Kumon owner Lina Chen oversees third grader Bethany Hochstetler’s progress in math. (Photo by Lynne Conner)

“I’m bored!”

These two words are often a mantra for kids during summer vacation. Rockford–area parents can short-circuit the sum-mer-time doldrums for their school-aged kids by plugging them in to a wealth of local summer enrichment opportuni-ties.

According to Oxford Learning, students typically lose two months of reading skills and almost three months of math skills during summer vacation. Although reading programs at the library help “summer-time slide”, sometimes a more inten-sive approach is necessary.

The Center for Learning Strategies (CLS) at Rockford University offers programs for school-aged students through adult-hood.

CLS programs aim to help each student “attain academic potential while directing the student towards independent learning and personal achievement.” The Learning Garden Program and SUMMIT Camp introduce students in grades 1-6 to various topics in the fields of science, math and reading; while the CLS Community Program, for grades 1-12, offers testing for learning disabilities and small focused classes in reading and math.

“We’re one of the best kept secrets in Rockford,” said Jeanne Grey director of the Center for Learning Strategies at Rock-ford University. “Our program, celebrating its 65th year in 2017, offers a unique approach to reading and math enrich-ment. What sets the CLS apart is that we are a non-profit organization and we can afford to be very honest with the parents.

“We use all certified teachers with Masters Degrees or beyond,” she added. “Summer is the perfect time for students to improve their reading and math skills because they have more time to concentrate on weak areas and excel in their strong areas. Our summer enrollment is open and our purpose is to help every child who wishes to have advancement or build on the skills they already have. Additionally, our classes have a very small teacher to student ratio.’”

Northern Illinois University also offers intensive reading enrichment programs for pre-school aged children through adults.

The NIU summer reading programs are offered at 20 locations around Illinois including a Rockford site at Boylan High School. Beginning in July, NIU programs are taught by experienced educators and run for five weeks. Students receive help in reading comprehension, fluency and word recognition. The course curriculum includes, textbooks, non-fiction literature and novels. Independent reading skills are also a focus of the NIU program.

Started in Japan roughly 50 years ago, Kumon Learning offers programs in math and reading for students from Pre-Kin-dergarten through high school. Students attending the Kumon program are first tested to determine their knowledge level and are then given an individualized plan which has them work through the Kumon booklets on a weekly basis.

The booklets begin at the students’ current knowledge level and progress to cover new topics at a rate the student can handle. Much of the mastery in Kumon comes through practice and repetition of concepts. Students attend two ses-sions at the Kumon center each week to have their booklets checked, meet with instructors and receive their next set of booklets. Kumon booklets follow the concepts students learn at their particular grade level.

Lina Chen, owner of the Kumon Learning Center in Machesney Park stresses the importance of keeping up reading and math skills during summer vacation.

“Even though the summer is when kids get a chance to go out and play, to have free-time, it doesn’t mean they need to stop learning. Normally, students lose two months of math and reading skills during summer vacation if they don’t do any kind of daily practice in math and reading,” she said. “For below-average students, Kumon can help them become average students; for average students, Kumon can help them become advanced students.”

Chen stresses that a student’s success in Kumon depends on the rate at which they progress through the instructional booklets.

Kumon math and reading programs run all year long, although Chen sees a slight increase in enrollment during the sum-mer months.

“During summer vacation, kids have all day to play, so if we just take 30 minutes out of their day for reading and 30 minutes for math, it’s a small amount of time that really makes a difference in the long run,” she said. “Some parents just want their child to do the Kumon program for the summer, but when they see how it helps their child; two-thirds of our summer only enrollment continue during the school year.” Chen estimates that half of the students enrolled in Kumon are working beyond grade-level while a third of Kumon students are working two years beyond grade level.

Regina Koch of Rockford knows first-hand the benefits of staying with the Kumon program.

Koch started attending Kumon classes when she was in fourth grade and by eighth grade, she had completed both the reading and the math programs. The entire Kumon reading program starts with letter recognition and goes all the way through high school literature. The math program begins with number identification and goes through high school cal-culus.

For her achievement, Koch received a formal commendation from Kumon International and a mantle clock.

“It’s kind of a big deal to finish the program because most parents just have their kids in Kumon for a few years to get their kids caught up or a little bit ahead. The math does get difficult towards the end but it’s definitely worth it to finish the program,” she said.

Koch, who is in her second year of pre-med studies at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, has enough credits to qualify as a junior thanks to the advanced placement classes she took at Boylan High School.

Her success in high school and college is a direct result of the material and study skills she learned at Kumon.

“Kumon was instrumental in helping me to qualify for advanced placement classes at Boylan. Because of those AP clas-ses, I was able to enter college with 58 credits towards my degree, so I can graduate a year early,” Koch said.

“Overall, Kumon was really helpful in teaching me self-motivation and self-discipline, because I do spend hours studying at the college level,” she said. “I am much better now working through distractions and having the perseverance to not get frustrated when I’m tackling a new challenge or learning a new concept.”

–Enrichment programs aim to  short-circuit summer boredom–