Kumon Brunei - Potential 2020 Issue 1

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

JAN -JUN 2020

KUMON FEATURE A Strong Start Makes A Difference

PARENTING TIPS Why Reading in Early Years Counts?

MY LIFE,

MY DREAM Gabriel Wong Kai Jie Ling Yu Sheng

Editor’s Note

Dear readers,

ON THE COVER JAN - JUN 2020 GABRIEL WONG KAI JIE

Welcome to a brand new year with Kumon! I hope you had a good year-end holiday and are feeling energised for the year ahead. 2020 will mark the fifth year since Kumon opened its doors in Brunei; joining over fifty countries and regions worldwide where more than four million students learn and grow with Kumon.

Year on year in Brunei, we are delighted to see Kumon students coming to our Centres to learn, grow and challenge themselves to achieve greater heights whilst fulfilling their potential. Demand for Kumon’s Mathematics and English programmes remains strong

Contents MY LIFE, MY DREAM

03

Gabriel Wong Kai Jie

and is growing steadily. We would like to thank all Kumon families for your continuous support moving ahead into the next five years and many more as we

04 Ling Yu Sheng

continue to nurture our younger generation.

Speaking of the younger generation, within this issue of Potential, we hear from two young students about their experiences with Kumon. Gabriel Wong (five years old) and Ling Yu Sheng (eight years old) grace our pages as they and their parents share how learning with Kumon has instilled certain skills and values in them.

During last year’s ASHR ceremonies, we saw a 26% increase in the number of awardees. This signifies the ever-growing number of students who are studying beyond their current school grade level. It is definitely a very encouraging sign of the Kumon Method

FEATURES Article 06 Regional A Strong Start Makes A Difference

08

REGULARS

10

Local News Advanced Students Honour Roll (ASHR) 2019

11

Parenting Tips Why Reading In Early Years Counts?

flourishing both at home and in the Centres.

Here’s wishing the best for all Kumon families in the year ahead and keep doing your best. Have a good read and a fantastic year ahead!

Instructors’ Quotes

Do follow us on Kumon Brunei’s official Facebook page - @KumonBruneiOfficial for the latest updates.

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. © 2020 Kumon Asia & Oceania Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.

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My life, my dream

M

s. Sheren, Gabriel’s mother was intrigued by what Kumon provides after she stumbled upon a Kumon advertisement on Instagram. Thereafter, she enrolled her son thinking, “Let’s give Kumon a try and hope it can help Gabriel with his reading and writing.”

First impressions can be long-lasting, and the old expression that you never have a second chance to make a first impression is certainly true in the class.

Recounting one year ago when Gabriel first joined Kumon at the age of four, he revealed, “I was happy and excited about going to the Kumon class. And now, I still feel the same way.” Besides looking forward to seeing his Kumon teachers, Gabriel shared that he enjoys doing Kumon worksheets in the Centre.

At Kumon, students begin study from a point that they can do easily, without making judgments based on age or school grade level. This enables them to experience the joy of learning.

The joy of learning continued to grow at home. Ms. Sheren recalled, “Gabriel just wanted to play and he was not able to focus on his school

homework.” After joining Kumon, he is more eager and is able to focus better on completing both his school homework and Kumon worksheets. Ms. Sheren further elaborated that the daily Kumon worksheets not only builds his confidence but also helps him to get into the homework routine.

Gabriel is enrolled in both Mathematics and English in Kumon. In just a few months, Ms. Sheren is pleasantly surprised by the progress Gabriel has made. She recalls, “To begin with, Gabriel could not really read and write before joining Kumon.” From then, she shared that Gabriel is able to read more words and is picking the habit of reading. With the acquired counting skills, Gabriel is also managing his own pocket money.

Ms. Sheren also discovered that Gabriel is constantly curious about new words. She shared, “His mind is always clouded with what, why and how whenever he comes across any new words”. In addition, she is particularly delighted to see his son enjoying both English and Mathematics and she does not have to force him to sit down and

study and complete his homework.

Gabriel enjoys cycling, building Lego, practicing piano and reading books during his free time. Currently, he is reading a book titled “Peter and Jane”, a children’s book for early readers.

And this little man aspires to become a policeman when he grows up.

Gabriel Wong Kai Jie, 5 Current Worksheet level Maths 2A 150 (Addition) English 2A 10 (Learning to read and write) Starting level

Maths 5A1 (Reciting Numbers) English 7A1 (Repeating and Reciting words) Ambition

To be a Policeman

3

My life, my dream

Discover, Learn & Engage “Yu Sheng has always shown great interest in learning through understanding of concepts and meanings of words,” revealed his mother, Maureen.

His parents decided to enrol him in Kumon so he could explore his curiosity of learning new ideas. They also felt that Kumon offered the opportunity for Yu Sheng to experience discovery learning; what we at Kumon term as ‘self-learning’.

“I started Kumon when I was 4

five years old. I felt nervous at first but also excited because it was a new learning adventure,” revealed Yu Sheng.

Maureen observed that Yu Sheng worked really well with the daily scheduled timetables.

“He is very committed to the time set for him; time set aside for Kumon, bedtime and also play time. He feels comfortable and is assured of the expectations in his routines,” shared Maureen.

Ling Yu Sheng, 8 Student School Grade Level Year 2

Subjects Enrolled in Mathematics (Level G30) Starting Level

Maths, Level E30

“Nowadays, I feel more confident and enjoy the classes more as the learning becomes more challenging and exciting.

My favourite part about going to Kumon is to do the assigned classwork with the introduction of new mathematical concepts,” shared Yu Sheng.

Maureen observed that her son had become more confident and independent with his school work and required minimal guidance both at home and in school. He is also more responsible in his school work and is aware of his achievements through selfevaluation of his work.

When Yu Sheng got to the point where he was studying two years ahead of his school grade level, his parents were both excited and worried at the same time. They do not want him to feel overwhelmed and pressured. However, he continued to demonstrate his ability to manage well and the advancement in his studies kept him engaged through challenging him at the appropriate level.

understand fractions at a younger age than my peers and I feel more confident in answering mathematics questions in school and in everyday situations. I help my friends quite a lot in school when we work in groups to solve problems,” Yu Sheng revealed.

Maureen can see that her son now has a sense of responsibility and is aware that he needs to commit time and effort to complete his work.

He is able to understand the importance of dividing his time between school work and pleasure. In his leisure time, Yu Sheng enjoys building Lego sets, playing badminton, watching cartoons and spends at least 10 minutes reading every day. He counts the Horrid Henry series and The Adventures of Tintin as his favourite reads.

“I want to learn Algebra before I turn 10 years old. I also want to achieve my dream of getting a Kumon trophy and becoming a successful businessman in future,” Yu Sheng remarked.

“Kumon has helped me 5

Regional Article

A Strong Start Makes A Difference

Studies have shown that the first five years of a child’s life are crucial to their development. It is an incredibly important time for them to develop essential learning and life skills, that has a direct impact on their future achievements in school and the adult they will become.

What makes Kumon unique and different?

Children as young as three years old can enrol in programmes offered by Kumon. Its unique method of learning is tailored to suit each individual child’s ability and needs, allowing your little ones to take small steps towards their goals. Through this learning journey, your child will also become more independent, resilient and confident.

Here’s how Kumon Method of Learning helps to build these early foundational skills.

Developing motor skills

6

Your child’s mastery of their finemotor skills, or the use of hands, will allow him or her greater independence, as well as good handwriting skills. Handwriting is

such an important skill to have for future reading, communication and written expression. This is why it is important to make sure the building blocks for handwriting are solid.

Before the young ones are able to write letters and numbers, they will need to have proper pencil grip and a certain level of pencil skills. Kumon understands just how important fine motor skills can unlock a child’s full potential, and its Pencil Skills Programme is specifically designed to develop a child’s ability to write.

Our exercises gently progress children from colouring pictures with a thick crayon to carefully drawing straight and curved lines, as well as intricate design with a pencil. We know there are many stages before a child can write with dexterity, and our programme and our Instructors

develop early learners through all the stages.

As children continue to progress with Kumon, they’ll eventually be able to join their letters, form sentences and write neatly with speed and accuracy.

Instilling academic ability and skills Kumon develops academic ability in our early learners. They are exposed to their very first reading and mathematical concepts.

Depending on their ability, the early learners enrolled in Kumon Maths will be learning to count, read, trace and write numbers, whereas those enrolled in Kumon English will be learning to recite words, phrases and short sentences, as well as tracing and writing the alphabets.

These worksheets are colourful with attractive pictures to keep the little minds engaged while learning.

their little milestones and achievements to encourage our little early learners.

Our early learners will learn to read and follow instructions, and to follow a clear study flow – academic skills that are important to prepare them for school later.

“Parents should give their children acknowledgement and praise; they should be patient and should not rush; they should not easily become angered and should strive to provide their children with things that interest them,” Mr. Toru Kumon wrote in The Strengths of the Kumon Method on how he thought parents should support their child’s development.

Nurturing good attitude towards study Children are keen to learn by nature and our engaging worksheets facilitate their learning while keeping their interest burning. Our Instructors and assistants help by assigning worksheets that are “just-right” for them.

Our Kumon Instructors and assistants, as well as our Kumon parents can help to support this interest by praising and celebrating

Having observed that the common traits in Kumon Centres, where Instructors have nurtured many children to become excellent students, Mr. Minoru Maeda, president of Kumon Asia and Oceania, shared his hope for our Kumon Instructors.

“Both Instructors and parents can convey to young children the feeling of ‘let’s enjoy learning in the Centre’, so as to spark their interest and learn actively, and grow up to enjoy learning,’” Maeda wrote in one of his monthly messages to Instructors.

“Instructors, I hope you and your assistants can also respond to early learners with smiles, and do not forget to praise and encourage them,” he continued.

When children are young, they are learning sponges. Every new experience, every word they learn, every behaviour they adopt, are all about honing and molding the holistic child, which will eventually form the basis of their lifelong journey.

7

Feature

Ms Bar bra Tan Ku mon Sin

gapore

The path of learning poses many challenges, conquering them needs great courage and perseverance.

In order to equip early learners with the right study approach for advance learning, we build a systematic learning plan and work together with parents to achieve our learning goals.

Guiding and motivating students to keep trying, praising and encouraging them frequently, we want to build young and confident self-learners who enjoy studying on their own!

Ms Suvra Nanda

Kumon India & Sri Lanka

8

Early learners come to Kumon Centre with a lot of ambiguity. They wonder “what is all this about, will my mom be there?� For them the first point of interaction needs to be very warm and comforting experience. While administering the Diagnostic Test, I make sure that the child gets a feeling this is something I can do or want to do.

I want them to have a good experience with Kumon starting from Diagnostic Test. Early learners learn from examples, hence modelling and doing it together with them supports their learning progress.

Instructors’ Quotes I’ve learned that young children love routines, being able to complete a task successfully and be showered with praises.

By starting at each of their ‘just-right’ level, our early learners experience success each time they complete a set of Kumon worksheet and activities in the Centre.

“

Expectations are clearly communicated to parents/guardians of early learners. Their support and encouragement make a world of difference to our early learners!

Ms Cindy Koh Kumon Brunei

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Laozi

Ms Tan Hwa Choo

Kumon very much embodies this quote. The first few worksheets of a new topic are presented in a strikingly simplistic manner in order to promote a fundamental understanding in the students; especially in early learners. The complexity of the worksheets slowly builds upon itself in such a way that allows the students to see the connection from one level of understanding to another. The Kumon progressing system also allows me as an instructor to ensure that the fundamental building blocks are not forsaken as student progress further in their Kumon journey.

Kumon Malaysia 9

Local News

Advanced Students Honour Roll (ASHR) 2019 In September 2019, we celebrated the achievements of 332 students who were studying ahead (6 months, 2 years, 3 years and 5 years) of the Kumon International Standard (KIS) at ASHR ceremonies held by their Kumon centres. This is an increase of 26% in the number of students studying ahead of their school grade level as compared to the year before!

Along with these awardees, we also had 4 Kumon Completers; students who have fully completed at least one of the Kumon programmes. 3 Completers were from the Mathematics programme and 1 Completer was from the English programme.

Two of the youngest awardees were just 3 years old. They were both studying 6 months ahead of their school grade level.

For the 5-years-ahead awardees, the youngest was a Grade 2 student who was awarded for both subjects. The other two 5-years-ahead awardees were a Grade 7 and Grade 8 student for the Mathematics programme.

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Achievement (2019)

No. of Awards

5 Years Ahead

4

3 Years Ahead

40

2 Years Ahead

62

6 Months Ahead

226

Parenting Tips

Why Reading In Early Years Counts?

Reading is one of the most essential skills children need to learn for lifelong success. It helps to form the building blocks of language and literacy in the first three years of a child’s life.

Enjoying books and reading stories from an early age will help to increase children’s ability to understand words, develop creativity and imagination. It also helps in their speech development too.

How to encourage good reading habits in our little ones?

Try these 10 easy tips to encourage good reading habits in your child by making them fun.

1 Create reading spaces for your little ones

6 Make reading fun

Fostering a love of books and of reading gives your little ones a

As you read to your child, point out interesting objects or

great start in life. By creating a cosy, comfortable reading nook,

characters, the “red balloon” in Goodnight Moon or “Jerry

you will give them every reason to fall in love with the world of

Jordan” in Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book to

books and reading.

them to trigger their interests.

2 Set an example

7 Talk about what your child is reading

Be a role model and read in front of your child. Watching you

After your child has finished a book, talk about what

reading books or newspapers shows your child that reading is

happened or what his or her favourite part was. This helps

important. You can also encourage him or her to join you with his

to develop and enhance their comprehension skills.

or her own book.

3 Reading with your child

8 Reading beyond home Teach your child that reading is more than just books. It can

Set aside some time to read to your child. It is a time for closeness,

transcend from indoor to outdoor too. Practice reading street

laughing and having great conversations together. This great

names, road signs, instructions, and more. Show your child

bonding will also help to him or her to become lifelong readers.

that reading is everywhere.

4 Visit your local library

9 Praise your child

Visits to child-friendly libraries will make your child want to read.

As you read to your children, you may notice certain small

Making reading fun can be easy with a library card. Let your

achievements. It could be them completing a book in one

child pick out a book of their choice - one that caught his or her

sitting, or repeating the word “balloon” after you. Celebrate

attention from the Children’s Section.

these little achievements by praising them and let them feel

5 Pick books at the just-right level

good about reading.

Help your child find books that are not too hard or too easy.

10 Read each night

Children have better reading experiences when they read books

Make reading part of your child’s bedtime routine, and they

at the right level. You can check your choices by having your child

like routine. A good cuddle and bedtime story can help calm

read a few pages to you. If your child struggles with reading the

them down, and sleep better at night.

words, try a different book.

Reading should be fun, not frustrating.

If you are unsure of what are the age-appropriate books to select for your child, the Kumon Recommended Reading List (RRL) is a good resource to help you get started with.

The RRL consists of 380 carefully curated titles, intended to help students find books that they will enjoy reading, and to encourage them to read books from a wide range of genres and styles.

The RRL can also be viewed here: http://www.kumon-english-rrl.com/

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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)