10-Year-Old Masters High School Reading, Now She's On To Algebra

VENICE, FL – In many ways, Anna Kim of Venice is a typical 10-year-old girl.

Busy with extracurricular activities, she enjoys gymnastics, tae kwon do, playing the piano and competing in drive, chip and putt contests.

However, unlike most other girls her age, Kim is a fifth-grader studying high school-level reading at a the Sarasota Kumon Center, 4438 Bee Ridge Road. In fact, she’s close to completing the entire Kumon Reading Program, which ends with Shakespeare, and is currently studying high school-level algebra in the Kumon Math Program.

Kim said she loves to learn new things, so it’s not surprising that she knows five languages—Spanish, Korean, Chinese, French and English.

Because of her accomplishments and enthusiasm about learning, Kim has been invited to attend the second annual Kumon Student Conference in Calgary, Canada, July 18. She will join more than 50 other students from the United States, Canada and Mexico who are currently studying at least three years above their school grade levels.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from each other through a variety of learning activities designed to foster team building, group discussion, critical thinking and creativity.

In this unique learning environment, students will also hear from inspirational former Kumon students who have completed the Kumon Program, which goes up to calculus and critical reading.

“The beauty of Kumon is that it’s a learning program based on ability rather than age or grade, which allows our students the opportunity to study above their school grade level,” said Sung Park, vice president of materials development and instruction at Kumon North America Inc. “Kumon strives to cultivate confident and independent students who become lifelong learners. With this conference, we are able to celebrate our students’ accomplishments and inspire them to continue on to program completion.”

The goal of Kumon Math and Reading Program is to prepare students for the study of high school material, which was one of the founding principles of the Kumon Method.

Kumon is an after-school math and reading enrichment program that uses an individualized approach that helps children develop a solid command of math and reading skills.

Founded in 1958, Kumon celebrates its 60th year serving children worldwide. It has more than four million students enrolled in nearly 25,000 learning centers in 50 countries and regions.

Image via Kumon

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