By far the most popular post on Maths insider is my post, 8 Things to Hate About Kumon! As a former Kumon instructor who now works as an instructor with Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) I’m writing this post to give a unique perspective as someone who has worked for both companies.
At Thinkster Math I look after many, many ex-Kumon students including a family with 4 kids who switched from Kumon so that their children could explore the wider curriculum that Thinkster Math offers. So whether your kids are currently doing Kumon, another math program or you’re just starting to look into math programs to support your child’s math, let me share with you the 8 things to love about Thinkster Math.
1. Thinkster is great value
Thinkster Math pricing compares brilliantly to Kumon, Mathnasium and personal tutors. Prices start from $60 per month which includes one-on-one math coaching as well as unlimited worksheets.
More details here
And don’t forget there’s also the cost of your time as the parent who has to take your child to the tutor/learning center each week.
2. Thinkster Math Instructors are qualified teachers
Thinkster Math actually uses qualified educators. I’m a Cambridge University educated qualified high school math teacher and many Thinkster Math instructor have spent many years as teachers. Kumon prioritises business experience over teaching experience when it comes to choosing franchisees to run their centers. Thinkster Math focuses on math teaching experience and ability.
3. Thinkster Math actually teaches your child
The Thinkster Math program contains built-in instruction videos for each topic – not just a few written examples. Step by step solutions are also shared when students get questions wrong. Students have regular one to one tutoring sessions so that their tutor can review questions they got wrong with them, introduce any tricky concepts in the upcoming worksheets or even help with school homework.
4. Thinkster Math offers a broad and varied curriculum
Thinkster Math’s world-class curriculum is based on Singapore Math and other world-class curricula. It is then customized for each country according to the state/provincial standards. As a result it contains a confidence building mix of arithmetic, word problems and logic problems to build important skills for future mathematicians
5. Thinkster Math takes personalization seriously
Thinkster Math is a US based company with instructors around the world but our work is overseen by senior staff who we meet with regularly online and are available to help instructors, parents and students alike. Also, Academic Advisors take care to match new Thinkster Math families with instructors based on their specific needs. In the rare cases where parents want to change instructors, they can do so quickly and easily.
6. Problem solving is at the core of the Thinkster Math program
Most students join Thinkster Math with weak problem solving skills, even if they are strong at math in general. Problem solving is so important when it comes to math. Computers are able to process numbers far more quickly and more accurately than humans can, and those who have strong problem solving skills will be the ones in demand in the workplace. Thinkster Math puts problem solving at the core of it’s curriculum, including basic problem solving even in it’s Kindergarten worksheets.
7. Thinkster Math supports and extends kids school math
Thinkster Math worksheets use the math methods and techniques which have been proven to lead to a deeper understanding of math. With 1000’s of worksheets available, Instructors able able to build a specially tailored study plan to support and extend the student’s school math learning.
8. Thinkster Math builds mathematicians not just arithmeticians
If you put a Kumon student head to head with a Thinkster Math student and give them 100 arithmetic questions – the Kumon student will win (the Thinkster Math student will still be ahead of the rest of the class though).
However – if you give a Kumon student a series of logic or problem solving questions – the Thinkster Math student will come out top.
One of my Thinkster Math students was lamenting that in the weekly timed times tables tests at school he always finishes in 3rd place, slightly behind the Kumon kids. I offered to add in some concentrated times tables worksheets into his worksheet queue, even though we had moved beyond that stage in the curriculum, but he said, “No thank you Caroline. My teacher actually said that everyone in the class needs a lot of practice with word problems except me – so I don’t mind continuing with the work you’ve given me!”
Read more about Kumon and Thinkster Math:
8 Things to Hate about Kumon – A Review
About Kumon The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Is Thinkster Math a Real Alternative to Kumon?
