By Mrs. Mia De Jesus of Silang (Cavite) Learning Center

“Mommy, I want to enroll in Kumon!”

“We’ll look at it first, Layza. But if you start Kumon, you have to finish the entire program. No quitting, okay?”

“Okay! Thanks, Mommy and Daddy!”

Our daughter’s Kumon life started with that single agreement. It was four years ago when our child, Layza Belle, enrolled in the Kumon Math Program. After seeing the benefits she got from the Kumon Math Program, my husband and I didn’t hesitate to enroll Layza in the Kumon Reading Program later on.

We were really impressed when she was already solving complex mathematical equations as if they were just simple arithmetic problems. Aside from that, she could already interpret profound lines poems and passages in the Reading worksheets. She was able to finish the Kumon Math and Kumon Reading Programs at age 13!

Kumon students will agree that they get to experience both easy and difficult moments at some point in their Kumon journey. Even parents would share this same sentiment. In our case, my husband and I are both working so we leave home before sunrise and go home after sunset. With this kind of set up, constant communication with the Kumon Instructor worked best for us—whether through post-it notes or phone calls.

Let me share with you what we have gone through in our Kumon journey:

1. Reminding our child not to quit.

We made a deal with Layza from the very start – to finish the entire program without quitting, so we always reminded her of the agreement we made.

2. Getting worksheets done on time.

We wanted Layza to realize that time is always essential, which is why she has acquired the habit of doing her worksheets independently.

3. Communicating with the Instructor.

Despite our busy schedule, we still communicated with the Instructor even through text messages.

4. Creating a comfortable relationship with our child.

We ensured that Layza can always consult us if she has not fully understood some topics.

5. Treating Kumon as an investment.

A financial analyst stressed this equation on how we must spend our income: Earnings – Savings = Expenses. We viewed Kumon tuition fee as part of our savings since we treated Kumon as an investment.

6. Teaching the value of appreciation

We taught the value of appreciation to Layza and let her experience rough times then enjoy the easy life later. We were always happy to hear getting high grades as she reaped the fruits of all her hard work.

There was one time when Layza asked her dad to check her solution to a math problem.

We were very pleased to see that she didn’t just want to learn how to do it, but even so, she wanted to know more of the idea behind how to do it. We became very proud of her as we saw the results of her Kumon study in her academics.