{"id":13999,"date":"2025-07-01T10:51:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/?p=13826"},"modified":"2025-08-21T14:07:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:07:14","slug":"one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/","title":{"rendered":"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Why mindset matters more than supplies \u2014 and how to help your child start strong<\/em><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

By July, the back-to-school commercials have started. Stores are stocked with colorful notebooks, pencil cases and backpacks. But before you dive into supply lists and calendar reminders, here\u2019s one powerful parenting tip Kumon encourages families to focus on:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Help your child build a confident mindset.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A confident mindset doesn\u2019t come from having the perfect planner or checking off every box on a back-to-school checklist. It comes from preparation that is consistent, meaningful and centered on growth \u2014not perfection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Here\u2019s how you can help shape that mindset this summer:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1. Praise Effort, Not Just Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When your child finishes a book or works through a challenging math problem, focus on the effort<\/em> they put in, not just the result. Instead of \u201cYou\u2019re so smart,\u201d try: \u201cI noticed how you stuck with that even when it was tricky. That\u2019s going to help you a lot when school starts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This reinforces grit and perseverance, skills that pay off all year long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2. Let Them Experience Productive Struggle<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Summer can be the best time for students to build confidence as self-learners. In Kumon, students advance through material they learn to tackle on their own, often ahead of grade level. If your child hesitates or makes mistakes, resist jumping in too quickly. Instead, guide them to find the answer themselves using the guides and hints on the worksheets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The ability to figure things out<\/em> is far more powerful than simply being taught.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3. Create One Small, Daily Success Habit<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Big transitions \u2014 like starting a new grade \u2014 can feel overwhelming. One way to ease anxiety is to create a simple habit now that reinforces routine and discipline. Whether it\u2019s 10 minutes of reading, a daily set of Kumon worksheets or even journaling about their goals, that one habit helps your child feel in control and prepared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

4. Talk About Goals, Not Grades<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Before school starts, have a low-pressure conversation about what your child wants to grow<\/em> in this year. It could be something academic, like \u201cget better at writing,\u201d or personal, like \u201cmake a new friend.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Goals that come from within \u2014 and aren\u2019t only about grades \u2014 build intrinsic motivation and a love of learning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Back-to-school doesn\u2019t have to mean back to stress.<\/strong>
By helping your child feel prepared, capable and confident, you\u2019re setting the tone for a successful year \u2014 not only in school, but in life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Kumon is here to support you every step of the way with daily practice, goal setting and a personalized learning plan that grows with your child.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

<\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nWhy mindset matters more than supplies \u2014 and how to help your child start strong<\/p>\n

By July, the back-to-school commercials have started. Stores are stocked with colorful notebooks, pencil cases and backpacks. But before you dive into supply lists and calendar reminders, here\u2019s one powerful parenting tip Kumon encourages families to <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":14006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[285],"class_list":["post-13999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting-articles","tag-getbacktoschoolready"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nOne Thing To Focus On Before School Starts - Student Resources<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kumon Study Tips and Resources is a blog for parents looking for tips, news, and advice, that can help advance their children\u2019s ability in math and reading.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts - Student Resources\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kumon Study Tips and Resources is a blog for parents looking for tips, news, and advice, that can help advance their children\u2019s ability in math and reading.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Student Resources\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T14:51:28+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-21T18:07:14+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Curious Jane\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Curious Jane\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Curious Jane\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/728bffe06a4707443b8735bc53af9022\"},\"headline\":\"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-01T14:51:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-21T18:07:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":442,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"GetBacktoSchoolReady\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Parenting Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/\",\"name\":\"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts - Student Resources\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-01T14:51:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-21T18:07:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"Kumon Study Tips and Resources is a blog for parents looking for tips, news, and advice, that can help advance their children\u2019s ability in math and reading.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Mom and daughter packing back pack\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Study Tips & Resources\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kumon Student Resources\",\"description\":\"Kumon\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Kumon Student Resources\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/kumon_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/kumon_logo.png\",\"width\":198,\"height\":44,\"caption\":\"Kumon Student Resources\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kumon.com\\\/resources\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/728bffe06a4707443b8735bc53af9022\",\"name\":\"Curious Jane\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/611e00a5d46c982a2021814da4bf5b2e0d7139498f6ef6fc866de352107da7a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/611e00a5d46c982a2021814da4bf5b2e0d7139498f6ef6fc866de352107da7a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/611e00a5d46c982a2021814da4bf5b2e0d7139498f6ef6fc866de352107da7a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Curious Jane\"}}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts - Student Resources","description":"Kumon Study Tips and Resources is a blog for parents looking for tips, news, and advice, that can help advance their children\u2019s ability in math and reading.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts - Student Resources","og_description":"Kumon Study Tips and Resources is a blog for parents looking for tips, news, and advice, that can help advance their children\u2019s ability in math and reading.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/","og_site_name":"Student Resources","article_published_time":"2025-07-01T14:51:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-21T18:07:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Curious Jane","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Curious Jane","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/"},"author":{"name":"Curious Jane","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/728bffe06a4707443b8735bc53af9022"},"headline":"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts","datePublished":"2025-07-01T14:51:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-21T18:07:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/"},"wordCount":442,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg","keywords":["GetBacktoSchoolReady"],"articleSection":["Parenting Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/","name":"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts - Student Resources","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-01T14:51:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-21T18:07:14+00:00","description":"Kumon Study Tips and Resources is a blog for parents looking for tips, news, and advice, that can help advance their children\u2019s ability in math and reading.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/25-KMN-910_Q3-Blog_July_Blog-800x400-1.jpg","width":800,"height":400,"caption":"Mom and daughter packing back pack"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/one-thing-to-focus-on-before-school-starts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Study Tips & Resources","item":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"One Thing To Focus On Before School Starts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/","name":"Kumon Student Resources","description":"Kumon","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#organization","name":"Kumon Student Resources","url":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/kumon_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/kumon_logo.png","width":198,"height":44,"caption":"Kumon Student Resources"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/728bffe06a4707443b8735bc53af9022","name":"Curious Jane","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/611e00a5d46c982a2021814da4bf5b2e0d7139498f6ef6fc866de352107da7a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/611e00a5d46c982a2021814da4bf5b2e0d7139498f6ef6fc866de352107da7a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/611e00a5d46c982a2021814da4bf5b2e0d7139498f6ef6fc866de352107da7a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Curious Jane"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14007,"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13999\/revisions\/14007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kumon.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}