It was during our college year, back in University of the Philippines – Cebu, when I first encountered Kumon. I was working as a part-time tutor to elementary and high school kids. I was always wondering why I always get to help my students with other subjects, but not in Math.

I was genuinely taken aback to discover that these young kids were better than me in Math, as they are Kumon students. This sparked my curiosity to learn more about Kumon, specifically its benefits and advantages.

Fast forward to several years, I have kids who are a Kumon Math and Reading Completer, my daughter, Mishka, and now my second child, Matthieu, is receiving his Reading Completer award, and is also a Math Gold awardee. My third child, Moses, is also receiving his Math Gold award. A feat that I would never have accomplished if not for everyone here, especially their teachers.

Speaking of feat, the difficulties that we face in raising and supporting our children who are enrolled in Kumon is not an easy task. After my first Kumon Completer, Mishka, I thought I knew how I would handle the siblings, little did I know that it would be more challenging. While it offers numerous benefits, it also offers unique challenges for parents:

1. Balancing Time Commitments: Striking a balance between your child’s Kumon studies and other activities, such as schoolwork, extracurriculars, and family time can be overwhelming for both you and your child. It is a delicate balance but with patience, understanding, and flexibility, it can be achieved.
2. Maintaining Motivation and Discipline: For me, my sons’ respective Kumon journeys have proven to be more difficult. I think I have tried it all; reward system involving screen time, gifts, and drama time. I learned that not only do I need to motivate them, but I also need to motivate myself to have the energy to be a Kumon parent because, after all, this is also our journey.
3. Dealing with Frustrations and Comparison: Something I have to admit that I am guilty of. Facing difficulties and struggles in keeping with the pace sometimes leads to disappointment and inadequacy. With this dilemma, I ask help from the Almighty for I cannot do it alone.
4. Financial Consideration: Kumon education comes with financial implications, and this can be a challenge to some parents because for us – it sure is. When the pandemic hit, both me and my husband knew that if there was something we need to tighten our belts with, it’s not going to be on our children’s education. Even amidst those challenges, we still wanted our children to continue with Kumon.
5. Balance Between Kumon and Creativity: While Kumon focuses on academics, it is essential for us parents to strike a balance in nurturing our children’s creativity. We need to be able to engage them in arts, music, or sport for a holistic development.

One remarkable thing that we, my husband and I, are happy about is the discipline and independence that Kumon has taught our kids, Kumon emphasizes self-learning. This approach encourages children to solve problems on their own and foster a sense of independence and confidence in their abilities.

The beauty of Kumon is that it’s not just a program, it’s a journey as they progress through the levels, they are not just learning new concepts, they are also learning about themselves; their strengths, their areas for improvement, and their capacity to overcome challenges. They are learning to set goals, to work towards them, and to celebrate their achievements. And, the best part is, these lessons don’t end when the Kumon Program does. The kids can continue to apply these skills and lessons in their everyday lives, in school, in their careers, and in their relationships.

Parenting and supporting children while in Kumon can be a challenging journey. However, it is important to remember that these challenges are not insurmountable. As a parent, my Kumon journey was not as agonizing, our long waits have paved way to building meaningful and lasting friendships with fellow “Kumoms.” From the bottom of my heart, thank you; Sheila Anne Remollo, Nora Natividad, and Hazel Bitoon.

To our Kumon family; Teacher Grace, Miss Mel, Sir June, Sir Ericson, Miss Juvy, Miss Trixie, Sir Francis, Miss Ann, and to everyone, I can never thank you enough.

Fellow parents, I know that sometimes giving up looks like our best recourse, but just keep pushing. Kids, please remember what I always tell my children that Kumon is our lifelong gift to them, this is your parents gift to you, something that you will open for the rest of your lives.