Kumon Student Organizes a Book Drive for Those in Need

Harper has been enrolled in the Kumon Math and Reading Program since she was four years old. During her time as a Kumon Student, she’s been able to progress through various levels to advance her math and reading skills. One of her favorite aspects of learning through the Kumon Method is how students are always learning new concepts.

Harper said, “Kumon gives an example problem so you can study it. Then, when you do the actual problem, they start by having you do the first step, then the second step and so on, until finally you’ve gotten to where you can do the whole problem by yourself. This has made learning easier and has allowed me to work at my own pace and take on challenges I never thought I could.”

Her hard work paid off as she earned the J by 6 Award in both math and reading. She was even selected into the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth with recognition in high honors for math!

Harper dives into this step-by-step learning further by explaining how this has even helped her outside of the classroom.

“Kumon has taught me to break challenging tasks down step-by-step. By breaking tasks down step-by-step I have become more successful in school and in sports that I play like hockey and lacrosse, as well as some of my hobbies like magic and Legos,” said Harper. 

One accomplishment that Harper is particularly proud of achieving, is her project of setting up and organizing a book drive for Promising Pages – a non-profit that has a goal of providing books and a free resource to those who need, by collecting new and donated books. These books are then distributed to students and organizations.  

Harper set this book drive up at her school through a step-by-step approach. She started by placing a box in each classroom, creating flyers, and making announcements to spread the news. She successfully collected 2,500 donated books! This was a meaningful project to her because she’s an avid reader and knowing that “60,000 kids had no books” motivated her to help others find the same joy she does in reading.  

Harper said, “When I thought of all the different kids’ faces when they got books and how that might create joy and happiness, it made this project meaningful to me.” 

While Harper knows that breaking down learning or projects into steps helps her master concepts and achieve great results, she also knows that sometimes mistakes are made before that mastery happens.  

Harper said, “Kumon has helped me to better handle making mistakes. Before I started Kumon, I had a breakdown every time I made a mistake but because Kumon is so challenging, I have learned that it’s okay to make mistakes because you can learn from them.” 

Mistakes have shown Harper that this is essentially progress. As she practices and learns how to correct these mistakes, she builds her confidence to be able to handle challenging work that is presented to her.  

When it comes to challenging work, Harper hopes to one day become a rocket scientist. Her interest in math and space theory are what propels her to want to work towards this career. It’s her perseverance and drive that shine through as she wants “to see how far we can push our understanding of the universe.”  

Learn more about this future rocket scientist. 

What advice would you give to kids just starting Kumon?  

The trick is knowing that Kumon is about focus and perseverance just as much is it is about knowledge of math and reading. Just remember to get your Kumon done while your brain is fresh and do not put it off as it will help you in a bunch of ways that you don’t even realize. 

What are some activities you enjoy doing outside of school and Kumon? 

I enjoy sports like hockey and lacrosse, doing well in school and learning new things. I love reading and Legos – I even saved my kumon+ points for over three years to be able to buy the 6,000-piece “Harry Potter” LEGO® Castle and put it together all by myself! 

Any other information you’d like to share about yourself or your Kumon experience? 

I also love cooking and my math and reading skills are very helpful for more advanced recipes like focaccia and bagels, as they are measured in grams and need to be exact while reading is required to understand the recipe.