Struggling Early Learner Excels with Math and Reading Strategies

At nearly 4 years old, Rideyveer Singh was a shy student who held a pencil with his fist, could only count to 10, struggled with speech and had a limited attention span before his parents enrolled him in Kumon’s math and reading program at a center near Toronto.

They knew he had a year before he entered kindergarten, and they didn’t want him to be behind his peers. That was in 2021.

“When you think of that, in a year’s time, he had to get to the level of the school, and especially because his speech was not very clear, there was a lot to overcome,” says Ravi Mathur, Rideyveer’s Instructor at the Kumon Center of Mississaugua Road and Sandalwood Parkway in Ontario. “So, from those perspectives, he was pretty behind from where I normally get to see some of the students.”

Mathur had worked with early learner students like Rideyveer before and knew that the key was understanding what he liked to learn. This, in turn, would help develop his focus. All students have potential – the key is figuring out how to pursue it. And that would come with time.

From Corporate CPA to Classroom Instructor

Before Mathur became a Kumon Instructor nearly seven years ago, he worked as a CPA for major corporations that included Siemens, Kraft and other companies. His last stint in corporate finance was with Johnson & Johnson, and it lasted about a decade.

Mathur was first introduced to Kumon through his sons, Dhruv and Kshitij, who were both students. Then his wife, Vidhu, opened the Kumon Center of Brampton-Chinguacousy Road in 2014.

“After my work at J&J, I would generally visit her center in the evenings and got a chance to work with the students, and that really kindled my passion into working with the kids that just need a little more help,” he says.

Now nearly seven years into his new career, Mathur enjoys helping his students.

“This has become a way of life for me,” he says. “I think it’s important to have a deep understanding of the Kumon philosophy and its instruction principles. My personal experience with Kumon has let me see the value of the program and the difference it can make, especially with students like Rideyveer.”

Following the Process

That prior experience with students and Rideyveer’s assessment allowed Mathur to see where Rideyveer needed to begin to become successful. That initial assessment, which every child is given, shows their current skill level and helps instructors develop individualized plans to help them achieve their goals.

“Intelligence is something that needs to be nurtured, and it’s not by nature,” Mathur says. “All students love to learn, provided they work at the right level. So, those were some of the guiding principles for me as to how to get this guy going.”

For Rideyveer, Mathur aimed to get his reading and math skills up to par before he entered school. Being an early learner, he wasn’t expected to read on his own yet, but he already had difficulty identifying visual objects. That understanding of where Rideyveer’s ability was showed Mathur he needed to begin the reading program at Level 7A, where students learn about 300 sight words.

For the math skills, Mathur believed Rideyveer could be nurtured to achieve his approximate grade level in about a year. But each child is different.

Rideyveer began the math program in February, and by October he was hitting the approximate grade level.

“That was a fantastic achievement on his part,” Mathur says.

For reading, Mathur expected Rideyveer’s achievements to take a little longer, about 15-16 months. He wanted to have Rideyveer to know the letter sounds and letter blends by the time he entered school that September. And Rideyveer did it. He knew his letters and sounds by August and by that December he had moved on to reading sentences.

“We hit both the goals,” Mathur says. “I am really, really proud of him.”

During the process of getting Rideyveer up to his grade level and beyond, he became more focused and disciplined in his work. He became a natural self-learner. That was an important aspect of the process and part of what Kumon strives to instill in its students.

“So very early on, I got him into a point where he was beginning to learn on his own,” Mathur said.

He’s now three years ahead of his school level in math, studying division. And in reading, he’s already two years above his grade level.

“He’s turned out to be an absolutely great student,” Mathur says. “He is really focused into what he’s doing.”

So, how is his pencil grip now?  

“We made sure that he got it right,” Mathur adds.