You and Your Kumon Instructor

Home Grading

Establishing a Routine for Kumon at Home

Your Role as a Kumon Coach

You and Your Kumon Instructor:

Kumon is a three-way partnership between Instructor, child, and parent.  Indeed, the most successful Kumon students are those whose parents develop a strong, collaborative relationship with the Kumon Instructor.

Keeping the Lines of Communication Open

One of the most important factors in your child's success with Kumon will be the quality of communication between you and your Kumon Instructor.  Your Instructor will make time to update you on your child's goals and progress.  However, just as with school, the ultimate responsibility for open and effective communication rests with you.

Be proactive and make your interest known. Resist the temptation to simply drop your child off at the Kumon Center and pick him or her up later.  "Check in" with the Instructor on a regular basis to:

• Compare notes on your child's progress and goals for advancement
• Request a conference to review your child's situation in greater depth
• Alert the Instructor to any pertinent issues or development in school or at home
• Ask about any difficulties your child may be having
• Be aware of any upcoming Achievement Tests given before advancing your child to the next curriculum level

Help your Instructor to help your child. Share as much relevant information about your child as possible.  Provide any insights that might help your Instructor tailor the program to your child's needs and abilities.  Explain your child's strengths and weaknesses, and share school report cards, test scores, evaluations, and even samples of schoolwork.  Your Instructor wants and needs the complete picture of your child's academic life - something only you can provide.

Building Momentum and Continuity

While your child will see the Kumon Instructor once or twice a week for in-Center work, feedback, guidance, and new Worksheet assignments, you are the all-important "bridge" between those visits.

You'll participate in your child's Kumon homework routine and ensure that home assignments are completed on a daily basis.  You'll keep up the encouragement that the Instructor provides, and help your child keep sight of the goals the Kumon Instructor has worked with your child to establish.

You will also serve as your Instructor's "eyes and ears" when it comes to your child's home study.  This may be the most important job of a Kumon parent, since the majority of your child's Kumon work will be done at home.  Share with your Instructor anything - successes and stumbles alike - that could signal a need for adjustment to your child's goals or assignments.

Ultimately, you and your Kumon Instructor share one very important aim:  helping your child succeed and realize his or her full potential.  The best way to achieve that aim is to work together.

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Home Grading:

When you take on the task of Home Grading, you'll be relieved to know that ten minutes each day is all the time it takes.  What's more, Home Grading can accelerate your child's learning, and the reasons make perfect sense:

• It allows your child to learn immediately from mistakes by correcting them while they're still fresh in mind.
• It often leads to greater concentration and effort, because your child knows that work will be checked immediately.
• It lets you monitor your child's progress more closely, and provide more timely encouragement.
• It allows more Kumon Center time to be spent on the next order of business rather than on work already completed.
• It strengthens your understanding of the Kumon Method, which in turn can make you more effective in assisting your child.

In addition to its potential positive impact on your child's learning, Home Grading sends a very important message to your child:  I'm your partner in Kumon, and in learning.  I'm with you every step of the way.

General Guidelines

• Grade assignments as soon and your child completes them.
• Grade and review assignments when your child is present and paying attention, not by yourself.
• Make sure your child's name, the date, and starting/ending time are filled in at the top of the first sheet.  If not, have your child fill them in before grading.
• Use a red pen for grading.
• Start on the back of the worksheet and end up on the front where the grading scale is located.
• Once all the worksheets have been graded and corrected, put them in the homework pouch and hand them in at your next Center visit.
• RELAX!  Assignments are always rechecked at the Kumon Center before grades are entered into your child's records.

For more information about how to do Home Grading, please see the Home Grading Manual and Summarizing Worksheet Scores located in the Parent and Student Resources area of this website.

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Establishing a Routine for Kumon at Home:

Kumon homework is assigned every day your child does not attend the Center, including weekends and holidays.

You'll have far more success getting your child to complete and benefit from Kumon home assignments when you establish a good work environment and firm routine.  Weaving Kumon into other scheduled activities and enlisting the cooperation of other family members will help make it part of the fabric of your child's daily life.

While it's tempting to accept excuses or make exceptions, try hard to make Kumon a non-negotiable priority.  It's well worth it in the long run.  Over time that daily half-hour builds self-discipline, focus, and stamina.  Before long, many Kumon students complete all their homework more efficiently and on their own initiative.

The Right Place

• Work with your child to find or fashion a comfortable, neat, and organized study area free from distractions such as TV, stereos, computers, telephones, and even pets or siblings, if applicable!
• Equip this space with all necessary supplies, including sharpened pencils, erasers, a digital clock, a dictionary and thesaurus, etc.
• Make an agreement with your child that this is the place where Kumon (and other) homework is done, without exception.

The Right Time

• Establish a Daily Homework Time that integrates with any extracurricular activities your child may have and create a calendar that reflects it.
  • The Daily Homework Time may vary from day to day based on extracurricular activities and other commitments (doctor/dentist visits, for example), but it should be consistent, week in and week out, to the fullest extent possible.  It should also come before dinner, rather than after (if your family's schedule permits).  Your child's attention span, energy level, and patience will be greater.
  • The Daily Homework Time must have a defined length.  If your child finishes early, the balance of the designated time should be used for a quasi-academic purpose (e.g., reading, or writing in a journal) rather than recreation.
• Assuming your child will do both Kumon and school homework during the same Daily Homework Time, it's a good idea to begin with Kumon.  It's a quick, stimulating, and focus-sharpening warm-up for your child's school homework.
• On weekends and school holidays, schedule Kumon Daily Homework Time as early in the day as is practical.  It is motivating to a child to know that once he or she has finished the day's Kumon homework, the rest of the day is "free."

Your Role as a Kumon Coach:

Your Child, Your Style

Every child is different, as is every age group.  Accordingly, every suggestion offered here is merely that.  You will obviously need to adapt these ideas to your own parenting style and to the age, personality, and academic orientation of your child.

In short, use what works best for you and your child, and don't forget that your Kumon Instructor and other Kumon parents are outstanding sources of additional advice and ideas.

How to Keep Your Child Engaged

Sooner or later, your child may question why he or she has to do extra homework, has to do Kumon Worksheets even on weekends and school holidays, has to visit the Kumon Center, and so on.  That's natural, and while it may not be avoidable, it can be overcome.  One of the most important things you must do as a Kumon parent is to help your child view Kumon as a natural extension of school by:

• Integrating Kumon homework with school homework and making it clear that both are a top priority.
• Helping your child establish and stick to a consistent and disciplined study routine.
• Showing enthusiasm and support for your child's Kumon study, just as you do for schoolwork and other activities.

Lead by Example

Children tend to model not only their parents' behaviors, but also their attitudes.  If you demonstrate a positive, optimistic attitude about Kumon and what it can do, your child is likely to mirror your attitude.

Celebrate Victories, Big and Small

Praise and positive reinforcement are perhaps the two most important tactics at your disposal.

It's important, however, not to limit your enthusiasm to the achievement of significant Kumon milestones or goals.  Praise your child for simply making a strong effort, or for correctly answering a Worksheet question that he or she had previously missed.

Also, for your benefit as well as your child's, resist the temptation to compare your child's Kumon progress to that of any other child, including siblings.  Kumon is an individualized program, first and foremost, and Kumon students are assessed in relation to their own potential and nothing else.

Communicate Early and Often

Talk to your child often about his or her Kumon studies.  Ask questions.  Show interest.  Offer advice.

What this does, above all, is keep Kumon "on the front burner."  It demonstrates to your child that you consider Kumon - and your child's education - a top priority.  It shows that you're paying attention and that, in turn, will get your child's attention.

Handling Resistance

If, despite your best efforts, your child resists doing Kumon homework or going to the Center, do not allow yourself to be pulled into a debate on the topic.

Be assertive without being argumentative.  Simply remind your child - over and over if necessary - that homework is an obligation and that the responsibility for meeting that obligation rests entirely with him or her.

The key to this approach is establishing a system of penalties and rewards based on your child's acceptance of that responsibility.  Obviously, these must be tailored to your child and your family dynamics, but in general:

• Penalties have greater impact if they are immediate in nature (e.g., if you don't do your homework this afternoon, you can't watch television tonight).
• Rewards are more beneficial if they relate to longer-term goals and represent delayed gratification (e.g., do your homework every day this month and we'll spend a Saturday at your favorite theme park).

Above all, be consistent in placing the responsibility on your child's shoulders.  He or she must "own" the decision to do homework - or not - and reap the rewards or the consequences, as the case may be.

Make your commitment. You can't expect your child to make a commitment to Kumon unless you do so first.  This is especially true during your initial year of Kumon enrollment.  If your child sees that you are willing to yield occasionally on homework or Kumon Center visits, he or she will quickly adopt the same perspective.

Reach out. Don't hesitate to ask other Kumon parents about their strategies for success, or to share yours with them.  You'll find that most are willing and anxious to share their advice and experiences with other parents who value education and are committed to helping their children achieve their full potential in school and in life.

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