversation fun, or that have a funny character to liven up the learning experience. However, these kinds of materials are only available up to junior high school. If you look at reference books for high school, the most you will see is a picture of a character here and there. High school students are not so young that they will get absorbed in their studies just because of that.
At some point, they will either have to learn to enjoy studying or learn how to tackle the subjects they don't enjoy. Many people would agree that those who enjoy studying are in the overwhelming minority.
In the end, it is not enjoyment but habit that makes it possible to continue studying.
So how can you continue doing something you don't enjoy? The answer is to make it a habit. Things like taking a bath or brushing your teeth are not things that are fun and engrossing, but there will be a sense of feeling bad if you don't do them. The key to continuity is to put studying in the same category.
Cheating with fun is a temporary fix. If you want to essentially change your attitude toward studying, you need to make it a habit.
One of the main skills that can be acquired through Kumon is precisely this habit formation. Anyone who has done Kumon has accumulated homework and tried to make up the accumulated amount while having a hard time. Because they have experienced the pain that will come if they do not continue, they naturally acquire the habit.
Developing the habit of studying may be more than just basic academic skills, it may be something that will help your child in the future.
There is no need to be in a hurry, but eventually they will learn, so it is important to "continue without being in a hurry.
As a basic premise, Kumon does not deal so much with difficult problems that can only be done at Kumon. Especially in arithmetic, the main focus is to acquire the fundamentals that students will learn at school when the time comes.
So there is no reason why you need to move ahead with Kumon right now. While the stress of Kumon is an essential part of forming study habits, there is no need to hesitate to slow down if it becomes unbearable.
The worst thing you can do is to quit halfway through. If you quit, the learning habits you had begun to acquire will be reset, and the advantage you gained from Kumon will disappear over time. Anyway, please make it your main goal to continue Kumon in any way you can.
Three reasons why children dislike Kumon
In order to do so, you should reduce the burden on your child anyway.
From the start, few children will dislike learning by print for 10 minutes a day. This is because there is no significant difference for children between other play and study. If a child dislikes Kumon now, it must be the result of learning that Kumon is something he or she dislikes for some reason. The three main reasons are as follows, so let's take appropriate actions.
The problems have become more difficult and time-consuming.
If the problems become more difficult, it will take longer to finish the homework. If the study time is extended to 30 minutes or an hour, it is natural that the child will have trouble concentrating.
In this case, take the initiative to reduce the child's workload. Whether it is one or two handouts, the fact that they are at their desks is a great asset in itself. Show your child in word and deed that working on even a few pages is enough. Negotiate with the teacher to reduce the amount of homework, and if there is no concession at all, consider changing classrooms.
I want to play more other games.
There is a good chance that your child wants to play with something other than homework. The older your child gets, the more he or she will be able to play, and the more he or she will be able to play outside and come home with fun things to do. If all they are allowed to do when they get home is print, they may want to do something more fun.
Try to satisfy your child's desire to play as much as possible. Especially if they are boys, they may have a lot of energy. If you can dissipate their energy through physical play, there will come a time when they will be interested in using their brains as well. Even if he already dislikes Kumon, start with drawing and puzzles.
If you cannot keep up with your child's powerful nature, consider enlisting the help of your partner or parents. Especially if you are the mother, your husband may have more skills in entertaining children than you think.
Not so good with teachers.
Teachers are human beings. If Kumon is going well, the child will be expected to do well, and if they don't show motivation, they will be frustrated. They may also want to see a high-progress student out of the classroom. You don't want a teacher who is not a positive influence on your child, but it would be unrealistic to think that every teacher in the more than 15,000 classrooms across the country is an ideal teacher.
Parents themselves should first recognize that there are other classrooms. Do not give your child the idea that "no matter how much you don't like it, you can't run away from here. Observe whether your child's dislike of Kumon includes a feeling that he or she dislikes the teachers more than the learning.
It is not limited to studies that people with the same abilities can perform completely differently in different environments, even when they are doing the same work. The responsibility for providing an appropriate environment lies with parents when their children are young.
By advancing to the final material, you can turn your time to "what really matters" in your youth.
It is not uncommon for children to progress further ahead in their studies than their parents anticipated if they continue with Kumon. As the level of difficulty increases, the burden on the child gradually increases, and the child may come to dislike Kumon.
The stronger the dislike, the harder it will be to regain motivation. First of all, we should notice the change in the child's feelings at the earliest possible stage and take measures according to the cause.
Of course, one of the options is to let the child quit without any pressure, but many of the things gained from Kumon are created through continuity. Parents should explore ways to continue Kumon, even if at a slower pace.
If you can continue Kumon, you can learn the basics of English, math, and Japanese at an early stage. It is in junior high and high school that children really start to get busy. Pre-emptive learning and study habits will give children the leeway to devote their youth to something and learn what is really important.