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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Math Enrichment - which one is better?

I have got questions from concerned moms about which Math enrichment is better for their kids. When I first started to ask the same question myself a few years back, the choices I had were not so broad. It was then either Kumon, Enopi or UCMAS. I gave my opinion in my earlier post. To my surprise, I got quite a high visit rate there. Then again, why should I be. All parents want the best for the kids. Especially first timers, we need to get more info before we decide. I'm no first timer now that I have 3 precious kids. And the options have widen, there are more Math enrichment out there. One of the latest hit is Math Monkey.

Math Monkey claims the mathematical techniques of Vedic Math. Another jargon? Well they call it a collective name for a set of 16 Sanskrit sutras or formulas all the way from old days in Vedic period of 1500 to 800 BC. Still jargon? It still is to me. Basically it means using logical reasoning to work out problems mentally and quickly. I got this from their website. What do they really teach? I'm actually quite interested to find out. Could be a marketing hook but no harm finding out. I meant to do so for a while but I asked myself, will I stop Enopi for my sons. They too are learning Math without counting. And Enopi also have this part they call the 'Critical Thinking Math' which teaches kids about problem solving too. I dare say that because of Enopi, Ryan is one of the best in Math in his class so far even though other subjects need improvement. In fact, his teacher was quite upset with him a while back for shouting out the answer before she could finish writing the question on the board. I really don't want to shake the firm ground he is in. So far, it has proven to work.

Actually, I hear similar successes about kids who attend Kumon. They are also fantastic in Math. Is it really then the question of which one is better? Kumon? Enopi? UCMAS? Math Monkey? What else? Here is what I think:

  1. We can start choosing which concept we like best for our children when we first START.
  2. Which one is better? Each sings their own successes. So it really boils down to which one you like...and which one our kids like. Different kids work with different approaches. Mine worked with Enopi. And I believe, each has its own advantages.
  3. Once started and results are good, why change? It's just like we cook a big pot of delicious ABC soup but half way through, decided to go for old cucumber soup. It's really back pedaling.
  4. Should we add on? Already school homework is piling. Enopi has homework too. Now again Math Monkey. Besides confusing the heck out of him, he will be a mighty stressed kid.
  5. Should we change later? Depends. On the kid. If he gets bored, then it's time for fresh air.

Bottom line, I want my kids to be good in Math. It is the fundamental requirement for a lot of topical studies later. It is so very important. I wouldn't say that I'm personally fantastic at it but I'm not weak either. When I was schooling, I was in Science stream taking up Modern Math and Add Math. In college I did a double Math Economics. And university, I crazily went for Mathematical Science in the 1st year until I find that it was more useful had I been in Engineering stream. I worked on Commerce instead. Not far off. But the concept is good. A lot of logical thinking I use came from Math fundamental. It helps. And I want it to work on my kids too.

One thing that I have learnt even up till now is that noone ... or maybe some genius... are born Math gifted. Despite my Math background, I was hopeless with numbers in my earlier employment days. Till I got involved in Analytics. It was then I realised that it is all about practice. Why am I saying this? I'm seeing the light :) haha! Math is trainable. It needs constant practice which Kumon and Enopi recognise. It keeps the mind fast and active. I noticed mine was rather stale :( haha! So what am I saying really? One big circle just to say... Math no matter the method or concept, it needs practice. No brainer, right! Sigh! Must be getting late and sleepy. And getting old... just wanna cerita my younger days :p

So getting back to topic. I will still satisfy my curiosity by finding out Math Monkey and some other hot ones in the market. And I'll share just as soon as I have more info. For my sons, they started with Enopi, they continue with Enopi... tested and proven at least with Ryan and Raymund is getting there.


Here is the qualifier.... I'm not saying one is better than the other despite the lack of info. Just which one my kids and I like at this moment.

Good night!

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Joanne
Yea, check out Math Monkey. I heard from one mummy the sessions are fun and her kid could do multiplication very quickly.
Jessie

Anonymous said...

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Joanne said...

Jessie - thanks. I will do that soon.

life-muses said...

thanks for sharing. im currently in the midst of checking out UCMas and Enopi. Feels that UCMas is a bit pressure on the kid.

crystal said...

hi, i was enroll my son to enopi, there is a improvement after 2 month.
But still i finding a good math enrichment suitable for him and useful in the future.
Do you know the center call" Brain Builder" ? Their student prove the excellent result in the competition of math olympiad.

Ling said...

I went for the preview for Monkey Maths in JB.

Impressive to see the way they do their sums, but not practical for the Singapore education system as teachers give points for the workings. If answer is correct wo the traditional workings, they still are not given points.

Also, i feel that if your child attends their classes,you will need to continue for 4-5 years, otherwise the child gets their "formula" wrongly, ends up all wrong! Makes it even worse.. :(

David said...

Hi Joanne,

This is a great post. I appreciate the approach you took. I really do believe that all of these options/products are quite good - and one may suit one child, but not another.

I'm working on a new entry for math enrichment called Peaksmart - you can find it at http://www.peaksmart.com - I'd love to get your opinion since you have so many experiences with the other programs.

Thanks again.

Dave

Anonymous said...

Hi, Joanne, heard about Global Mental arithmetic? I have yet to check it out ....

Math Monkey Bandar Puteri Puchong said...

Great post!

We actually run Math Monkey in Bandar Puteri Puchong, so we may be a bit biased :-)

We have 2 boys ourselves and was looking for the best program around when we found Math Monkey. My wife was looking to quit the corporate rat race and decided to start up her own centre. Our centre just started officially on 2July 2011.

If you are interested to try out, call Caterina at 017-359 3302 or check out http://mathmonkey-puteri.blogspot.com/

wso0808 said...

Hi Joanne,

Like all mums, we always want to hv the best for our children. My girl is 4+ now and I intend to send her for math enrichment class. In JB, I would say Kumon is more well known compared to Enopi. I totally agreed with you that beside to understand what the course can offer to our children ( which i hv no doubt now for Enopi quality after read through what you had shared ), we need to know the quality of the principal who ran the center. I have great respect for the principal for the JB Enopi. I got to know her cause my girl used to attend her kiddy in JB ( Tadika Xaris ). I had make my mind to send her to Enopi. Gald to come across your blog.

Thx.

Rgds,
wso0808

BabyLuLu Closet said...

Hi Joanne,

sry i tak pandai bahasa english^^ingin menanya...anak 1 umur 4tahun tahun ni, tadika yg dia berlajar ia chinese based...so englishnya tak bagus, i planning nak bg dia masuk sekolah rendah cina, so harap boleh improve bahasa englishnya...sis ada apapa suggestion tak? i dengar kata kumon & vital years, tapi waktu belajar kumon short, vital years pula terlalu mahal, harap sis boleh tunjuk ajar sikit? tq^^

BabyLuLu Closet said...

hi,

boleh publishkan harga n waktu belajar utk kumon(maths), enopi, ucmas & math monkey tak? tq^^

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Have u heard about BrainBuilder?
They seem very good, their students win a lot medals from international competition like ASEAN, MASMO, APMOPS, OMK, CMC, IMC, ICAS, AMC, IMS…
They also have very good testimonies from the parents on their web website: www.brainbuilder.com.my

Enrichment Class for Kids said...

Bandar Puteri Puchong? That is close by ... is Math Monkey still running?

SR said...

But what about this program? You may be wondering at the way they teach mathematics and the result achieved by them. This is known to be most student-friendly program too. Have look at please

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20C9c-8WnFs

Joanne said...

Thanks for all your feedback!

Baby Lulu Closet -
Saya tak pandai pulak BM. So, I tulis setengah BM setengah English ya! Bagi saya punya anak Sulung, Ryan - he started with very poor English too. Tapi, saya tak hantar dia ke apa apa tuition because takda masa lagi. Instead, I bought him books that he likes. It helps alot. I'll blog about this later. For English, you can try Cambridge English. This is a franchise. I dont know about Kumon coz saya tak explore ya. Mungkin ok jua coz Kumon's method is practice hingga boleh. Try la. Different kids have different absorption. Good luck ya!

Enrichment Class for Kids said...

@Baby LuLu

Hmm, kalau nak improve your child's english ... hantar kat sekolah cina bukan satu idea yg baik. Most students that come out from a chinese boarding school/school ends up not being able to pick up english that well, though mathematics become their strongest field compared to those studying in a non-chinese school.

Based on observation though.

Anonymous said...

No, Enopi is not the right program to study as it’s lengthy, not worth the money invested, and the worst part is that the program do not suitable to our Malaysia school syllabus!!!

One of my friends enrolled her kid few tears ago and after 3-4 years of study, her kid still doing addition and subtraction. When checked with the instructor, the reason given was that the kid had not mastered the basic! According to her, she had invested more than RM5000 on it and she cannot see any result and the program also cannot help her kid in school too, because the school had been doing other topics like time, money, length, weight, volume, multiplication and division. It is just not worth the ROI (Return of Investment)!

Another problem of the program is it does not bring your kids to anywhere. Unlike other program, which I just discovered called ‘BrainBuilder’, that will enable your kids to participate in the World Class International Mathematical Competition like ICAS (International Competition and Assessments for Schools) by University of New South Wales, Australia, or MASMO (Malaysia ASEAN Mathematical Olympiads) by MOEMS, United States, and many more. These competitions will serve as a measurement how well is the program and how our kids benefit from it. The other good point about BrainBuilder is that their program is more align with our Malaysia school syllabus.

Well, those are just my personal opinion on some of the program currently offered in the market. Since there is more and more such programs setting up, it is good for us as parents to do some homework and find out more on a particular program. Choosing a wrong program will not only wasting our money, but it can also destroy the interest of a kid in that particular subject or even worst the interest of learning!

So, Enopi is a ‘NO’ for me.

Thomas The Train said...

Hi,

I saw Mighty Math in Bt Mertajam ... any good?

http://mightymathsg.blogspot.sg/

Saw their Singapore website...any comments from Singapore parents?

Anonymous said...

Hi!! Has anyone checked out Seriously Addictive Mathematics (SAM)? It's a new math enrichment centre from Singapore, newly established in 2011. They have a new outlet here in Malaysia at Bandar Utama, do check it out! I heard one of my friend who sent her child recently, said she was impress that her child showed major improvement after only 2 months.

Sadaf said...

aloha or ucmas ? which is better?

Anonymous said...

The program is important. However, the quality of the center management is more important. If they have good program but lousy principal. It still means nothing to our kids.

Anonymous said...

I am sending my kids to Eye Level Bay Avenue in Penang. Excellent Program, perfect environment and the principal is very professional & caring. This is the perfect center I have visited so far

E.nopi said...

Good sharing. Also thanks for continue support for Enopi. We will giving good support and education for children. At same time, feel free read back other review at:
http://kidbuxblog.com/e-nopi-helps-sharpen-your-childs-mind/

PM said...

I sent my girl to Math Monkey in Penang. My opinion is their module progress very very slowly and not able to catch up with our Malaysian syllibus. My girl has spent 2 modules on addition and substraction within number of 10 only. 2 modules is half a year gone. I have no idea how long will they take to reach calculation within 100 or even multiplication. My ended up learning the multiplication ( times table) hard way. I don't see Math Monkey helping her learning school math.

PM said...

I sent my girl to Math Monkey in Penang. My opinion is their module progress very very slowly and not able to catch up with our Malaysian syllibus. My girl has spent 2 modules on addition and substraction within number of 10 only. 2 modules is half a year gone. I have no idea how long will they take to reach calculation within 100 or even multiplication. My ended up learning the multiplication ( times table) hard way. I don't see Math Monkey helping her learning school math.

Kong Seong Fatt said...

There is a more reasonably priced math program for children in Penang. Come visit us at www.Just-Math.blogspot.com - you get similar results by spending substantially less.

Unknown said...

I really like how your class timings of your blog. I enjoyed reading your blog and it is both instructional and interesting.Thanks!
Tuition Franchise Singapore

Anonymous said...

Beware of this jelutong branch penang eyelevel, I happily brought my son to the center for enrolment and it was sucks, my son 7 year old, took 2exam math and english, after the exam I look thru the paper, when comes to the last page, there is synonyms question which I had mixed up wit antonyms, well,i started to tell my son synonyms is opposite meaning and the pricipal walk off and face away from me, the question was dry, my son answer wrote hot,i nvr gave him any answer cos he insist is hot, the pricipal speak up,dry is wet,2nd question under anwer given is ON, he got a tick, she walk back to me and say it can be above and it can be ON too,u see I gave him a right, by the time I paused myself, eventhough my english is bad but I knw what is synonyms and antonyms. Only that I had mixed up at the time,she is leading me as a parent to the wrong path,beside that she wanted me to start my son in lvl7 which disagree,9+1=? My son gave her the answer perfectly from the 1st book to 18th book of lvl7, and she started. To tell me she not eager to get any student anymore,what can I say abt this women? Proud of herself, dishonest and cunning

Anonymous said...

Try Bright Robin Academy in Island Glades. I was surprised & impressed with the Math & BM programs when I brought my children for a trial class last week. The Principal and teachers are very friendly & caring. The programs are conducted using tablet & worksheets. 1.5 hours weekly at RM130 monthly fee. The program follows 100% school syallbus of sk & sjk. Various types of problem solving questions in Mandarin & English. My children likes it so much & I have enrolled them for September intake immediately. For both BM & Math, its RM230 monthly. No deposit needed.

Anonymous said...

My take is just the program but the teachers' and the learning center environment. Our son, Kyle has been under the English and Math program of Eye Level Bay Avenue at Penang since February 2015 and I can say he has improved a lot especially in the subject of Mathematics. My sister-in-law who is a teacher based in the US was quite amazed on how he can do additions easily by just thinking and not using his fingers. ELBA has also been a great partner during me and my son’s home schooling days, I observed improvement in his handwriting-an area where in we usually have arguments. The teachers in Eye Level Bay Avenue are also highly recommended not just because they give good academic support but parents can be rest assured that their kids are treated with utmost care while under their class. And this is what really made me grateful for having enrolled Kyle in Eye Level, he not only improved academically, but also his trust in other people has been restored.

Anonymous said...

My take is not just the program but the teachers' and the learning center environment. Our son, Kyle has been under the English and Math program of Eye Level Bay Avenue at Penang since February 2015 and I can say he has improved a lot especially in the subject of Mathematics. My sister-in-law who is a teacher based in the US was quite amazed on how he can do additions easily by just thinking and not using his fingers. ELBA has also been a great partner during me and my son’s home schooling days, I observed improvement in his handwriting-an area where in we usually have arguments. The teachers in Eye Level Bay Avenue are also highly recommended not just because they give good academic support but parents can be rest assured that their kids are treated with utmost care while under their class. And this is what really made me grateful for having enrolled Kyle in Eye Level, he not only improved academically, but also his trust in other people has been restored.

Anonymous said...

My son has been attending Eye Level Jelutong for the past few months. He loves the environment, teachers and the new principal. In my opinion, the new principal is friendly, approachable and knowledgeable. I had a clearer picture of the gaps and abilities after the diagnostic test and I put my total trust in the principal and teachers. She gives me updates on my son's progress every month. My son has more confidence in his Mathematics and English after just 1 month and no longer uses his fingers to do addition. He looks forward to his classes every week and loves the Critical Thinking worksheets. I'm glad I made the right decision!

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