At what age are the 6A Kumon maths materials?
The 6A material is the first material in Kumon maths. As the age at which Kumon can be started is often from the age of three, many children will start working on 6A at the age of three or four.
What kind of Kumon Math 6A materials are they?
First, let's check the explanations of the Kumon formulas.
Through illustrations, counting ● and reading numbers, children become fully familiar with numbers up to 10 and develop the ability to move on to 5A materials. The goal is for children to be able to read and easily recite numbers up to 10, and to count illustrations and ● up to 10 to grasp the number of pieces.
The approach to the concept of numbers is seen to be based on various aspects, such as objects, symbols and numbers.
What are the key points of attack for Kumon Maths 6A?
The important thing to keep in mind here is to clearly understand the difference between 'counting' and 'recognising numbers'.
Here, 'counting' means being able to point to something and say '1, 2, 3...' while pointing at something. From an adult's point of view, this stage can be mistaken for the child being able to recognise numbers. They may say, "I can now count from one to ten. Next comes 11 and up", often mistakenly thinking that they have mastered numbers up to 10.
But in fact, this is not the case. At this stage, for example, if you point to the letter '9', your child will not yet understand that this is the number 9.
At this stage, counting is no different from singing a nursery rhyme to your child. There is no big difference between singing "On the big chestnut tree" and "One, two, three, four..." There is no big difference between singing "In the big chestnut tree..." and "One, two, three...". They are just imitating the sounds they hear and slurring their words, not understanding that there is a word 'ichi' or that 'one' is read as 'ichi'.
In fact, when I point to 'three' to my child at this stage of life and ask, "What is this?" They count the number "one, two, three, four..." or "seven". and they counted and answered 'seven'. Understanding numbers is not a straightforward concept.
'Number recognition' is not an essential task in 6A
When any person learns something new, they try to understand the new thing by relying on some information they have already known. The less relevant it is to what they know so far, the harder they will find it to learn. It takes a lot of effort for someone with little athletic experience to improve in a new sport, and it can be hard for someone who has stayed away from science-related topics to learn physics.
The same is true for your child. It is often numbers, not hiragana, that first expose them to the connection between letters and their meanings and sounds. Understanding what they are learning for the first time naturally comes at a cost.
And Kumon is responding to this problem by suggesting that it is not necessary to recognise numbers at the 6A stage.
The explanations in the official Kumon 6A materials list the tasks of 'number counting to 10' and 'counting the number of pieces'. In both cases, the children only need to recite the numbers in order from 1, and there is no mention of the need to recognise numbers. Recognising numbers will be a task that comes up in the next 5A material.
Keep your child warm by understanding exactly what the material is intended to do!
It is difficult for adults to recognise the difference between "counting" and "recognising numbers". However, Kumon teaching materials make a clear distinction between the two. Therefore, if you are not aware of these differences, it may appear to adults that your child is doing the same things forever, even though he or she is actually growing up.
Kumon is a material where parents also bear the burden of home learning. A lack of perceived progress can easily lead to frustration and impatience. One wrong move and you could see your child struggling with 'number recognition' in the 5A material and become frustrated, wondering why they can't do what they used to be able to do.