Does anyone have experience with Kumon?

We are considering putting our 4yo in Kumon this summer. Our center starts at age 4. He was tested and he would start at the very beginning and build his skills. It would be 20 minutes of instructions per week and maybe 5-10 minutes of "homework" per day. The teacher suggested doing reading only. DS isn't really ready for math yet.

Has anyone done kumon for their child, specifically at the pre-k level?

Re: Does anyone have experience with Kumon?

I haven't, but I know many people who do. My daughter tested there, but the location was just too far away from us.

I think it's great for building discipline and a routine.

Re: Does anyone have experience with Kumon?

I went to check it out last summer when my son was 4.5. I knew a small number of kids that were doing it so I looked into it. Honestly, it completely turned me off. It was like a sweatshop for kids. There were kids there so young they could barely sit still on a chair. All they were doing were sitting at desks in a long room with no windows with teenage instructors doing workbook pages. That's all they really do there - work book pages. It was so sad to see honestly. I walked out and could never go back. Truthfully, no 4 year old really needs these classes. You could do alot more with your son at home by just taking out a book from the library and reading it with him or picking up a $5 math book at Costco.

As an aside I will also add that I was thinking I *needed* to do this as my DS was one of the youngest about to enter K and I figured he would be competing with kids that were doing these classes. Also, he was already reading and I wasn't sure how to help him move forward and figured all the other kids were. Well, he just finished K and was way ahead all year without Kumon. It's really not necessary at all at this age.

Also, when I went that time and they did the testing it was SUCH a scam. The woman told me they were going to start with (for the math) counting to 100 or something like that - I told them he could count to 100 just fine already that he was ready for addition. She said no - he couldn't do that on the test so I told my son to start counting and she got all defensive and said he must have been nervous

Message edited 6/17/2013 9:54:00 PM.

Re: Does anyone have experience with Kumon?

I don't know about the classes themselves, but I picked up the book at Costco and I started both of my kids on them a few weeks ago. We do one page a day to keep their skills sharp. We skip weekends though.

Does anyone have experience with Kumon?

We buy the books and kids do them at home