Josie’s Story
Josie is 10-years-old, studying three years above her grade level in the Kumon Program. In fact, she’s studying the same math material that her mom, who is an eighth grade teacher, teaches her students. Imagine that, a 10-year-old transforming equations, working with linear functions and simplifying monomials and polynomials. She’s well on her way to advanced algebraic expressions and she isn’t even in middle school yet.
One of the things that Josie likes most about Kumon is the fact that she’s studying above her grade level.
“Kumon gives me confidence because I know how strong of a student it has made me,” says Josie. “I know that I can do and learn anything if I do the work and practice daily. Kumon has taught me about the importance of focusing and to not be afraid of challenges, but to enjoy them and work through them because I know I can overcome anything.”
Josie embodies everything that Toru Kumon had in mind when he founded the Kumon Method. He felt that students would experience the true benefits of the Kumon Method if they acquired the study habits necessary for self-learning and advanced study.
Discover more inspiring success stories on the Kumon Blog !
Kumon Math & Reading Level J by 5 completion at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West

Congratulations Ethan! He is both math and reading subject student to reach both Kumon Level J by 5th grade at our Center. He previously attained math and reading level G by 3rd grade. In 2020, he was one of the 100 students conference attendee selected from a pool of 3000 students nationwide. Qualified student must be in Level G or higher in either math and/or reading and platinum award (studying 3 years ahead of school grade level) recipient.
2020 Kumon Student Conference attendee (Ethan's story)
Ethan is a hardworking, motivated, committed student who has finished the Kumon reading program and is planning to finish the math program as well. He has a goal of becoming a physician, where he can use his fast math skills and comprehension skills to assist patients and their needs.
While being several years above his grade level in Kumon is something he takes pride in, it is also prideful that he can help his fellow classmates with the material which they are learning in class. “It’s humbling to have my friends come to me for help,” says Ethan. “This feeling motivates me to work even harder so my friends can always trust me. When I help my friends, I look at it as an opportunity for me to learn how to convey the same concept indifferent ways because each person learns differently.”
For someone who is only 11 years old, this is a mature thought process. Because of his accomplishments both in-and-out of the classroom, Ethan was just one of 100 Kumon Students selected from a pool of 3000 applicants from the United States, Canada, and Mexico to be an attendee in 2020 Kumon Student Conference held in Texas, USA. He has also received an application to apply for 2021 Kumon students conference.
How has Kumon helped you in the classroom and how does it keep you motivated to continue Kumon?
Thanks to Kumon, I no longer feel frustrated with difficult questions. Because of the determination and self-teaching skills I have developed, I know that I will eventually solve the problem. Kumon has helped me advance beyond my grade level and has helped me to finish my schoolwork faster, which allows me more time to participate in other activities such as boy scouts and karate. The satisfaction of achieving goals boosts my confidence, which in turn, motivates me to set more goals and achieve higher levels.
How has Kumon helped you beyond academics?
Kumon has surely trained me to face challenges without fears. Although I love challenges, studying above my grade level is not always easy. Perseverance and determination are the first lesson I learned from Kumon. It taught me to never give up. Additionally, Kumon has guided me to gain self-confidence. When I believe in myself, I can do just about anything I want. In Kumon, I also learned to not be afraid of making mistakes. You would never learn anything if you were always perfect. Practicing daily and learning from mistakes is Kumon’s main idea to success.
What do you hope to accomplish with Kumon?
I want to finish the entire math program before high school.
What did it mean to you to be invited to the 2020 Kumon Student Conference?
I was immensely proud of the accomplishment but was also excited because I knew I was going to meet and interact with other kids my age that have the same goals and experience. Sometimes, learning informally from your peers can be a more effective way of learning.
What advice do you have for other Kumon Students?
Perseverance, never give-up and always believe in yourself!
Hannah – Math & Reading Program Completer at Kumon of Fountain Valley- West

8th Grader Completes Kumon of Math & Reading Program
Congratulations Hannah! Hannah has completed both the Kumon Math and Reading Programs at our center! She previously had also earned a Reading J by the 6 award.
The Kumon Reading Program includes 27 levels, starting from pre-reading and writing skills, moving through paraphrasing and concision, and advancing to analyzing figurative language and critiquing passages. The Kumon Math Program covers 20 levels, beginning with counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and advancing through fractions, algebra, proportions and rations, radicals, graphing, linear, quadratic, exponential, and logarithmic functions, vectors, matrices, probability, geometric sequences, trigonometry, and calculus.
This is an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations, Hannah!
Her favorite subject is math. Outside of Kumon her hobbies are piano and reading.
Kumon Math has helped her:
- Enjoy studying more.
- Find a subject that she is good in.
- Understand schoolwork better.
- Enjoy reading more.
- Do math calculations faster.
- Feel more confident in school.
Her future endeavor is to become a biomedical engineer.
Winny- Reading Program Complete at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West

7th grader - Reading Program Completer at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West
Congratulations Winny! Winny was studying Kumon reading levels more than 3 years ahead of school grade. She is also enrolled in Kumon math and wants to complete the program.
Completing the entire Kumon Reading Program includes 27 levels of work ranging from pre-reading and writing skills, paraphrasing and concision, to analyzing figurative language, and critiquing passages.
Winny completed thousands of worksheets during her reading study at Kumon Reading Center of Fountain Valley - West.
Her favorite subjects are math, reading, science, and gym. Outside of Kumon her hobbies are volleyball, biking, grocery shopping, and eating and making food.
Kumon Math and Reading has helped her:
· Do math calculations faster.
· Enjoy studying more.
· Find a subject that she is good at.
· Understand schoolwork better.
· Feel more confident in school.
Her math goal is to eventually finish the math program. She aspires to pursue a career in business.
Kalyn - Reading Program Complete at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West
7th grader - Reading Program Completer at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West
Congratulations Kalyn! Kalyn was studying Kumon reading levels more than 3 years ahead of school grade. She is also enrolled in Kumon math and wants to complete the program. Previously, she had attained level G by 4th grade in Kumon Reading Programs.
Completing the entire Kumon Reading Program includes 27 levels of work ranging from pre-reading and writing skills, paraphrasing and concision, to analyzing figurative language, and critiquing passages.
Kalyn completed thousands of worksheets during her reading study at Kumon Reading Center of Fountain Valley - West.
Her favorite subject is math. Outside of Kumon her hobby is volleyball.
Kumon Math and Reading has helped her:
- Do math calculations faster.
She aspires to become an orthodontist.
Colin - Math Program Completer at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West

10th-Grader Completes the Kumon Math Program
Congratulations Colin! Colin was a math student making him one of our brilliant stars at the center. He was also awarded Math J by 6th grade award. The Math J by 6 awards is presented to Kumon students who start studying high school Algebra II before the end of their 6th- grade year. He completed Math Level J by 6th grade in 2018 and finally completed Kumon math program in 2021. He is currently honing his skills in statistics at our center.
Completing the entire Kumon Math Program includes 20 levels of work ranging from counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, algebra, proportions and ratios, radicals, graphing, linear, quadratic, exponential and logarithmic functions, vectors, matrices, probability, geometric sequences, trigonometry, and calculus. This is no easy feat to accomplish. Many congratulations to Colin.
His favorite subjects are math and science. Outside of Kumon his hobby is martial arts.
Kumon has helped him understand schoolwork better, do math calculations faster and has found a subject that he is good in.
His future endeavor is to become an engineer.
Julie - Reading Program Complete at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West
7th grader - Reading Program Completer at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West!
Congratulations Julie! She is one of the youngest Kumon Reading Program Completer at our Center. Julie was studying Kumon reading levels more than 3 years ahead of school grade. She is also enrolled in Kumon math and wants to complete the program. Previously, she had attained level J by 6th grade in Kumon Reading Program.
Completing the entire Kumon Reading Program includes 27 levels of work ranging from pre-reading and writing skills, paraphrasing and concision, to analyzing figurative language, and critiquing passages.
Julie completed thousands of worksheets during her reading study at Kumon Reading Center of Fountain Valley - West.
Her favorite subjects are science, reading, and art. She aspires to become a neurosurgeon.
Amy - Math Program Completer at Fountain Valley - West
Eleventh-Grader Completes the Kumon Math Program
Congratulations Amy! She was a dual-subject student making her one of the brilliant stars at our center. She graduated from the Kumon Reading Program in 2014 and graduated from the Kumon Math Program in 2017.
Her favorite subjects are math, social science and science and outside of Kumon her hobby is to play the piano.
Kumon has helped her understand school work better, do math calculations faster and feel more confident in school.
Her future endeavor is to become an entrepreneur or work for a global innovative company that sells products which makes daily life more efficient.
I wish her good luck in her future endeavors!
Jason - Math Program Completer at Fountain Valley - West
Tenth-Grader Completes the Kumon Math Program
Congratulations Jason! Jason was a dual-subject student. It was a pleasure to have him at the Kumon center. He graduated from the Kumon Reading Program in 2014 and graduated from the Kumon Math Program in 2017.
Completing the entire Kumon Math Program includes 20 levels of work ranging from counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, algebra, proportions and ratios, radicals, graphing, linear, quadratic, exponential and logarithmic functions, vectors, matrices, probability, geometric sequences, trigonometry and calculus.
His favorite subject is math and outside of Kumon, his hobby is to play tennis.
Kumon has helped him do math calculations faster and has discovered a subject that he is passionate about.
Jason has completed thousands of worksheets during his reading and math study. I wish him good luck in his future endeavors!
Natalie - Youngest Reading Program Complete at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West

6th grader - Youngest Reading Program Completer at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West, May 2020
Congratulations Natalie! She is one of the youngest Kumon Reading Program Completers at our Center. Natalie was studying Kumon Reading levels more than 3 years ahead of school grade. She was also ranked #1 out of 8163 students at her grade level in Kumon Reading. Previously, she had attained level J by 6th grade in the Kumon Reading Program.
Completing the entire Kumon Reading Program includes 27 levels of work ranging from pre-reading and writing skills, paraphrasing and concision, to analyzing figurative language, and critiquing passages. Natalie completed thousands of worksheets during her reading study at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West. Her favorite subjects are reading and art.
Outside of Kumon her hobby is martial arts. Kumon Reading has helped her feel more confident in school, she now enjoys reading more and understands school work better. She aspires to become a pharmacist or a teacher.
Alexis - Kumon Reading Level J by 6 at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West

6th grader - Kumon Reading Level J by 6 at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West
Congratulations Alexis! She is a reading subject student to reach Kumon Reading Level J by 6th grade at our Center. Achieving ‘J by 6’ is an impressive feat, as the concepts mastered are not a walk in the park. In the Kumon Reading Program, students learn a more sophisticated understanding of passage structure, improved critical reading ability by analyzing literary characters, and deepened their understanding of a writer’s intentions. By inspiring students to reach ‘J by 6,’ they are prepared to excel in high-school material and become well on their way to completing the Kumon Program.
Her favorite subjects are music, reading, and gym. Outside of Kumon her hobbies are roller skating and volleyball.
Her reading goal this year is to improve her understanding of material so that she can make fewer mistakes on her homework and classwork. While she’s still figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up, she knows strong reading skills are important for any path she chooses.
Laura - Kumon Math & Reading Level J by 6 at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West

6th grader - Kumon Math & Reading Level J by 6 at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West
Congratulations Laura! She is one of the exceptionally clever students enrolled in both subjects to reach Kumon Math and Reading Level J by 6th grade at our Center.
Laura is a math and reading subject student to reach Kumon both Math and Reading Level J by 6 grades at our center. She previously attained math and reading level G by 4th Grade.
Achieving ‘J by 6’ is an impressive feat, as the concepts mastered are not a walk in the park. In the Kumon Reading Program, students learns a more sophisticated understanding of passage structure, improved critical reading ability by analyzing literary characters, and deepened their understanding of a writer’s intentions. By inspiring students to reach ‘J by 6,’ they are prepared to excel in high-school material and become well on their way to completing the Kumon Program.
Her favorite subjects are math, science, music, and art. Outside of Kumon her hobbies are tennis, piano, horse riding and swimming.
Kumon Math and Reading has helped her:
· Understand schoolwork well.
· Feels more confident in school.
· Discovered a subject that she is good in.
Her reading goal is to improve her writing skills. In math she wants to become a math program completer. She aspires to become lawyer.
Charissa – Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley- West
4th Grader – Kumon Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley-West
Congratulations Charissa! She is a dual subject student who has reached Kumon Reading Level G by 4th grade at our center. The G by 4 star award is presented to Kumon students whom have started learning how to make impression of a story and began to recognize the sentiments of characters. They also practice summarizing paragraphs.
Her favorite subject is reading. Outside of Kumon her hobbies include martial arts.
Kumon Math has helped her:
- Enjoy studying more.
- Enjoy reading more.
Her goal is to read more books this year and become a veterinarian when she grows up.
Winnie–Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley- West
4th Grader – Kumon Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley-West
Congratulations Winnie! She is a dual subject student who has reached Kumon Math Level G by 4th grade at our center. The G by 4 star award is presented to enrolled Kumon students who started studying high school Algebra before the completion of their 4th grade year.
Her favorite subjects are math and science. Outside of Kumon her hobby is ballet.
Kumon Math has helped her:
- Find a subject that she is good in.
- Understand schoolwork better.
- Enjoy reading more.
- Do math calculations faster.
- Feel more confident in school.
Her goal is to become a marine biologist.
Sophie –Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley- West
4th Grader – Kumon Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley-West
Congratulations Sophie! She is a reading subject student who has reached Kumon Reading Level G by 4th grade at our center. The G by 4 star award is presented to Kumon students whom have started learning how to make impressions of a story and began to recognize the sentiments of characters. They also practice summarizing paragraphs.
Her favorite subjects are reading and art.
Kumon Math has helped her:
- Find a subject that she is good in.
- Understand schoolwork better.
- Enjoy reading more.
- Do math calculations faster.
Her goal is to be able to summarize paragraphs easily and get to a much higher level in math so that she can do more advance calculations.
Vanessa - Kumon Math & Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West

4th grader - Kumon Math & Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West
Congratulations Vanessa! She is one of the exceptionally clever students enrolled in both subjects to reach Kumon Math and Reading Level G by 4th grade at our Center.
The Math G by 4 award star is presented to enrolled Kumon students who start studying high school Algebra before the completion of their 4th grade.
She has mastered understanding paragraphs which includes complex sentences, main ideas, topics, and clauses which are typically 4th-6th grade level material. The Reading G by 4 award star is presented to enrolled Kumon students who begin study of summarization before completion of their 4th grade year.
Her favorite subjects are math, science, music, and gym. Outside of Kumon her hobbies are swimming, piano, and drawing class.
Kumon Math and Reading has helped her:
· Understand schoolwork well.
· Enjoy reading more.
· Do math calculations faster.
· Feels more confident in school.
Her reading goal is to answer the questions more confidently. In math she wants to complete the math program. She aspires to become a businesswoman/investor or CEO of a fashion company.
Henry - Kumon Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West
4th grader - Kumon Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West
Congratulations Henry! He is a math subject student to reach Kumon Math Level G by 4th grade at our Center. The G by 4 award stars is presented to enrolled Kumon students who start studying high school Algebra before the completion of their 4th grade year.
His favorite subjects are math, music, and art. Outside of Kumon his hobbies are baseball and soccer.
Kumon has helped him:
· Find a subject that he is good at.
· Understand schoolwork better.
· Do math calculations faster.
His goal is to complete level I and J math. Henry aspires to have a career in finance.
Chris –Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley- West
4th Grader – Kumon Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley-West
Congratulations Chris! He is a math subject student who has reached Kumon Math Level G by 4th grade at our center. The G by 4 star award is presented to enrolled Kumon students who started studying high school Algebra before the completion of their 4th grade year.
His favorite subjects are math and gym. Outside of Kumon his hobbies are basketball.
Kumon Math has helped him:
- Understand school work better.
- Do math calculations faster.
His goal is to receive the J bag from Kumon.
Sophia - Kumon Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West
4th grader - Kumon Math Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West
Congratulations Sophia! She is a math subject student to reach Kumon Math Level G by 4th grade at our Center. The G by 4 award stars is presented to enrolled Kumon students who start studying high school Algebra before the completion of their 4th grade year.
Her favorite subjects are math, music, and art. Outside of Kumon her hobbies are basketball, soccer, and roller skating.
Kumon has helped her:
· Find a subject that she is good at.
· Understand schoolwork better.
· Do math calculations faster.
· Feel more confident in school.
Her goal is to get better and learn more through Kumon. Sophia aspires to become a lawyer.
Lawrence - Kumon Math & Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley – West

4th grader - Kumon Math & Reading Level G by 4 at Kumon of Fountain Valley - West
Congratulations Lawrence! He is one of the exceptionally clever students enrolled in both subjects to reach Kumon Math and Reading Level G by 4th grade at our Center.
The Math G by 4 award star is presented to enrolled Kumon students who start studying high school Algebra before the completion of their 4th grade.
He has mastered understanding paragraphs which includes complex sentences, main ideas, topics, and clauses which are typically 4th-6th grade level material. The Reading G by 4 award star is presented to enrolled Kumon students who begin study of summarization before completion of their 4th grade year.
His favorite subjects are math, reading, social studies, and gym. Outside of Kumon his hobbies are piano, tennis, swimming, Vietnamese school.
Kumon Math and Reading has helped him:
· Understand schoolwork well.
· Enjoy reading more.
· Do math calculations faster.
· Feels more confident in school.
· Find a subject that he is good at.
His reading goal is reaching J by 6. Lawrence aspires to become a lawyer or politician.