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 !
Ava
Children mirror their parent’s behavior, attitude, beliefs, and expectation. They “want to be like Dad or Mom.” Parents really hold the key to their child’s success. This is definitely true in Ava’s case. Ava’s Parents enthusiasm about the Kumon philosophy, their constant positive affirmation, their drive and sheer joy when Ava completes her assignments and levels makes a world of difference in nurturing her to reach her greatest potential. I strongly believe that Ava is succeeding so much in the program because of their hard work.
Recognize every tiny little progress your child makes and they will want to do better. Be in awe of their accomplishments and you help build their confidence and enthusiasm. I still remember the day when I went outside to the parent waiting area, to hand Ava her level completion certificate. Her mom jumped up and down more than Ava did. She took several pictures of Ava holding her certificate and I saw how positively this affected Ava. She had a very big smile of accomplishment.
Ava’s dad is a construction worker. Work that we know is really physically daunting and he works far away from home. A commute that every one living in suburbs cringe to make. However, even after a hard day of work and a very long commute, he is there for Ava, never missing a beat to bring her to the center for her classes. Ava enrolled in my center last year in July 2020, in the thick of the pandemic. She wasn’t even 4 yet. She impressed me right away at the parent orientation, when she tried to show me that she could write her own name. A fine motor skill that not everyone prior to turning 4 have. I saw a spunky enthusiastic child who really wanted to learn. Needless to say, I enrolled her right away.
Ava started the program not reading at all. We started her from the very 1st level in our reading program, where she learnt phonemic and print awareness. She then moved on to learning via memorization, as opposed to decoding words. However, in just 9 months, Ava has completed several Kumon Reading levels and is reading on her own. She is growing in leaps and bounds. I think our program has really provided Ava with the much-needed structure to learn seamlessly. I am scared to see what Ava will do when she turns 6. Find a cure for aids maybe?? Who knows? We just have to wait and see.
A child’s future success stems from learning how to read. Ava has taken the first steps of learning so astutely, I see her growing up to be a future CEO, doctor, Engineer or anything she wants to be. Stay tuned for an update in the future for how Ava is doing. At Kumon, with very little time requirement, we are able to help school aged children reach unlimited potential. Potential, that they don’t even know they have.
Writing Contest
Congratulations to Kumon Center of North Attleboro's Writing Contest winner Monish!
Monish is 11 years old. The contest was open to students 8- 11 years old. There were 4 prompts (two per age group) that the students could use for their essay.
For ages 8-11 they were "Amusement Park" or "Private Island". For 12-15 they were "World Travel" or "Overcoming Obstacles".
Our winner wrote about the Amusement Park he would create. Submissions were evaluated based on creativity, originality, grammar, and syntax.
Click here to see the winning entry!
Aaran's success story
Where does the time go? Aaran started his Kumon journey 6 yrs ago at a tender age of 3. He was a referral from a client who had enrolled his daughter at the center at the same age of 3.
They were very happy with the program and hence referred Aaran’s family to the center. I didn’t know what to expect at the time. 3 yr. old’s either work out or they don’t. Especially 3 yr. old boys. Boys are a bundle of energy and sometimes as a result, not ready for the program at that age. Not Aaran though, he was plenty ready.
Aaran is a very mature young boy. He is 9 years old now (9 going on to 49). His maturity level and behavior are much higher than boys his age. In the 6 years that he has been enrolled at Kumon, Aaran has completed 13 levels in the Reading Program. He started at level 7a, the very first learning to read level at Kumon and is now completing level DI, where we analyze paragraph structure. Aaran has become a very independent learner and is able to complete most of his classwork by himself with very few errors or assistance. Independent and self-learning is what we strive to create through our program and we have certainly succeeded in doing that with Aaran.
He started at level 7a in Math as well and is completing level D, (10 levels) where we cover long division and introduce fractions. Where most children have lost 2 years of learning in this pandemic, Aaran will not miss a beat. He is ahead of his grade level in both subjects and will continue to be a leader in his 4th grade class. This is a testament to him and his family. When most families were not able to continue their Kumon journey due to the pandemic, they stayed strong and committed to the program. They attended every single zoom session and kept Aaran engaged and committed to his studies.
I can’t say enough about Aaran’s Parents. They are extremely involved in his studies and are people who truly understand the value of the program. They are extremely encouraging and supportive and Aaran is learning to stay positive and focused from them. We are playing a small role in his academic life, but so are his Parents, and they get equal if not most of the credit for his success with our program and his academics. It takes a village to succeed and with parents like Aaran’s, he just can’t fail.
Some fun tidbits that dad shared with me about Aaran are that he has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He started that program 4 years ago. He is also a curious nature explorer, constantly looking for insects, plants, birds and flowers. Maybe we have a future Botanist on our hand. Who Knows? We’ll have to stay tuned to find out.
His biggest talent, however, which Dad thinks he has derived from Kumon math is that he can tell you the day, if given the month and year. Hmm. I have to learn that one from him myself. That indeed is a unique talent. Apparently, he can do this from year 1950 onwards.
I hope that Aaran stays in the program until program completion, because seeing him grow up in front of my eyes has been the biggest thrill for me as an instructor. Continued success to him.