[Working Mom x Educational Development] #1 Looking Ahead to Middle School Entrance Exams: My 1st-Grade Daughter's Deviation Score Over 65. What We've Done and the Background
This note is the first in a series documenting the "learning journey" I have taken with my first-grade daughter, centered on the theme of "working parents x educational development."
In this installment, I have written about her Kumon history, Eiken results, mock exam scores, and the background of our family's approach.
My daughter is currently in the first grade of elementary school. In June, she passed the Eiken Grade 5 exam, and in the National Unified Elementary School Student Test taken that same month, her deviation scores were 68.3 in math, 62.2 in Japanese, and 65.9 for the two subjects combined. Regarding math in particular, the cram school teacher remarked, "It is truly remarkable to achieve these results without having done any elementary school entrance exam preparation."
The background to this lies in her daily study habits. She has been doing Kumon since she was a toddler and is currently continuing with three subjects: Japanese, math, and English.
She started at age 2.5 (Japanese), 3.5 (math), and 4.5 (English), and has received the High Achiever Award consecutively from her nursery school years through her final year of kindergarten. I feel that her personal aptitude combined with the power of consistency has led to her current results.
That said, our daily life is not entirely focused on studying. Currently, she attends after-school care four days a week on weekdays and goes to the Kumon classroom one day. She is a seven-year-old who laughs and plays a lot, watching YouTube and playing games while also participating in activities like swimming on the weekends.
Regarding Kumon, it is actually not what I would call "stoic."
For English, we try to do even just one or two problems during the short time between breakfast and leaving for school on weekdays. As for math and Japanese, during her nursery school days, she did them between dinner and bath time. I would resume my work next to her to finish up my remaining tasks, so a family routine formed naturally. After entering elementary school, we switched to a style where she finishes her school homework and Kumon worksheets together at after-school care. Thanks to that, all she has to do when she gets home is read aloud.
Looking back, I think our daily efforts boil down to the accumulation of "simple" and "sustainable habits."
As a parent, to ensure she could continue with Kumon, I have made it a priority to just get her to "start," sometimes saying things like, "Just one sheet is fine," or "If you start within a minute, two sheets is okay."
Learning is about "habituation over volume."
As long as this rhythm is not broken, children will not waver much, even if the content becomes somewhat difficult.
That is why, as a first step in educational development, I want to continue sharing the importance of accumulating "a little bit every day."
▼ Click here for other articles in this series
#2 : "How did you carve out time for educational development while working full-time?" (In preparation)
#3 : "The 'preparation from age 2' behind her English proficiency" (In preparation)
#4 : "Was the source of her math ability 'daily encouragement' all along?" (In preparation)