Kumon Brunei - Potential 2019 Issue 2

Australia • Brunei • Cambodia • India • Indonesia • Malaysia • Myanmar • New Zealand • Philippines • Singapore • Sri Lanka • Thailand • Vietnam

JUL - DEC 2019

KUMON

FEATURE Improving the work skills of Kumon students

MY LIFE,

MY DREAM Katelyn Teoh Ting Kah Lok

PARENTING TIPS How much screen time should your children under 5 get?

Editor’s Note

Dear readers, I hope you had a good, fruitful first half of the year and feeling geared up for the next couple of months. You can look forward to the Advanced Students Honour Roll (ASHR) ceremonies conducted in the month of September. ASHR ceremonies are held by your child’s Kumon centre to celebrate their achievements and progress during their Kumon study. Students qualify for the ASHR by being 6-months, 2-years, 3-years or 5 years ahead of their school grade level based on the Kumon International Standard (KIS). The date and venue of the ASHR ceremonies will be provided by your child’s Kumon Instructor.

This year, two Kumon Completers will be awarded for completing the Kumon Mathematics programme. Congratulations to Katelyn Teoh and Farisha Rafiqah for being the first two Completers in Brunei!

We now have 2 new Kumon centres; Kumon Excellence, located in Tanjung Bunut, started operating in December 2018 and Kumon Ascend, located in Kuala Belait, opened its doors in May 2019. With the addition of these two centres, Kumon Brunei aims to provide the experience of learning with the Kumon Method to more children around Brunei.

Within this issue of Potential, we hear from 2 Kumon students; Completer, Katelyn Teoh reflects back on her journey to completing the Kumon Mathematics programme, and Kah Lok, a double-subject student and an enthusiastic reader. We hope you get inspired by their stories and relate to their experiences.

ON THE COVER JUL - DEC 2019 KATELYN TEOH

Contents MY LIFE, MY DREAM

03 Katelyn Teoh Shu Hui 04 Ting Kah Lok FEATURES Article 06 Regional Improving the work skills of Kumon students

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Instructors’ Quotes

REGULARS

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Local News Kumon Brunei official website

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Parenting Tips How much screen time should your children under 5 get?

Have a good read and a great rest of the year ahead.

Han PR & Marketing, Kumon Singapore & Brunei Scan the QR code to find out more and download the softcopy.

Tel: +65 6232 5855 Fax: +65 6232 5822/33 E-mail: sg-kaoweb@kumonglobal.com Website: bn.kumonglobal.com INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY NOTICE The logos, graphics, pictures, design, and layout (“Contents”) of this entire newsletter are the exclusive property of Kumon Asia & Oceania Pte Ltd. The Contents contained in this newsletter shall not be reproduced or copied without the express written consent of Kumon Asia & Oceania Pte Ltd. © 2019 Kumon Asia & Oceania Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.

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My life, my dream

K

atelyn Teoh is Kumon Brunei’s first Kumon Completer; completing the Kumon Mathematics Programme in January this year. The grade 9 student shares with us a little insight into her route to completing the Mathematics Programme.

Katelyn is an avid sportsperson and reader. She enjoys various sports, with running as her main sporting interest and always participates in her school’s Sports Day. She has been attending Karate classes for the past three years and is currently on a brown belt. Science-fiction and fantasy are her favourite genres of choice reads.

Recalling her experiences going to Kumon classes, Katelyn revealed that her father brought her to her Kumon centre and she felt happy and grateful that she got to attend her classes.

She looked forward to learning from any mistakes made in her Kumon worksheets and correcting them.

Managing both school and Kumon homework over the years was not difficult for Katelyn as she finishes her school homework in school, thus having her afternoons and nights free to complete her Kumon homework and indulge in her hobbies.

When quizzed on at what point in her Kumon studies she decided to complete the Mathematics Programme, Katelyn revealed that she was already aiming to complete the programme from the start. She believed in doing everything until the very end and not giving up halfway.

Having a very supportive Kumon Instructor who encouraged her at every step of the way also helped in her journey to complete the Mathematics Programme.

The most difficult point in Katelyn’s Kumon journey was when she faced the Kumon Mathematics Level ‘N’ worksheets; working on loci, quadratic inequalities, sequences, series, limits and differentiation. She could not understand how to solve the questions and repeated the worksheets a few times. With the help of her Kumon Instructor, and with some online research done, she managed to overcome this obstacle.

School work now is easier because she has gone through most of the topics at Kumon. When faced with new topics in school, she is able to understand them easily on her own as self-learning was an ability that has been cultivated in her.

Katelyn Teoh Shu Hui, 14 Kumon subject/s completed: Mathematics

Year of completion: 2019

School grade level at time of subject/s completion: Grade 9

Starting level: B 1

Advice for Kumon students?

“Concentrate and try hard to solve the questions by yourself.

If you really cannot get it, seek help from your instructor, parents, or even the internet. Take breaks if you feel that you are too tired to finish the worksheets.

Most importantly, don’t give up and try your best!”

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My life, my dream

K

ah Lok enrolled in the Mathematics and English programmes 2 years ago after his mother, Yee Ping, wanted to develop his self-discipline, thinking ability and independence in doing his work. She was further encouraged by Kah Lok’s keen interest in doing the Kumon worksheets.

Kah Lok was already reading all sorts of books and materials in his earlier years so when he started the English Programme, his love for reading grew from all the stories in the worksheets. He was always looking forward to the next worksheet for a new story.

“My favourite part about going to Kumon is that I can gain many ideas and knowledge in the centre,” shared Kah Lok. He further revealed that he reads every day, whether in school or at home. There seems to be no boundaries to what sort of literature this avid reader devours; ranging from novels and comics to cook books and dictionaries of various languages. He counts ‘The Astronomy Book’ as one of his favourite reads as he got to know about the many planets and the universe. He is currently immersed in a book on the periodic table. Yee Ping shared that her son was able to recall all 118 elements of the periodic table in sequence. He visits his school library to borrow new books and when they pass by a bookstore, he would request to buy a book.

“He’s like a piece of iron attracted to a magnet – the magnet being a book,” Yee Ping elaborated.

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Managing both the Mathematics and English programmes was not difficult for Kah Lok and he could finish the daily worksheets within a short time. As the level of difficulty increased with his progression, he struggled initially and would get demotivated. His parents’ constant encouragement allowed him to persevere and overcome any challenges. Even with more school work now that he is in Year 4, Kah Lok finds no difficulties in coping and manages to get good grades.

From initially being a very shy and quiet boy, Yee Ping has seen Kah Lok grow in confidence; which he has shown through communicating and interacting with his peers. Kah Lok would be excited to share new knowledge he learnt or read about with his peers. He is now the family’s English teacher and tops the household in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation. Whenever his mother is busy, he checks on his younger brother’s school work and does revision with him, all on his own accord. Yee Ping has seen that Kah Lok has developed an understanding that hard work is required to achieve something better, and that nothing comes easy without putting the best effort.

At last year’s Advanced Student Honour Roll Ceremony, the aspiring scientist received his 6-months advanced award for both the Kumon programmes. His next aim? To continue advancing in his studies to achieve the awards every year and subsequently to complete both the Mathematics and English programmes.

Ting Kah Lok, 9 Student School Grade Level: Year 4

Subjects Enrolled in: English and Mathematics Worksheet/s Level:

English: FI 80 (Interpreting Text), Mathematics: F 150 (Four Operations 9) Starting level:

English: AI 1, Mathematics: 2A 1

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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

atip

Ms Feby L runei Kumon B

Mrs Jasly

n Hoon

Kumon S

I is one that work skills ’s ild t ch ye a !) g allenging Developin cial (and ch u cr . d ry ke ve o e o rl find to b sily be ove ce may ea children er g n its importan u yo r ecially so fo p es tion span is n is te h T a shorter at e av h ly to lly ctors is real who natura le as Instru ro r u e to O av h s. and focu ow that we ills short wind sk is th rk o e w is t maxim ts the righ en d u st r u o inculcate in we can. as much as skills is ild’s work at once a ch th t b how the u e o d se No ed, can we p o el ev child. d enefit the sufficiently can truly b y d u st n o daily Kum

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ingapore

A child with go od work machin skills is e at its like a w p e a k efficie to deliv ell-oiled ncy. Su er quali ch a ch ty work ild is ab in great shortes le quantity t possib within th Having le perio e good w d o f ti m ork skills e. engage thus allo d while w a chil learning having e d to be fu steadily xtra tim lly each da e to enjo y and sti y an arr ll ay of ac interest tivities th and enri Children ch them at these d . a y s are so parents hard-pre are ofte ssed fo n torn b r time a etween nd making and allo them stu w ing them I think th dy to play. e secre t in find ing that equilibri having g um lies ood wo in rk 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 further in th n, work skill ss re couraging og en pr d to In my opinio order ors’ clear an ct ru st students in In assigned. h worksheets loped throug of ve l de ve le be ht n ca momentum rents and rig Work skills ets with high ort from pa he pp ks su or w e the m le ho will hand heets from instruction, t work skills me of works en lu ci vo ffi g su bi ith ith . dw Students w easy levels been traine rtably with as they have ping comfo co e and speed ar ey hile th beginning w

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Local News

Kumon Brunei Official Website

5 Kumon Centres Now in Brunei

Have you checked out our recently launched official website?

Head to https://bn.kumonglobal.com if you have not done so already!

Follow us on Facebook – KumonBruneiOfficial, to keep track of the latest news and happenings.

Kumon Brunei has expanded to five learning Centres in the country! Kumon Excellence started operating in Tanjung Bunut in December 2018 and Kumon Ascend recently opened its doors in Kuala Belait in May 2019. With the addition of these two Centres, Kumon Brunei aims to provide the experience of learning with the Kumon Method to more children around Brunei. Kumon Brunei looks forward to furthering the development of independent and proactive individuals who know how to learn independently.

Congratulations to our first 2 Kumon Completers We have our first two Kumon Completers in Brunei this year!

Kumon Completers are students who have fully completed at least one of the Kumon programmes.

Katelyn Teoh and Farisha Rafiqah completed the Kumon Mathematics Programme; reaching up to Level ‘O’ worksheets where students acquire skills to work with advanced differentiation, applications of differential calculus, indefinite and definite integrals and differential equations.

Read about Katelyn’s experiences in Kumon in the ‘My Life, My Dream’ section of Potential. Farisha also had a piece of advice to Kumon students currently working towards their goals.

“To the other Kumon students, I know it’s hard, but that’s life. You may not know it, but it’ll benefit you in the future. The strongest hearts have endured the most pain, so keep fighting! It’s alright to fail; you just have to get back up on your feet. Don’t only take your newfound knowledge with you but also, the values that you’ll learn in the long run. Follow your dreams!”

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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,” 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

RECOMMENDATIONS AT A GLANCE infant Less than 1 year old

0 minutes

children 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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The Origins of the Kumon Method

After more than half a century, his philosophy still continues to help many children develop the ability to reach for their goals and dreams.

Kumon offers learning opportunities in more than 50 different countries and regions around the world.

Handmade materials created

by Toru Kumon for his son (Takeshi) in 1954.

Toru Kumon (Founder of the Kumon Method)