Kumon Math Worksheets

This article is about Kumon Math Worksheets and where to find them if your child is not currently enrolled in the Kumon math program.

As a mom, my children have for many years been enrolled in the full Kumon Math program, but there have also been times whether for financial reasons or because of time constraints I couldn't have my children enrolled. At that time I looked for an at-home alternative to Kumon Worksheets. After trying to find other printable sheets of questions I realized that the layout and the problems just weren't as good as the Kumon ones.

Then, one day, I discovered that Kumon actually makes workbooks for you to use at home that you can buy at various places online. Unlike the $100 a month per subject to enrol in the full Kumon program they cost just a few dollars per book, for problems that are an identical style to those you get at a Kumon center. Each book has pages and pages of math problems that would last us for quite some time.

You can find these workbooks online by clicking here.

If you would like to read about how the full Kumon program works please read my Kumon Math Review to read about my experiences with the program.

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Within the full Kumon program children complete a 20 page workbook that takes approximately 20 minutes of work per subject a day.

However the workbooks used in the full program are much smaller than those you can buy online with each page containing far fewer questions.

Using the at home workbooks produced by Kumon, you can adjust the number of pages that your child completes so that the volume is challenging but never overwhelming. You can also decide whether your child would be better using a more or less advanced booklet than is recommended for their age group. Generally, parents are very good judges of their child's natural abilities and can be responsive in adjusting the level if the child is struggling.

One tip that is used at Kumon within its own centers is to make sure that the work you give your child at first is simple for them to complete. This gives them the confidence that they can answer the questions and will help them to feel more positive about math right from the beginning. Aim to do little and often. A child will be far more willing to do 10-15 minutes a day than an hour or two less frequently. Generally, the booklets in the centers take 15-20 minutes a day to complete. You can judge whether this is too much or too little for your child. You can also adapt the workload according to their other homework commitments which is an advantage over studying the full Kumon program at a Kumon centre.

If your child struggles with a particular aspect of mathematics consider picking a book that is a grade level below their actual grade level.

This will give them confidence when they first start and are able to complete it easily. Once they have gained confidence and feel competent at the basics, move them up to their correct grade level. Similarly, if your child is particularly gifted at math consider extending them by offering worksheets from a grade level up from their actual school grade level.

If in doubt remember that it is better to start with a level that is too easy rather than one that is too hard. An easy starting point helps give the child confidence that they are capable of succeeding at math.

Something that happens at a Kumon centre is repeating the same booklets again and again. You can also do this at home. If you feel your child still hasn't mastered the topic covered by a particular workbook, repeat that book before moving onto another. In order to be competent according to Kumon, your child should not only be able to complete the work correctly, but also do it quickly. This is the point where the work is so easy to them that they don't have to think about what they are doing.

View Kumon workbooks on Amazon by clicking this link

When it comes to multiplication repetition is the key. Combine completing pages from a workbook with other methods of teaching times tables, such as times tables songs, multiplication dvds, posters on the back of the bathroom door, as well as times table flash cards. It's a great idea to also play multiplication tracks when you are in the car- it can be slightly irritating as a parent but also helps with your own recall. I found when doing this with my eldest child, that the younger child picked them up too by singing along.

I used Kumon as the main method to teach my daughter her times tables and the result has been fantastic. She is easily the child with the fastest recall in the class and this gives her so much confidence when tackling other math problems as she does not need to worry about whether she is calculating correctly, she can focus on the actual nature of the problem. She did complain about the repetition but it has made such a difference to her mental arithmetic which has then allowed her to complete much harder maths and problem solving questions much more easily.

Division is a hard concept for many children to grasp at the beginning. I began by explaining it to my children using simple coins and counters before moving them on to problems in a book. Like multiplication, division gets much easier the more you practice. Also, it's really important that your child has completely mastered multiplication and know their multiplication tables inside out, before they move onto division. If you child doesn't know at least their 1-10 times tables with instant recall you should do more multiplication worksheets before moving onto division.

I find jelly beans or candies really help to get my children interested in division. It's amazing how careful they can be to get the shares just right when they know they might get to eat some of them if they get the answer correct! Letting them eat the "remainders" of each question can be a great way of getting them excited about learning when booklets alone get a little bit too dry.

Watch this 4 year old doing math using this program. Of course, most 4 year olds don't need to do math like this, but older children do, and doing these booklets can help them.

It's important when teaching your child math to help them to understand that it isn't just a classroom subject, but something that is used constantly in every day life. So let them use the math they learn. Let them help with cooking, adding up the cost of things in shops, working out how many favor bags you will need for their party... the opportunities are endless and will help them to see why what they are doing is useful.