Plannig to introduce abacus to 4 jr old

[2010BEBES]

I received this week an abacus and start reading more about it. I would like to teach my 4 yr (almost 5) grandson.

I am afraid that it will create some dependency on it and will not be able to do the math wihout it. I am consious that kids start adition with their fingers but they are available at all times.

Are there any kids using it? Any tips?
Thanks.

[2010BEBES]

I start veiwing the youtube videos on abacus addition and subtraction but i am not convinced if this can be taught at such an early age as 4 years old.
So far what i have seen is that you need to work a lot on complements of 10 and of 5 in order to do the math.
Are any of your kids working with abacus ? If so, what age are they and when did they started.
Please i would appreciate if you can share your experience?

[Soroban]

Hi,

I'm a Soroban (Japanese Abacus) teacher in NY and I routinely work with 4 yr olds.
I also started learning when I was 4 as did my 3 brothers.
To give you my honest opinion its been very helpful for me in my academic career. I basically knew everything in 4th grade by the time I was in 2nd grade and I always had an easy time understanding "higher" math up to calculus (which was the last real math course I took)

The only caveats I would have is that every child is different and just because some kids can start at 4 and develop rapidly, doesn't mean that your grandson will do the same. Its much more important to continue practicing for a long period of time if you want him to develop math as a skill.

So, if its possible I would highly recommend a real teacher in a class setting if possible. The healthy peer pressure from other kids combined with a teacher who knows what he or she is doing (I would avoid franchises) can produce good results.

Finally in response to your other question about mental math: If the program concentrates on developing your grandson's calculation skills properly, he won't be dependent on the physical abacus. In my experience the ability to do the mental math (called Anzan) will actually free his mind to think about the other aspects of the problem.

Hope this helps,
Tom

[PokerDad]

Tom,

I need you to move to my area of the woods in a few years. 

OP,
If you can get your child to play around a little like in this video:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ap14W2mA53k&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Ap14W2mA53k&rel=1</a>

Perhaps that will help set up for when you're ready for classes? Maybe Tom can give additional insight if such prep work would help or if it's best to just wait for an actual instructor.

[LDSMom]

I wonder if you would be willing to host a Live Meeting, web conference, conference call, or post a youtube video and teach some of us????

[2010BEBES]

Tom, thank you for your information. I will look if there are instructors in my area (Peru).

Now that they arre entering vacations will be a good time to start.

PokerDad, thanks for the video. I came across it and found it very instructive.

[LDSMom]

I came across this program out of san francisco, CA: http://www.supermath.com/introduction.htm  I e-mailed the instructer and she said she is hoping to start an online class in 2012 since she has some kids moving out of state that want to continue the program. I will post an update when I hear back from her regarding official dates in case anyone else is interested.

[Soroban]

Hi poker dad,

I really like the video, particularly how they explain the concept of breaking up the 5 stone into 5 marbles.
It's very similar to the way I teach, and I put it in contrast to techniques like memorization where a child can answer 5-2 =3 but have no idea why.

In terms of Soroban, training "friends" (how I call the components of 5 and 10) can definitely help kids understand things much faster. The only pitfall I caution agains is learning both addition and subtraction simultaneously.

I've seen kids confuse 1 technique for the other as they gain speed, so I go out of my way to make sure that they get the addition really well before I move them onto subtraction.

But I think I'm getting too far into the minutia.

2010BEBES: You're very welcome, let me know what you find out there

LDSMom: I actually know the teacher from supermath, she's a "genuine" Soroban teacher (not franchise) so if she gets those classes going, I think it's worth looking into.

Also, I am working on a new video program for parents who want to teach their kids soroban. I know I said it's not ideal, but I'm hoping it'll help the parents that just can't get to a class. I would really appreciate some feedback on what you'd like to get out of Soroban and any ideas you might have.

Thanks for reading my very long post.

Tom

[early learning17]

Dear tom or others who know about Soboran teaching,

I came across www.alohama.com they seem to be the only ones here in Spain. Do you know anything about their professionality?

Thanks bb

[PokerDad]

I can't vouch for Aloha other than to point out it is a global franchise. There was some foundation I found online that mentioned them among a few other companies; I think it was some sort of membership to a math foundation or something similar.

Tom, I have a few questions and perhaps this can help you with your endeavor. How long does it take to transition into mental math? I haven't spent a whole lot of time working the soroban, but in practicing, I'm just working on manipulating the beads correctly (getting the correct answer). I'm no where near fast enough to consider myself fast; I'm fairly slow, and I still make mistakes.
Along those lines, no where have I found a drill sequence for working the fingers. I know that serious soroban students will have drill sequences that they work on.
Also, how does one transition into the "mental" aspect, step by step?
What type of "homework" do you assign for your students?

[Soroban]

I'm going to second PokerDad in terms of Aloha. I only know of the franchise near my location and what I've been told from the students who've left their program to join mine. From what I know, I don't consider the teachers I know of from their program to be "highly" qualified in terms of Soroban skill. But I know that at least in India (where the program originates from) they have some students who are highly skilled. It might be just my personal preference but if you can find an alternative teacher (someone who has spent at least a couple years training) I think you'll be better served.

As for Mental math, its hard to give you a time frame without knowing how much you practice and how you practice. A rough guide I usually use with kids is when I feel that they're comfortable moving the beads without having to consciously think about what they're doing most of the time. (usually takes a 6 year old about 6 months of about 2 hours a week of training till they're about this level, with huge variations among different kids)

I do it this way because in the initial step Anzan (mental math) is really just a mental image of the Soroban. So the better you can use a Soroban the better you'll be able to visualize it. (Imagine walking into your house and visualizing what you see  vs walking into a random grocery store and doing the same)

I usually start with very simple problems, as an adult I would recommend you do problems like 1 + 1, or 1 + 3 and to work to visualize the soroban beads moving.

But the secret that most people don't know is that the quickest way to train your Anzan is to practice more Soroban. So even the most advanced students always practice Soroban to develop their Anzan skills and conversely the better you get at Anzan the easier Soroban gets.

As for homework, I have custom workbooks I've designed to teach specific skills according to my curriculum. So all the homework I assign is designed to practice and strengthen the one technique I taught the student that day. In the beginning I assign about 12 - 15 problems a day. and I would assign more or less depending on upcoming exams or if I feel that a child's practicing inefficiently and more bad practice wouldn't do any good.

Tom

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Tom- I don't have any franchises in my area, but is there a national or international network of registered Soroban teachers? Just so interested parents could put in their zipcode and locate a local instructor.  If not, you should start one!    I'm in Virginia Beach, if you can recommend anyone or know where to find someone, please let me know. Thanks!

[Ayesha Nicole]

PokerDad > Thanks for the videos!  Perfect for my children. 

Soroban > I am very interested in your videos.   I used Doman Math and Little Math with the girls when they were younger, and they now attend a Montessori pre-school.  I am learning how to use the abacus from an Egyptian colleague of my husband, although I don't know his background with it. 

I also  just bought this package A:

http://www.nurtureminds.com/online-store.htm

because I liked the visuals in the books, and it seems as though I can teach it at home to my children:

http://www.nurtureminds.com/download.htm

I also just bought these abaci because I like the Mr. Abraham's videos (and website:  http://www.visual-soroban.org/ ) that breaks it down step by step, and the children's abaci seem easier to use for the younger children, than beginning with a standard abacus, which is a little intimidating: 

Pacchi Wood Beginner Abacus - Tomoe Soroban
http://kidenergy.com/27-pacchi.html

Wood Educational Abacus - Tomoe Soroban
http://kidenergy.com/27-us100.html

What else do you recommend for parents at home with little or no training, and no teachers available in their area?

Thank you.

~ Ayesha

[Ayesha Nicole]

Soroban,

We were excited to receive our abaci today, ; and I have not yet received the package from nutureminds.com . 

What do you recommend that I do with the girls?  I had them count to 50 on the small (red, yellow, and green) abacus. 

Thanks.
Ayesha

[busyparent]

I just found this
http://abacusmaster.com/Mypage.aspx?p=Demo.htm

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