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JUL - DEC 2019
PARENTING TIPS How much screen time should your children under 5 get?
KUMON
FEATURE Improving the work skills of Kumon students
MY LIFE, MY DREAM K V Sai Vishruth Meher Jasmine Singh
Editor’s Note
Dear Readers, In this edition, we are proud to feature the inspiring story of Meher, who has an unbounded love for books. At a tender age of 9 years, she acts as a Junior Assistant in an organisation wherein she helps the lead speakers with their speech. Another excellent story is that of Sai Vishruth, whose Kumon journey actually started before he was born. He shares how studying beyond school grade level has helped him academically and made him an independent thinker. Both students featured may have had different reasons for enrolling in Kumon, but they led to the same result: they discovered that they can be more and have developed greater confidence in themselves. In the Local News section, we share 5 oral reading tips for Parents as children who read at home enjoy a substantial advantage over children who do not. We look forward to delighting you in our upcoming issues with more inspiring stories of children who help us further believe in their unlimited potential. Happy Reading!
Instructions Team - Kumon India & Sri Lanka
Tel: +91 11 46000787, +91 46000788 E-mail: info@kumon.co.in Website: in.kumonglobal.com
ON THE COVER JUL - DEC 2019 K V SAI VISHRUTH
Contents MY LIFE, MY DREAM
03
Today a reader, tomorrow a leader K V Sai Vishruth
conversation with an 04 In inquisitive young mind Meher Jasmine Singh
FEATURES Article 06 Regional Improving the work skills of Kumon students
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Instructors’ Quotes
REGULARS
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Local News 5 Oral reading tips for parents
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Parenting Tips How much screen time should your children under 5 get?
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My life, my dream
Meher Jasmine Singh, 9 Starting Kumon Level: ME: Level 6A 1, corresponding to Pre School EE: Level 7A 1, corresponding to Pre School Current Kumon Level: ME: Level F, corresponding to class 6
EE: Level EII, corresponding to class 5
IN CONVERSATION WITH AN INQUISITIVE YOUNG MIND When Meher was two years old, her father used to read her bedtime stories. Even though she didn’t know the alphabet, within two months Meher was able to recite an entire story with the help of pictures. Meher’s parents realised that she needed the right approach to enhance her learning abilities. Now, it has been more than five years for Meher being a part of the Kumon family. Meher has an unbounded love for books. Other than being an avid reader, she is a trained Gurmukhi singer, a motivational speaker and also a registered donor. At a tender age of 9 years, she acts as a junior assistant in an organisation wherein she helps the lead speakers with their speech. As per Meher’s Kumon instructor, she has set a benchmark and has been a
source of inspiration not only to other students but parents as well. She also expressed her admiration for Meher’s hard work and perseverance. “I see her growing up to be a confident, well rounded and self-reliant individual.” In our conversation with Meher, she shared, “Kumon helped me develop a habit of reading books. This has encouraged me to learn Spanish. The positive attitude towards learning was developed with the support of my parents and their belief in the Kumon method. I have grown accustomed to daily study with just a simple reminder needed from time to time. Kumon encourages its students to excel in whatever they do. That is why I always aim to do better each time. This desire keeps motivating me to be a Kumon English Completer.”
Parent’s words of appreciation: “I don’t think I have regretted a single day of her joining Kumon because Meher has gone from strength to strength. After joining Kumon, her ability to communicate has improved many folds. She is one of the most confident speakers that we have in the Gurudwara. The words and vocabulary used by her during her preaches amuse even the adults. We have witnessed a lot of positive changes in Meher and we are really happy about it. Our experience with Kumon has been really rewarding.” 3
My life, my dream
K V Sai Vishruth, 8 Starting Kumon Level: EE: Level 4A1, corresponding to Nursery
TODAY A READER TOMORROW A LEADER
Current Kumon Level: EE: Level HI, corresponding to class 8
It’s not wrong to say Sai Vishruth’s Kumon journey actually started before he was born. His parents heard about Kumon when they were in the US and saw the children in their neighborhood excited about going to these classes. The language skills and problem solving speed of these children amazed them and they made a decision of enrolling their child (who was not yet born) in Kumon at the earliest opportunity. After being enrolled in Kumon for more than three years, Sai Vishruth is studying 5 years ahead his grade level with ease. He secured rank 3 in the international English Olympiad when he was in grade 2. The same year he was also the zonal and school topper. He represented India at a talent fest “World of Kids” in Singapore where he was awarded as the “best orator” and “a change agent” in the international category. He is also a state and national topper in Spell Bee International scoring full marks at both levels. Apart from academics, Sai Vishruth is very much interested in the field of tree plantation. He spends his weekends and holidays in planting and maintaining trees at various parks along with other NGOs. So far he has planted around 1000 trees with his friends and made about 5000 seed balls. Recently he won the title “Little Master Earth India 2019” and will be representing India in “Little Master Earth International” in Las Vegas during 4th to 10th July 2019. Let’s hear from Sai Vishruth about his remarkable journey.
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Tell us about your experience with Kumon so far?
Sai Vishruth: Kumon helped me become an independent and avid reader. The reading habit instilled in me helps me stay away from gadgets and television. This helps me participate in many oratorical competitions and winning them boosts my confidence. Till date we have no television at home (laughing aloud).
Which level did you enjoy the most?
Sai Vishruth: I just loved level GII (corresponding to grade 7), especially the first 50 worksheets. They had interesting topics from books like “The Concise Science Encyclopedia” and “Lessons under the Acacia Tree” by Brooke Lea Foster and Cindy Rich. Kumon lets me express my thoughts in the form of answers that I enjoy thoroughly.
How do you balance school with extra-curricular activities? Sai Vishruth: It’s very simple, as I am ahead of my school curriculum with the help of Kumon, I can easily finish my daily homework which lets me dedicate enough time for extra-curricular activities.
What is your ambition?
Sai Vishruth: I would like to become an IAS Officer. I am currently writing a comic named Charan and I want to make this comic character one of the most popular ones in the world, just like Spider Man.
What kind of assistance do you receive from your Instructor in the Centre?
Sai Vishruth: My Instructor’s support has been indispensable. I really like the way she helps me clarify my doubts by not giving me the answer directly but makes me think about the answer by asking me questions. These questions help me figure out the solution on my own and become an independent thinker.
What advice do you have for other Kumon students?
Sai Vishruth: I am too young to give any advice but I strongly suggest every Kumon student to be regular for the first few months and soon you will get addicted to it.
Sai Vishruth’s parents feel proud of their son’s achievements and shared their views with us: “When we started Kumon, Sai Vishruth was quite demanding for our presence while doing his school homework. After he started Kumon, within a month he was quite independent in both his school homework and Kumon worksheets. Thanks to the recommended reading list provided by Kumon, his command over English language is improving each passing day. Kumon exposes him to concepts beyond his grade level, which helps us to be tension free during examinations as he is already familiar with most of the topics. We believe Sai Vishruth has a vast potential, but we need the right environment besides our home to cultivate and nurture that potential further. Kumon helped us tremendously with this.”
5
Regional Article
“Your children need to improve their work skills”
If
you are scratching your head hearing this from your children’s Kumon Instructor, wondering what this means, you are probably not alone. This is, after all, a term specific to Kumon. Being a Kumon jargon, do work skills only benefit our children in Kumon? Probably not. Let us discover this concept of work skills and how it can benefit our children in Kumon and beyond. Sometimes, we see our children lose concentration halfway through a worksheet, or before turning to the reverse side. Sometimes they run to the candy jar or grab a snack before continuing with the worksheet. Some of our children write with handwriting
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that is only legible to themselves. The above examples, that some of us may resonate with, are examples of poor work skills. “How then do I know if my children have good work skills,” you might ask.
When students have good work skills, they can do their assigned worksheets with speed and concentration. As a definition, work skills refer to the ability to concentrate on a good amount of worksheets and complete them quickly without stopping. Children enrolled in the Kumon programme develop good work skills – ability to complete their class work within a required time. They
have a high level of concentration keeping their eyes on the worksheet at all times, and flipping to the reverse side of the worksheet, or the next worksheet immediately after completing a page. To further illustrate the benefits of work skills, let us look at an example featuring the time when a person started to learn to swim. For example, a man, John, took up recreational swim after ploughing through hours of instructional videos on YouTube. When John started, he managed to complete one lap in three minutes. Finding himself breathless after mindlessly trying to propel himself forward, John would always take a minute’s rest before
kicking off the wall for the return lap. John started to enjoy gliding through water, breaking through the shackles of gravity and feeling himself surrounded by water. As he hit the pool more, his technique and, resultantly, his timing improved. He could complete two laps in four minutes and upon touching the wall on the other end, he could immediately flip and kick off the wall for the return lap. Relating back to the topic, John’s work skills improved and he could quickly move on to the next lap without stopping. As a result, his completion time improved from two laps in seven minutes to two laps in four minutes.
The benefits of the work skills actually transcend beyond the boundaries of the Kumon Centres. Good work skills can also be beneficial in school work and exams. Some students struggle to finish their examination papers in time. Of course it could be attributed to the lack of understanding of the concepts. But if a child starts fighting Lord Voldemort in his mind when he should be concentrating on his exam paper in the “muggle� world, then a plausible reason would be the lack of work skills.
designed to improve their work skills, concentration and confidence before they tackle more complex concepts, whether it is advancing to the next level, tackling the school grade level, or even grappling with materials that are beyond the school grade level. As parents, we can help our children by gentle reminding them to stay focus if they notice concentration begin to slip. We can also encourage them to complete their work and praise them when they do well.
When students enrol at Kumon, the Instructors often assign the students to a starting level that is lower than their grade level in school. This is one of the features of the Kumon Method
Improving the work skills of
Kumon Students
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Feature
Instructors’ Quotes
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sa Shivda a it N s a M Sri Lank Kumon
India &
the work towards r endeavor to ou rade en G be nd s yo ha It Student be sophy “Every tive ra pe im is it Kumon philo e, e this mileston ev hi they ac n he To Level”. every child w work skills of e e at th iv p ot lo m ve to de In order to mon journey. ed is Ku r al ei du th vi n di gi in be s are set and al go ss e re ev og hi lp them ac children, pr rried out to he ca s e et ar he ns ks io instruct on their wor rough working ns th io s at al ul lc go ca e l thes oving menta n tration, impr Implementatio with concen . ss ne us tio en ci ns ts co en e ud et and compl sures that st work skills en ed s nc et ha he en ks of these h their wor ogress throug grade are able to pr their school nd d study beyo ents, ud st r fo with ease an ts these skill se ng pi lo d ve an de level. By the society ntributing to co a be in ld be ou w we are ready to le illennials who nd m ha ng to pi y lo ilit ve de d have the ab an t en nm ro dynamic envi situations. challenging
8
Ms Kit Kaur
w Zealand
Kumon Australia & Ne
The early years are among the most critical of a child’s life as during this time their key understandings and habits towards learning are formed. Developing work skills in early learners is especially important in the 21st century, because technology has changed virtually every aspect of the way our children live and learn. As work skills refers to children’s ability to concentrate and complete a task without getting distracted, we need to be very mindful of how we nurture children in today’s wired world. I strongly believe Kumon’s paper-and-pencil approach is an ideal way to build students’ work skills.
Having just read what work skills meant, let’s have a look at what some of the Instructors from around the region has to say about what they think about work skills.
Ibu Sri Lestari Kumon Indonesia
The Kumon features that I like most are the daily hom ework and repetitions. Stu work skills will be automat dents’ ically developed if they kee p on doing their homework daily basis and do not give on a up even when they have the same sets of worksheets give by Kumon Centre. Work skill n s is developed through stud y and effort, and it cannot happen overnight. While ther e are no overnight miracles , the features I mentioned above are designed to form the skills. Through the Kum on programmes, we develop work skills needed in order to gain success in academ ic life.
e
Ms Yasmsiina ay Kumon Mal
needed by ificant skills gn si d an l ia e essent . is one of th e long term ing further in th n, work skill ss re d encourag og an pr r to In my opinio order with the clea . s ed or gn ct students in si ru as st s worksheet d through In of pe l lo ve ve le m de ht tu can be momen nts and rig Work skills s with high t from pare me suppor le worksheet ho nd n, ha s from the io ill et ct w he ru s inst t work skill me of works en lu ci vo ffi g su bi ith ith Students w easy levels. en trained w rtably with ey have be fo th m as co d ng ee e copi and sp hile they ar beginning w
9
Local News
5
Oral Reading Tips For Parents
According to the National Center for Education statistics, only 53 percent of children aged three to five are read to daily by a family member. Children who are read to at home enjoy a substantial advantage over children who are not. That starts from infancy and continues throughout schooling. It is essential for children to continue to read frequently as they get older and be exposed to a variety of genres to maintain reading proficiency. Here are five tips for parents to make reading at home more impactful.
1. Have your child read aloud to you each night through elementary school. While not necessary, having a specific time establishes a consistent routine. 2. Make a reading nook in your home that your child will associate with book reading. It should be a well-lit area that is free from distractions and comfortable for you both. It can be as simple as bean bags on the floor, a certain place on the couch, or at the kitchen table. 3. When your child skips or mispronounces a word and keeps reading, point to the word, say it, and have your child repeat it. When your child stops to self-correct how a word is pronounced and
gets it right, praise her. Re-read the whole sentence to ensure comprehension. 4. While reading, pause to ask your child questions about the characters and events in the story. Sometimes kids are reading, but not fully understanding because they are focused on the mechanics. Before getting to the end of the story, ask your child what she thinks will happen next. Ask her to support her answer with a reason. 5. After finishing the story or the chapter, ask your child to tell you in her words what happened. Ask follow-up questions if important pieces are missing in the summary. Use the illustrations to ask him to describe what happened.
The Kumon Reading Program builds the critical reading skills that help children develop a lifelong love of reading and a solid foundation for academic success. It strengthens reading ability by building essential literacy components such as oral reading, vocabulary, grammar, comprehension and summarisation.
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Parenting Tips
How much SCREEN TIME should your children under 5 get?
In a recent report1, the World Health Organization (WHO) has prescribed recommendations on how much sedentary screen time2 caregivers should give to babies and children under 5 years old. Screen time refers to the time spent watching television programmes, watching videos or playing video games on computers, mobile devices. According to WHO, children under 2 should get no sedentary screen time, while children between two and four years old should not be given sedentary screen time of more than 60 minutes.
“Achieving health for all means doing what is best for health right from the beginning of people’s lives,”
RECOMMENDATIONS AT A GLANCE infant Less than 1 year old
0 minutes
children
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
“Early childhood is a period of rapid development and a time when family lifestyle patterns can be adapted to boost health gains.” https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/311664/9789241550536-eng.pdf Screen time only refers to sedentary screen time
1 year old
0 minutes
2 years old
no more than 60 minutes
3 - 4 years old
no more than 60 minutes
1 2
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A S A ! r S o U t c N u r t JOI s n i e s i h anc
Due to the interest and demand in India and Sri Lanka, we are expanding our footprint by seeking passionate individuals to join us a franchise Instructor. As Kumon parents, you have worked through the programme with your child. We believe no one knows the benefits of the Kumon Method better than you. If you possess a passion to work with children and desire to become an educator within your community, join us as a franchise Instructor to transform a child’s life through education.
Register your interest at http://in.kumonglobal.com today! For more information, contact Anchal Chopra at 8527411044.