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It depends on what your child needs. Many of these places use a set curriculum and pre- and post-test with their own materials. If your child just needs additional practice to gain comfort and automaticity with the basics, then this might be fine. But the more complex your child's learning needs are, the more you need somebody with expertise in that area, as opposed to somebody following a curriculum.
It depends on what your child needs. Many of these places use a set curriculum and pre- and post-test with their own materials. If your child just needs additional practice to gain comfort and automaticity with the basics, then this might be fine. But the more complex your child's learning needs are, the more you need somebody with expertise in that area, as opposed to somebody following a curriculum.
That's right on... My kids were enrolled in Kumon for a very short time. It was exactly as you described - just a set curriculum/worksheets with frequent testing. Lots of repetition/drill 'n kill. There were really no teachers/experienced tutors on staff at this center. I think this program can work for people who need the routine/accountability of regulary attending a learning center. I ended up just purchasing some comparable homeschool curriculum at a fraction of the price.
Ok - maybe not good for my child - who has dysgraphia. (can't handwrite) The big problems are in writing/composition as you may suspect. We are getting him tested so he can possibly be eligible for an alphasmart keyboard to use at his desk.
We have a place here called The Handwriting Clinic that has classes taught by Occupational Therapists. I think they use Handwriting Without Tears. Have you heard of that? My son is also dysgraphic. He attends a private LD school and some of the other kids in the younger grades use Alphasmarts. From 7th-12th grade all kids are issued laptops. It really helps.
Again, depending on the severity of the dysgraphia, you can run into the same problem with OT's. There are a number of large OT practices in my area that basically put kids through a program (though they tend not be franchises like the learning centers). You might be better off with an individual practitioner who can design a specific program for your child.
Is he in a public school? An alpha smart should be allowed. We also have some of our students use digital voice recorders for homework instead of having to write it down.
Our daughter had bad problems (math, reading, comprehension). We tried private tutors and school teacher tutors - nothing really improved.
We talked to the school about Sylvan and they discouraged us claiming they just "teach to a test" (guess what, isn't that what the public schools are doing?)....
We put it off a year because of the schools comment and she kept going downhill.
In dispair we finally went to Sylvan in late 5th grade (she was flunking). We stayed with Sylvan thru Junior High. She entered High School a year above grade level and became an A/B student. Sylvan was the best investment we ever made.
I would go there again in a second. I'm just sorry we didn't go there sooner.
All of the teachers we encountered at Sylvan were certified teachers. In almost every case, they were a public school teacher who was working Sylvan part-time. They said the best part of their work day was at Sylvan - low ratios (4:1) and they were working with people that wanted to learn.
I can't explain their system, but it does work. They are very focused on a certain set of skills for each 8 hour block (maybe 12 hour). They get tested 3 times to insure retention.
Our daughter had bad problems (math, reading, comprehension). We tried private tutors and school teacher tutors - nothing really improved.
We talked to the school about Sylvan and they discouraged us claiming they just "teach to a test" (guess what, isn't that what the public schools are doing?)....
We put it off a year because of the schools comment and she kept going downhill.
In dispair we finally went to Sylvan in late 5th grade (she was flunking). We stayed with Sylvan thru Junior High. She entered High School a year above grade level and became an A/B student. Sylvan was the best investment we ever made.
I would go there again in a second. I'm just sorry we didn't go there sooner.
All of the teachers we encountered at Sylvan were certified teachers. In almost every case, they were a public school teacher who was working Sylvan part-time. They said the best part of their work day was at Sylvan - low ratios (4:1) and they were working with people that wanted to learn.
I can't explain their system, but it does work. They are very focused on a certain set of skills for each 8 hour block (maybe 12 hour). They get tested 3 times to insure retention.
Great great program... worth every penny we paid.
This does sound much better than the Kumon program. I didn't meet one certified teacher on staff at our center. All the tutors were H.S. students working after school. I'm not sure if all the Kumon centers are like this...
I do know a few people who went to sylvan with good results. Also, know a person who sent their kids to kumon and really do well in math now. Although my son has no problems with math and science. It is the writing.
I will have to contact sylvan, if we don't qualify for a keyboard in class. He is being tested to see right now. We have a meeting in a few weeks about this. Which we do think will help. He has been typing at home for the last 2 years. And can use the classroom keyboard. He just needs one at his desk.
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