July 11, 2008 6:54 PM
Kumon Workbooks - I like them!
I first heard of Kumon when our next door neighbors in Novato sent their children to Kumon classes after school to enhance their education. Kumon has an excellent reputation, so when they contacted me to review their new line or workbooks geared for younger learners, I was interested in seeing what they had come up with for use at home.
I really like these books a lot! They are bold and vivid without being obnoxiously cluttered. Very, very inviting. And very well-designed to accomplish what they set out to do.
You'll see what I mean from the sample pages. From My First Book of Tracing, ages 2-4 (pre-writing skills):
My Book of Easy Telling Time, ages 4-6:
Amazing Mazes 4-6 (pre-writing skills plus reasoning ability):
If we all had lots of money, there would be no downside to these books as they are aesthetically topnotch - designed with elegant simplicity. The only problem is that they are a little pricey for families on a budget.
Here's what I'm going to do with mine: Take the pages out and laminate the sheets so they can be reused by children and grandchildren. I've said before that a laminator is an excellent investment for any mom of more than one child as it will help you preserve your teaching materials.
Some of my readers have come up with novel approaches to securing one for themselves - splitting the cost and sharing with neighbors and friends, or asking grandparents for one for Christmas.
You can see all the Kumon books atwww.kumonbooks.com. You can buy them at Amazon - and I notice that there are some used copies and even brand-new copies available at less than half the retail price.
As Shanna points out in the comments below, at Amazon you can use their 4 for 3 promotion and opt for Super Saver shipping at checkout. If you are ordering from Amazon, please remember to use my link to help support MommyLife. Thank you!
Posted in Homeschooling, Preschoolers, Toddlers | Permalink
Comments
These are also sold by Timberdoodle, a Christian homeschooling family-owned business. Their prices are somewhat less, particularly if you buy them in sets: http://www.timberdoodle.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=kumon&btnSearch=GO&Page=1 I am not affiliated with Timberdoodle in any way, just have had great customer service and quick shipping through them. And we LOVE Kumon workbooks around here (from a homeschooling mom to 4).
Posted by: Cathy | July 11, 2008 8:42 PM
I just started using some Kumon books with my younger two a couple of months ago. I wrote something about it for a recent "Works for me Wednesday," in fact: http://greenkneesocks.blogspot.com/2008/06/kumon-and-try-it-it-works-for-me.html
Barnes and Noble carries them (they seem to be stocking more and more learning materials now) and they have a 20% off educators' discount. Just bring in some proof of status as a homeschooler, such as a school district "approval" letter or affidavit if you have those,an HSLDA card,etc .
Posted by: Marian | July 11, 2008 10:31 PM
Laminating them is such a good idea! (As if I needed another reason to buy a laminator.) My two 5yo boys loved doing some of the workbooks, but they went through them so fast that I couldn't bring myself to buy more. This would solve that problem and they could do the pages over and over again. Thanks!
Posted by: Elizabeth | July 11, 2008 11:10 PM
I have the "tracing" book. I believe I purchased it from Mardel's. I haven't had much success with it yet, but we're trying!
Posted by: lauren | July 12, 2008 12:26 AM
Our first Kumon workbooks arrived yesterday, and my twin girls love them already! These books are very colorful, and are of excellent quality with strong paper. I wanted to point out that Amazon offers the 4 for 3 promotion on these workbooks, plus I got free super saver shipping. So ultimately I paid less than 21 dollars for 4 workbooks, around 5 dollars each. A little pricey, but still reasonable considering the high quality of this product. I will definitely be ordering 4 more when we finish these!
Posted by: Shanna | July 12, 2008 8:16 AM
I did Kumon as a kid and loved it! I would definitely recommend this for any kid who needs some extra time in math or any kid who just thinks math is fun!
That laminating idea is a good one. I will be using that in the future.
Posted by: Momma | July 13, 2008 11:08 PM
