The chance when the talent is obvious

First Grader Leo is a student of our very first study centre in Varna-City, Bulgaria. 

When Leo was 5 years old, the teachers in his kindergarten noticed that he had a knack for mathematics. His mother also observed his math skills and contacted several organizations in Bulgaria to test his mathematic abilities but was not able to find the right place. One day, she stumbled upon a KUMON ad in Varna that advertised placement tests to determine children's mathematics level. She signed Leo up for the test in order to confirm if the kindergarten teachers were right.  

Leo's mother sent her husband, who was unaware of what KUMON actually was, to take Leo to the study centre for a placement test. When Leo was given the test, he rushed to the tasks with such fervour, that he solved them in an impressively short time. Everyone was surprised and gave him another test for a higher level, which he also solved very fast. In the end, Galya, the instructor of the centre, concluded that Leo was one level ahead of his age group. Leo’s father who was previously hesistant of KUMON, decide that by the time they returned home that KUMON was the right place for Leo. In hindsight, the father claimed this was the right decision, for Leo’s continual progress has been a sight to behold. 

Leo has also become more dedicated at school. He has become more regimented in his schoolwork and makes sure to finish his homework every day. If he fails to do it during the day, he will get up earlier and do it before school. At school he is also actively helping out his classmates. “I wanted to do maths and now I keep getting better at it. After KUMON it became easier for me at school and now I am also much faster with my homework and I also win competitions between my classmates. I already earned two medals from competitions!” His teacher called him “the king of maths” he proudly says.

When Leo approaches new topics at KUMON, he always feels very happy and proud of himself when he is able to solve new problems completely on his own. One of his happiest moments was when he went to the study centre with his Dad on his birthday and Instructor Galya surprised him with a medal. “I was very happy and started jumping.”

Leo recognizes that he has learned many things at KUMON so far, but the most important thing he learned is that he can handle almost anything if he is persistent.

Both parents are very proud of him. His mother said that at first Leo may feel a little worried when he approaches a new problem, but once he finds a way to solve it, he can't stop. She will never forget the joy and happiness in his eyes when - without realizing it - he solved 380 division with remainder problems in one go. “I'm already solving my older sister’s math problems, and she's in third grade! It's a lot of fun to solve older students’ math problems!” 

“I play the clarinet and table tennis. One day I want to win a gold medal and become an astronaut!” the ambitious boy says with confidence. 

We have no doubt that with his learning attitude, he will definitely become an astronaut one day!