How can you help your young students do better in math?

For those who know how to use an abacus, the answer is as simple as adding 4862 + 7981! The abacus is an ancient Asian calculating tool that helps modern students as young as age 4 or 5 master essential mathematical skills they will retain and use all their lives.

In Japan, educators maintain that the abacus helps children develop powers of mental calculation. It enables children to:

• understand the base-ten number system and place values,
• understand concepts of carrying and borrowing in arithmetic, and
• visualize close relations between numbers and numerals.

The abacus is an excellent substitute for rote memorization of multiplication tables. Abacus calculation relies on the manipulation of beads rather than use of traditional arithmetic.

Many schools in Asia, where abacus instruction is widely popular for teaching mental math/arithmetic, introduce the abacus between kindergarten and 4th grade. If a child starts learning the abacus before being taught traditional arithmetic, there is minimal conflict and the child will easily work within both systems. If a child starts the program later, having already received traditional foundations, there may be a slightly extended learning period for the child to accept and integrate the abacus method.

You can incorporate easy, enjoyable abacus instruction into your elementary classroom or home-schooling curriculum with Learning Mathematics with the Abacus, a set of books developed specifically for teaching youngsters in grades 2, 3 and 4. We offer these books along with the Japanese Soroban abacus, which consists of a wooden frame divided into 2 parts separated by a beam, with one row of beads on the upper deck, and four rows on the lower deck.

Learning Mathematics with the Abacus is available in the United States exclusively through our web site, www.NurtureMinds.com. Our books contain simple step-by-step instructions that make learning the abacus fun for children. Beginners use the Learning Mathematics with the Abacus Year 1 textbook and activity book to start adding and subtracting numbers up to 100. They start by identifying the different parts of the abacus, holding and using it correctly, mastering the correct fingering technique in moving the beads, and learning to visualize as they calculate.

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