At what age are Kumon Maths B materials?
Kumon Maths B is the equivalent level of 7 years old.
From the A materials onwards, it is designed in such a way that when the alphabet advances by one letter, the grade level also moves up by one letter. Although there are some areas where the grade and the alphabet diverge somewhat in arithmetic, as they do not deal with shape problems and sentences, it is safe to assume that the alphabet and the grade basically correspond to each other.
What kind of teaching materials does Kumon Arithmetic B contain?
The aims of the Kumon Math B materials are as follows
Based on the ability of addition and subtraction up to the A materials, the students will develop the ability to add and subtract strokes and move on to the C materials.
The students will be introduced to written arithmetic. Kumon maths is often structured in such a way that a single task is completed in a single teaching material, but here, too, a clear task of stroke arithmetic is given.
Let's look at the teaching materials in more detail. Arithmetic B consists of 200 printouts, the contents of which are largely divided as follows.
| Material number | Content | | --- | --- | 1-10 | Addition (review of A) | 11-40 | Addition to sum 100 | | 41-70 | Addition of two digits | | | 71-100 | Addition of three digits | 101-120 | Subtraction (review of A) | | 121-150 | Subtraction of two digits | | 151-160 | Subtraction of two digits Addition and subtraction | | 171-200 | 3-digit addition |
The first half deals with addition and the second with subtraction. The fact that written arithmetic is now dealt with also means that 2- and 3-digit calculations are also dealt with.
What are the key strategies for Kumon Maths B?
The written arithmetic changes from conventional addition and subtraction in terms of the size of the numbers and carry forward and backward. How you deal with each of these changes the degree of difficulty of the strategy.
Practice, rather than understanding, is the key to dealing with the size of the numbers.
Brushwork is originally a technique for calculating numbers with large digits. The larger the number, the more difficult it becomes to have a concrete image of the number, but the technique of penmanship makes it possible to calculate large numbers.
If you try to grasp this in theory, it will be difficult to understand. Children old enough to learn this material will find it difficult to understand abstract concepts, and it will also be very difficult for them to visualise three-digit numbers in concrete terms. For example, if you were asked to picture 359 apples, it would be impossible to actually picture 359 apples.
Understanding the principles is of course important, but this will only become possible at a later stage in the school year. At this stage, the emphasis should be on simply learning the techniques.
Kumon solves written arithmetic by rote.
The next step is to carry forward and backward.
Kumon's method of doing written arithmetic is unique.
In the normal way, you write down the number of carry-overs and carry-overs. For example, if the sum of the first place in addition is 10 or more, the basic method is to write "1" at the 10 place.
However, in Kumon, students do not write down the numbers, but solve the addition and subtraction by rote. The same applies not only to addition and subtraction, but also to multiplication and division, which will appear later on. The speed of solving written arithmetic increases when you do it by rote, and because you have to remember the number of carry-overs and carry-overs, you can only move on if you can do basic addition and subtraction with ease.
It is often said that people who study Kumon arithmetic are fast in calculation, and this is the reason for this. Kumon does not deal with applied content, but the basics can be mastered at a high level.
You should get used to the Kumon-specific way of solving strokes first.
The key point is to get used to Kumon's way of solving the written arithmetic first.
Even if we leave aside the debate about which is better, the regular way or the Kumon way, I don't think there is any dispute that the Kumon way is more difficult.
If there is an easy way and a difficult way, you should get used to the difficult way first. This is because if you can do it the hard way, it will be easier to adapt to the easy way. Once you are used to the easy way, the cost of learning the hard way will remain high, and it will be difficult to find meaning in going to the trouble of learning the hard way.
So what can you do to get used to the Kumon way of doing things first?
The best way is to learn the B material at Kumon before they start learning how to write at school. If you start Kumon maths before school, your child will be well on the way to learning the B material by the time he or she learns written arithmetic at school. It is difficult to intervene in your child's learning speed, but you can speed up the time when they start learning Kumon. One good way to do this would be to start Kumon early and learn Kumon's written arithmetic early.
You can be careful about your attitude towards your child if he or she learns written arithmetic at the same time as, or ahead of, school. If you are told that the way they learn at school is different from the way they learn at Kumon, and you take the attitude that one way is wrong, your child will proceed with their learning with doubts and dissatisfaction.
By knowing the Kumon method in advance and being prepared, you will be able to answer your child's questions without causing unnecessary anxiety.