I really think that Kumon tends to be too dull to hold the interest of a gifted child for long. There are plenty of other options I'd explore first.
Here's
a bit on the Kumon philosophy, which intentionally avoids challenge and stresses the familiar (i.e. repetition) to increase a student's comfort level:
Q: What is the easy starting point?
An integral part of the Kumon philosophy is ensuring that a student begins their Kumon studies with staightforward work. This ensures:
� that there are no gaps in your child's understanding of the subject. Having a previously undetected 'hole in the foundations' is unfortunately very common and leads to problems later on. We make sure that we build on completely solid foundations.
� that your child builds confidence from day one. Self confidence is vital to success in any area of life and an easy starting point ensures that your child experiences success right from the start
� that your child establishes a daily study habit. With difficult work, this habit is hard to ingrain, but a short, easy piece of work is manageable and will enable your child to get into a regular routine of studying Kumon.
This is the exact opposite of how I want my son to learn. I don't think true self-confidence comes from easing into a subject so that there is no point of difficult challenge; I think it comes from toughening up to face more and more difficult challenges successfully. I don't see how keeping a challenge level low, and managed to the point of complete evenness, could ever result in the ability to persevere in the face of tough obstacles.
