Need opinions on Kumon/Huntington Learning/sylvan methods....

[akhenaten]

My 8 year old 3rd grader is having some difficulty with math and some difficulty focusing... I would appreciate any opinions/experiences with Kumon,Huntington Learning center or Sylvan Learning center...

or suggestions for at home methods to help her...

Thank you.

 

[RitaZ.]

My 8 year old 3rd grader is having some difficulty with math and some difficulty focusing... I would appreciate any opinions/experiences with Kumon,Huntington Learning center or Sylvan Learning center...

or suggestions for at home methods to help her...

Thank you.

One of my friends used Kumon to help her son accelerate his math skills. I would avoid places that push long-term contracts and so on; which I've heard is what Huntington and Sylvan tend to do.

I would ask friends, other parents and the teachers at his school if they know any private tutors. IMO, that is the best way to go. My neighbors hired a tutor (a high school teacher) when their daughters began to struggle with math. The teacher was highly recommended and came to their home to tutor the girls. They were very happy with the results.

Good luck.

 

[mamacatnv]

I had a friend use Sylvan for math when her DD was about that age. The interesting thing was that they actually discovered the child was having comprehension issues that were reading related not math related. Whatever methods Sylvan used to evaluate her and what she really needed is what caught the problem. The parents were dumbfounded, they were confident that reading was not a problem.
So, they worked on the childs comprehension issues and the math picked right up.

 

[meliss8599]

I went to Sylvan for help with high school geometry and it really helped. I am a teacher would highly recommend them for tutoring.

I also second what a PP said about hiring a teacher to do it. There are MAAAAAANY out of work teachers or individuals who have their teaching degree but nowhere to use it that would love a tutoring job. Put a flyer up in your local grocery store or put the word out at your child's school.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Do you have "sitter city" in your area. There are a list of tutors, as well as pet care, babysitters, etc.

http://www.sittercity.com/tutor.html

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

We sent our oldest DD to Sylvan for help with math. It was a joke. They didn't do anything for her at all.

I ended up contacting my math teacher from high school and set her up with one on one tutoring which did SO much more for her than Sylvan.

I would steer away from the chains and find a teacher who is willing to tutor on their off hours. It will be cheaper and more effective.

 

[Bethenny]

A good friend is a reading specialist in my school district. She's very adamant about NOT using Sylvan or the like. I can almost guarantee that there are teachers in your district that will tutor after hours. Ask your child's teacher. She'll be familiar with your daughter's needs and can probably find a good match.

 

[love2disney]

Sylvan/Huntington are tutor based programs. Kumon is a practice based program. Kumon is if they r not struggling in a subject! It strengthens basics and then builds on them through repeated practice. It makes you show ur work.

Sylvan is good if you need guided help on a specific subject and homework.

 

[okeydokey]

Sylvan is not tutoring. They administer a diagnostic test to determine the student's strengths and weaknesses and assess their current skill level. They fill in those gaps at the level the student is currently on and then go up from there.

If you are looking for help in reading, they will not tutor from your child's reading book, but will teach the student the missing reading skills etc.

I can't speak for the other approaches.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

In short, find a good tutor. I would start with your school. I am sure the teachers can point you to someone.

 

[akhenaten]

Thanks for you opinions everyone!! I will consider all advice and options!!

 

[cybrkitn]

I could have written that myself. We just had DS8 tested at Huntington Learning Center yesterday. He's having reading comprehension problems along with transposing letters when he writes.

DS8's test was from about 3:15 to about 7 pm yesterday (it's about 3 hours to 3 hours and 40 minute test). It normally costs $195 but they have a special going on right now with $100 off so it only cost us $95.

I ran into a friend of ours earlier this week and she told me her son went there for about a year and a half. She said it was expensive (but then again, IMO, so is Sylvan) but they are very good and helped him with his reading.

We have a meeting set up with the director on the 17th to go over the results and then decide a course of action for him. Right now he's still at a 2.8 AR reading level. Exactly where he left off when he was in 2nd grade. He hasn't moved up to where he should be and I don't want him falling any further behind. DH and I know there is a problem when DS told me that he doesn't read the text on his Nintendo DSI when he plays Pokemon. He skips it. That was a HUGE red flag for me, b/c I LOVES playing Pokemon. He's avoiding any type of reading like the plague.

ETA: I noticed a few posters mentioning tutoring. The local Huntington Learning Center that we went to told us their employees (in that office) also work for the school districts in the surrounding area. That's in addition to working at Huntington. I don't know if all of them do that or not.

 

[bellebud]

I'm a homeschooler whose ds9 had some math trouble when he was in school in 1st and 2nd grade (when I pulled him).

Here's a couple things you can do on your own, if you want to...

Khanacademy.org is a WONDERFUL math on-line 'tutoring' site (and there's a couple other things in there as well). The Bill Gates Foundation is helping to support this site, and it's 100% free. We LOVE it.

learningsuccessinstitute.com is a learning assessment site (costs some money), but was some of the best money I've ever spent on my child. They also have a book (that's what I used).

I love the book "the way they learn" by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias (again, this is all about learning styles).

Hope you find something that helps

 

[lsyorke]

We used Sylvan years ago for DS when Math was a big problem. I was very happy with what they provided. His instructor was a high school math teacher who worked there part time and had DS up to speed in 3 months. They worked with DS's regular math book, and reviewed basics that he was missing. There was no contract.

A good experience all around, but our local Sylvan is also known for being very good. With a franchise you may not always get a good one.

 

[Minmin]

I suggest you check out Beestar.org. Its online math program is fairly good and it is free. We have been using it for a year and my kid has become a much better math student in school. Maybe your kid would like it, too.