Abacus Training

[Aadeshkumar]

Very interesting wish i could have learnt it while I went to school ...

[Ayesha Nicole]

Dear Edward,

As an abacus instructor, what do you recommend for teaching my 2.5 year old twins.  We are working through Doman Math via LR; plan to go through Shichida Math via LR next; and also use LR Math Curriculuum.  I have the Doman Math kit, and plan to use it as reinforcement of the LR lessons.

We also have this wooden abacus that we count on with the children:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2674729&CAWELAID=108270550

How do I transition to a real abacus for my children?  What type of abacus do you recommend and where to get it in America?  How do I learn how to use an abacus in order to teach my children?  I have always wanted to learn and want my children to learn - but have no idea where to start.  I will go back and watch the videos in this thread - but wanted your insights, please.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ayesha

[TerrahMother]

Just need a clarification regarding abacus will it not hinder with the regular way maths taught at the schools?

I guess I'm bumping this topic, but I had to reply to a few questions that have not been addressed.

Abacus learning is calculation only, not methodology arithmetic. Students view abacus math and the resulting mental math as a different subject from regular curriculum maths. They won't get it confused if taught to use the abacus properly. It would help to see the abacus as a calculator, first used by your hands, then by your mind.

[TerrahMother]

WOW !!! I wish this would be available outside Japan !!! Does anyone know of any classes in other places? Say, UK for example?

Also, how do u combine this with doman...just do both, doman when your baby is younger and this when they are older?

You can check out the UC MAS website for locations in the UK: http://www.ucmasuk.info

If you view the abacus as a sort of manual super-calculator, you can combine it with any math method. My 1 year old uses both the abacus and math dots.

[2010BEBES]

I am impressed on the videos and kids using abacus in your mind.
Are there moms here with kids using abacus. At what age do they start. And where do i go to start.

[Ouroboros1]

I got interested in this after reading Chris1 and Domanmom's experiences with the Doman Dot method.  I have the dots and plan to start using them when I figure out if my son is old enough(5.25 months).  After reading a lot of threads about it, it seems that something is needed to make the equations, etc from the dot method more concrete in a child's mind. 

It appears that they lose the quantitative recognition ability at some point, which isn't my primary concern.  I simply am looking for a way to retain the right brain abilities that the dot method will build.  I hope to get the LR and LM bundle soon, but am still saving up the money.  (I may even be jumping the gun since my little guy is still pretty young, but I've read that they can lose focus in sitting still after they get mobile--trying to take advantage of his non-mobility as much as I can). 

I checked out the links on how to use an abacus, got 2 books from the library, searched to no avail for a local store that sold one, so I found a free iphone app, and I'm off.  I frequently do math in my head on long trips, calculating distance remaining, ETA based on our speed, etc.  I find it makes the trip go more quickly since my wife usually sleeps and my audiobooks wake her up/keep her awake. 

[Ouroboros1]

One thing I forgot to post.  Chris1--  what order would you recommend using the flashcards you posted?  Is there a thread that explains this that I've missed?

[2010BEBES]

..  What type of abacus do you recommend and where to get it in America? 

Ayesha, i too have that question. I am planning on ordering an abacus from soroban. They ship everywhere and it is included in the price. I only have a question for Chirs or anyone that has experience working tha abacus with a 3 yerar old.
First i saw the 'Pacchi' type that goes up to 3 digit, 999 and was colored. But they told me they ar out of stock so I do not now if it is worth waiting (almost 6 weeks) or go and buy the other one recomended that is bigger, 5 digit. That would be the US100.
Any suggestions?

This is the link;

http://www.soroban.com/english/shopping/

[Ouroboros1]

US$100 seems VERY steep for an abacus, even a colored one.  Maybe there's a lot of add-ons for shipping, but the abacus itself should be US$20 max, I think.

[Skippy]

There are 3 types of Abacus.  The AL Abacus has 100 beads, 10 in each row, and is used mostly for basic counting and adding.  I think that it may also be called a "Dvorak" abacus.  In my view it's not a real abacus, but a set of counting beads.  There are 2 types of Asian abacus.  The Beads on the Abacus are divided into the "high" group, called the "Heaven" beads, and the "low" group, called the "Earth" beads.  The difference is that the Chinese abacus has 2 Heaven Beads in each column and the Japanese SOROBAN Abacus has only ONE Heaven bead.  The Soroban is the type which is being advocated for math education.  There are several clips on Youtube which are very useful:  There are 5 clips up so far with the heading "Soroban Abacus Set 1", and "Soroban Abacus Set 2" 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tVw3bdYvWbY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/tVw3bdYvWbY&rel=1</a> 

There are 4 Tutorials on Youtube called "Soroban Tutorial 1" etc through 4
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2-W7NygmpPk&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/2-W7NygmpPk&rel=1</a>
They are a bit slow but after the parent has watched the video,
they could explain it to their own child.

Then there's
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wD5ALPHQuC0&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/wD5ALPHQuC0&rel=1</a>
Abacus Intro for Kids
This is a neat explanation for kids

For an online Abacus that you can use with a computer mouse go to
http://www.tux.org/~bagleyd/java/AbacusAppJS.html
There's a choice of types of abacus so
Click on either
Soroban Japanese    OR
Roman Hand Held        So far I haven't figured out the difference

I'm sure if you watch all these videos, it will help to understand the abacus.

I hope that this will be helpful. 
Skippy Mardon

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