Stodd and Ann
You can learn more about Soroban and Anzan mental arithmetic from this site
http://www.sorobancymru.co.uk/page28a.htmlMy site is under construction, so I would share as soon as it is up. I am planning to sell soroban device, soroban workbooks (not textbooks), abacus flashcards 0-100 with 50 addition equations covering single step, multistep, 1digit and 2 digits addition equations. The flashcards are based on 3-rod primary colors abacus. If you would like to know more about these products you can email me at enrich [dot] brains [at] gmail [dot] com or PM me. I can send some samples.
Regarding the online course, it is a level 1 (out of 6) courses. Level 1 covers addition and subtraction with all possible combinations. 6 hours class split into 1 hour each week. Course fee is USD 199.
Aangeles,
Yes you are right, most of the abacus schools are based on Japanese abacus version. Yes the online course is for adults only for now. I teach my baby using flashcards and the physical abacus. Just like you would teach perfect pitch in music, I teach abacus. Flash the card and show the similar state in abacus. Currently I use 3 rod abacus but it doesn't matter as long as you are consistent. The materials that I use currently covers 0-100 abacus flashcards with 50 addition equations.
Since you already know abacus you might try to teach using flashcards as well as physical abacus. Chris has shared some abacus flashcards here that you might want to use. Or you can buy the flashcards that I prepared based on 3-rod abacus
Its upto you. Please mail me for more details.
Btw, your daughter 30 mo old can even start mental arithmetic as soon as she completes 0-10 flashcards. Because right brain principle states that young kids can visualize. Hope this helps.