A Strong Start Makes A Difference
Studies have shown that the first five years of a child’s life are crucial to their development.
It is an incredibly important time for them to develop essential learning and life skills, that has a direct impact on their future achievements in school and the adult they will become.
What makes Kumon unique and different?
Children as young as three years old can enrolled in programmes offer by Kumon. Its unique method of learning is tailored to suit each individual child’s ability and needs, allowing your little ones to take small steps towards their goals. Through this learning journey, your child will also become more independent, resilient and confident.
Here’s how Kumon Method of Learning helps to build these early foundational skills.
Developing motor skills
Your child’s mastery of their fine-motor skills, or the use of hands, will allow him or her greater independence, as well as good handwriting skills. Handwriting is such an important skill to have for future reading, communication and written expression. This is why it is important to make sure the building blocks for handwriting are solid.
Before the young ones are able to write letters and numbers, they will need to have proper pencil grip and a certain level of pencil skills.
Kumon understands just how important fine motor skills can unlock a child’s full potential, and its Pencil Skills Programme is specifically designed to develop a child’s ability to write.
Our exercises gently progress children from colouring pictures with a thick crayon to carefully drawing straight and curved lines, as well as intricate design with a pencil. We know there are many stages before a child can write with dexterity, and our programme and our Instructors develop early learners through all the stages.
As children continue to progress with Kumon, they’ll eventually be able to join their letters, form sentences and write neatly with speed and accuracy.
Instilling academic ability and skills
Kumon develops academic ability in our early learners. They are exposed to their very first reading and mathematical concepts.
Depending on their ability, the early learners enrolled in Kumon Maths will be learning to count, read, trace and write numbers, whereas those enrolled in Kumon English will be learning to recite words, phrases and short sentences, as well as tracing and writing the alphabets.
These worksheets are colourful with attractive pictures to keep the little minds engaged while learning. Our early learners will learn to read and follow instructions, and to follow a clear study flow – academic skills that are important to prepare them for school later.
Nurturing good attitude towards study
Children are keen to learn by nature and our engaging worksheets facilitate their learning while keeping their interest burning. Our Instructors and assistants help by assigning worksheets that are “just-right” for them.
Our Kumon Instructors and assistants, as well as our Kumon parents can help to support this interest by praising and celebrate their little milestones and achievements to encourage our little early learners.
“Parents should give their children acknowledgement and praise; they should be patient and should not rush; they should not easily become angered and should strive to provide their children with things that interest them,” Mr. Toru Kumon wrote in The Strengths of the Kumon Method on how he thought parents should support their child’s development.
Having observed that the common traits in Kumon Centres, where Instructors have nurtured many children to become excellent students, Mr. Minoru Maeda, president of Kumon Asia and Oceania, shared his hope for our Kumon Instructors.
“Both Instructors and parents can convey to young children the feeling of ‘let’s enjoy learning in the Centre’, so as to spark their interest and learn actively, and grow up to enjoy learning,’” Maeda wrote in one of his monthly messages to Instructors. “Instructors, I hope you and your assistants can also respond to early learners with smiles, and do not forget to praise and encourage them,” he continued.
When children are young, they are learning sponges. Every new experience, every word they learn, every behaviour they adopt, are all about honing and molding the holistic child, which will eventually form the basis of their lifelong journey.
