Kris  
AUTISM CENTER  
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Kumon Workbooks

 

Kumon
 
 
 

Purchase info:
Order from timberdoodle.com.

 

 		  
 
   

We love Kumon workbooks. Not only does each workbooks feature full-color, kid- friendly, pages but they are also laid out in a simple and doable manner making them especially useful for children with autism. With topics ranging from cutting, folding and pasting, to numbers, time, and money, this series addresses many of the subjects we need to teach our youngsters.

The Kumon books we most often reach for though, are the books in the mazes series. They begin very easily, and with only one maze/picture to trace per page, are very doable. If your child struggles with fine motor skills, having them spend hours working on that will not be pleasant for either of you. Instead we suggest having them do a page or two multiple times a day.  We have been surprised with how fast children progress through the series, and how easy it can be.

If your child has never done a maze before, then it may be helpful to use the method we used with Krissy. We begin by having her work through the tracing book. Sitting down next to her, we had her draw the line from one crab to the other without touching the rocks. If she ran into a rock, we moved her pencil back to the starting point and had her try again, guiding the pencil if necessary. As soon as she did it, she was done. We immediately rewarded her and told her what a good job she did to not touch the rocks. You want this to be as fun and happy as possible, but you also want to train her now to do it right. If the child starts by being sloppy it will be hard to break that habit later. (With Krissy, we used this same approach with the mazes. If she touched a line out of sloppiness, she had to start over.)

It may be helpful to note that some of the beginning pages in Easy Mazes are easier than the last pages of Tracing. We used them interchangeably, ripping out the page most appropriate for the child and having them complete it, regardless of which book it comes out of. In general though, we’d suggest this sequence:




Drawing lines accurately can be a surprisingly hard task for many children. This entry-level book provides beginning wordsmiths with opportunities to learn to manipulate a pencil skillfully. With some tracing and some guided drawing children begin with straight lines, and then move progressively to more difficult lines, such as curves and zigzags. This workbook provides children with an ideal preparation for learning to write letters and numbers.
What child doesn't love the challenge of mazes? Mazes allow your child the opportunity to practice basic pencil control in an enjoyable, exciting way. These pencil skills are necessary for the legible writing of letters and numbers. Plus because mazes are naturally absorbing they help your child acquire the ability to reason, interpret, understand and concentrate. These elemental skills are some of the bedrock essentials for later academics.
Building on the skills developed through Kumon's tracing books, My Book of Mazes: Animals uses an engaging animal theme to focus on improving children's fine motor control and spatial reasoning abilities, both of which are vital for later success in school.
Young children love tracing mazes with a pencil. Mazes let children have fun while at the same time improving their judgment and pencil-control abilities, both of which are crucial elements in their future studies. The aim of this book is to improve children's reasoning and motor skills.
This sequel to the above book is designed to further enhance children’s motor skills and reasoning. Once children experience and master the easier maze patterns of the first book, they will be able to advance to the more intricate patterns of this workbook. This increased level of difficulty will refine children’s motor skills and further sharpen their reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Children are often fascinated with cars, trucks, and trains. This book uses these things that go as the theme for our innovative and colorful mazes. Since every maze is designed to be slightly harder than the last, you'll be surprised by how quickly your child's pencil control improves!
My Book of Mazes: Around the World, will also focus on solidifying your child’s pencil control skills and spatial reasoning ability. These particular mazes will feature landmarks and cultural items from around the world in order to introduce your child to interesting new places and practices.