The Conscientious and Smart Student Li

In front of the signing board at the entrance of the ceremony, Li was wearing his blue sporty outfits, looking curious with his big rounded eyes. But when it came to the interview time, he surprisingly became steady and shared his story between Kumon and him.

Li, who is also studying Kumon Chinese, is interested in reading. “I like reading short stories in Kumon worksheets; there is an introduction of Isaac Newton and Thomas Edison!”

What Li’s mom said was right. We should stay calm when we make mistakes because Kumon instructor will adjust the progress plan based on student’s ability from time to time. With appropriate repetitions, students can firmly grasp the knowledge and steadily move forward.

When being asked whether he has ever thought about giving up on studying Kumon when he felt frustrated. He asked back with his eyes wide open, “No! Why give up?”

When being asked what made him stay motivated to study Kumon, Li responded, “I don’t know…even though I made mistakes, I have never thought of giving up, I only know that it is awesome to carry on.

Li, who is a Primary two student, finds it difficult to explain abstract thoughts and feeling; he is unable to talk about great philosophies as well. But he used the simplest and most straightforward way to express the importance of “perseverance”, which many parents want their children to understand.

During the interview, Li often looked at his mom, who was sitting next to him, and he repeatedly mentioned about his mom’s encouragement. We can see that Li’s mom has great influence on Li’s study. Let us hear what she said.

Knowing Kumon from a Book

Li’s mom said, “I knew the existence of Kumon when I was pregnant. At that time, I read lots of books about cognitive science, and there is a book written by a right-brain specialist, Professor Makoto Shichida. In his book, he mentioned that his son found out his classmate learning Kumon with desirable learning outcomes, so his son followed and studied Kumon as well. His son achieved advance beyond school grade in a short period of time. At that time, I planned to let my child study Kumon as soon as possible.” Li’s mom made the nurture plan even before Li was born. What a farsighted mother!

It is Amazing that My Child can Progress at His Own Pace

Li’s mom said, “Every child’s growth process and progress are unique, and the most attractive feature of Kumon is that Kumon instructor arranges the appropriate learning content based on every child’s characteristics, enabling every child to steadily progress at his own pace, and eventually achieve advance beyond school grade. It is not ‘pulling up seedlings to help them grow’, but it is the outcome of his choice and development.”

Li’s mom recalled the memory of Li’s study in Kumon during the first six months, the habit of studying Kumon daily had not been developed yet, and his study was not smooth. “I need to deal with his feelings of frustration sometimes.” However, Li’s mom and Kumon instructor encouraged him timely. About one year later, Li’s mom said, “Everything seems all right now, there are no more burdens.”

Trust in Kumon

Li’s mom, who knew about Kumon from a book, told us that the learning outcome in Kumon that Li obtained was the same as what she expected at the beginning. With his own effort, Li has achieved advance beyond school grade.

“Actually, when Li was four years old, people suggested me buy some similar learning materials for him to practice at home, but I found that it totally didn’t work. It is because it requires professional instructional skills, appropriate progress arrangement, and hints given timely by the instructor. Parents do not have these abilities.”

After this experience, Li’s mom trusts Kumon Instructor very much. She said, “The current study progress arrangement is very reasonable. It enables my child to achieve advance beyond school grade based on his abilities.” Because of her trust in Kumon, Li’s mom has introduced many of her friends’ children to study Kumon.

Since Li went to school one year in advance and Li’s mom hopes that he can grow up with children at the same age, she planned to homeschool Li for one year. “Now he is studying at home, and he has to finish two things every day, which are Kumon Chinese and Kumon Math. Kumon helps him to gain the proper way of learning, which enables him to cope with other sports courses in an orderly manner, like swimming and soccer. Without such time management habit and abilities, it would be hard for him to deal with other tasks.”

To homeschool Li, Li’s mom needs to spend lots of time and energy to be with her child. It is a pleasure to hear that studying Kumon can help Li in learning other things. We believe that when he returns to school, he will become a more confident and excellent Primary 3 student.