Recommendations for good Abacus program

[Mum]

Hello ariel,

The RightStart website will show you what is needed for each level. I do not know what level you would like to start at, but here is the list for Level B.

http://activitiesforlearning.com/levelb.aspx

When we are ready to move to Level C I will only need the B to C Add-On Kit, because as you correctly said, the manipulatives are reused. You could certainly buy many yourself and just purchase the unique items from RightStart. From memory I estimated the cost of that option versus buying the Kit, and ended up opting for the RightStart Kit.

At this stage I plan to keep moving through all of the levels. It is easy for me and fun for my children.

We didn’t start playing with the Japanese abacus until my daughter was about 5½. My plan is for us to keep covering 5 to 10 pages of the Text Book each week, which is not a big time commitment as my daughter knows the answers to the equations we are doing, but not what all of the rows of beads represent and how to move the beads correctly to obtain her answer. I am keen to keep this up as I am personally interested in developing the skills involved as much as helping my children develop them. It doesn't matter to me if they don't develop the super powers you see in the videos of those brilliantly talented children, it is simply another fun way for them to view math, rather than fearing it like their dad. 

Mum.

[happymomof5]

some time back there was a thread on abacus and i remember a few links to very good free online abacus lessons. i didn't keep the links as i didn't have the need of them at the time, but i do have a recollection of them being very good programs, and i am a math teacher
search the forum, i hope u can find it
good luck
...if we teach concepts to our children fromthe beginning, they will not have 'mathophbia', as they will have understanding, even if they're not meant to be great mathematicians

[Soroban]

Hi,

Just wondering if you're still interested in a good Abacus (Soroban) program.
I teach a program in the NY area, and would love to see if we're a math.

Let me know if you're interested.

Thanks,
Tom

[PokerDad]

Tom

Thank you for bumping this thread. I just purchased a soroban for myself and have been looking online for information on how to use it. The hard part for me right now is practicing and understanding the minimal finger movement. My goal is to learn soroban for myself so that at some point I can help my child understand how to use it also.
It doesn't seem like anyone has a decent online course in soroban. That's too bad because there are a lot of homeschoolers out there that might be willing to do it if there were something local or something they could do at home.
I'm in Colorado; seems like there's quite a few instructors in the NY area from what I've found, but that doesn't help me really.

[Soroban]

Well it just so happens I'm currently working on an video program for parents to teach their own kids Soroban.
Maybe you can help me design what should be in it!

I've been wondering what kinds of things parents would like to achieve with soroban.
Mental math? math proficiency? catching up with their peers? or a head start?

Tom

[PokerDad]

parents would like to achieve with soroban.

I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I'd like to get to where I can do mental math; and that's my goal for my child - add, subtract, multiply, divide... hopefully by the time they enter school, but I do realize that most soroban training starts at age 4.
I think on a site like Brillkids, the goals would be similar. It's less about catching up to others since this site is mostly for preschool aged children, and probably more about either learning proficiently or gaining an edge (or just part of an at home curriculum that will go on during the school years)

I'll think this over a little more and add to it tomorrow. Thanks again!

[PokerDad]

Having thought about this for a few days, I can safely say that my primary goal when I introduce the soroban to my child will be to develop a better sense of numbers and math. Ultimately, I'd like my child to be able to do simple math in their head fairly quickly. It would be pretty sweet if they could do long division (2 digit +) in their head, but certainly addition and multiplication would be really helpful.

My understanding, as of now, is that the child learns how to properly manipulate the soroban physically. And then once they seem to handle being able to do this successfully, a surrogate soroban is introduced: a picture or drawing of a soroban to perform finger movements as the person "imagines moving the beads"

Once this is done, then it's an easy step to mental math. And from there, developing speed and accuracy are where many students advance.

But what if there's not really anyone that understands the pitfalls, problems, the process of going from lack of skill to skillful, etc? This is all where a video series/program might be able to help... otherwise I have to try really hard to find a local coach or program (that are mostly out of state from where I'm at).

Like I said earlier, I think this is more "getting ahead" than catching up. In my mind though, it's almost neither - it's creating a mechanism that when mastered will make it a lot easier to move into more abstract math when older. How easy will be to do derivatives and trig and such when the number calculation is easy as pie?

[A_BC]

Hi Tom,

We really need people like you in the forum!

My first objective with Soroban is to teach my DS mental math.

I have a question for you:  my toddler has been using LM for about a year with Brillkids curriculum and Shichida 65-days program. I am planning to use Jones Geniuses around the age of two. But I have no clue on when to start  teaching with Soroban. What do you suggest?

[Soroban]

Hi A_BC

Thanks for the warm Welcome

You're going to have to help me out a bit since I'm new and I don't know all the lingo yet.

What do you mean DS mental math?

As for a time frame for starting Soroban, I've personally started students as young as 3, but I've seen some of the "Grand Masters" teach even younger students.
Some of the requirements I have when a student starts is that they are able to say and write numbers from 1 - 10. And that they can sit (or a reasonable proximity) for at least 10 minutes at a time.
They're really rough guides to see if a student has the raw skills to manipulate the beads on a soroban as well as being able to write or at least say the answer for a problem I give them.

I think if you're willing to be a bit creative and be flexible with your child, you can start teaching the principles at an any age. I believe the only thing you SHOULDN'T teach your child is to memorize math as "facts" It's one of the 2 most common reasons a student can't do the Soroban mental math (it's called Anzan)

So what you want to do is to let your child get so used to using a Soroban that it becomes easier for his mind to do the Soroban or Anzan than it is for him/her to use math facts. Then your child will use Anzan because it's easier, and it will be easier for him to do Anzan in a virtuous circle.

So I know I haven't given you an exact answer, and it's because I think you will be a better judge than I can. But I'm hoping you can keep some of the ideas I gave you in mind to help guide you.

Let me know if I can help explain anything more clearly.

Thanks,
Tom

[aangeles]

My daughter Ella started attending Soroban classes a couple of months after she turned 3. The only requirements were being able to recognize and write the numbers 1-10. The Soroban school she goes to typically accepts children 5 years old and above but had no problems taking her on after her trial lesson and assessment. For the typical 5-year-old beginner, they said that the child usually develops Anzan/mental math skills after about 8 months to 14 months of 2-hour/week lessons, depending on how much they practice. The more you practice, the faster you get to the Anzan stage. For Ella, I am not sure if it will take longer for her to learn Anzan because she is younger and has a shorter attention span, or if she will learn it faster, because she is younger and her right brain is relatively more open. At this point, after 2 months of soroban practice, her fingers can work the beads so deftly that she almost does not have to look at the abacus to calculate a string of addition and subtraction problems. And  I was also advised not to teach Ella to memorize math facts because, when she eventually gets to the Anzan stage, it will be far faster and easier for her to solve problems by Anzan.

By the way, Tom, do you teach the one-hand or two-hand method for the Soroban?

[Soroban]

Hi aangeles,

Where does Ella learn Soroban? in the US?

In my program students start using their dominant hand and a non standard 2 finger approach. It's a varient that I've found to be easier for kids to understand on the Soroban and to learn Anzan faster.

But to be perfectly honest it's only after about 5th or 6th dan that most students even start to feel the need to incorporate some two handed techniques.

As for Ella's Anzan, most of the time I've found that kids who start earlier have an easier time learning Anzan. I think its because they don't have the problem of unlearning any bad habits that schools might teach them.

[aangeles]

Hi Tom,

Ella attends soroban classes in Manila, Philippines. Her soroban school uses the two-handed technique (which I prefer) for more balanced development of the right and left brain. However, we will eventually be moving back to Chicago so I am gonna be looking for teachers there in a couple of years. I hope that by that time she will already have learned Anzan. In the meantime, I am also using several right brain programs with her everyday in the hopes of boosting/improving her visualization skills which, hopefully, will help in learning Anzan.

[joy mum]

Dear Aangeles,

Do you mind sharing what types of right brain programs you are doing with Ella? As I am also keen for my daughter to learn Anzan as well. I have also bought an abacus, but there are no available classes nearby which teaches kids their age (she is about the same age as Ella).

Thank you very much!

[aangeles]

Hi joy mum,

I use the following materials for right brain activities:

1. Wink program for Eye Exercises, Photoeyeplay, Mental Imaging, Observation Training, Memory Linking, and Photographic Memory.
2. GD Picture Dictionary, Tweedlewink, Wink to Learn, Babybit, and LR files for Flashcards.
3. Mandalas - http://www.homeeducation.sg/everyday-mandala
4. Photographic Memory - http://leftandrightbraineducationtoys.blogspot.com/2010/10/photographic-memory-kit.html
5. Tangrams - http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Tangoes-USA-JRT001-Jr/dp/B000F6RWW8
6. Logico and FunThinkers games
7. audiobooks and music cds for foreign languages
8. tuning forks for perfect pitch

I also have some RB Ipad apps and Memory Magic but have not really used them much because I am still trying to limit her screen and computer time. Check out Shen-Li's blog for more info on right brain education: http://www.figur8.net/articles/right-brain-education/ She is much much more knowledgable about this topic than I will ever be! 

[lelask]

Thank you very much aangeles for your answer.Karma. You are a big inspiration 
I love love that tangoes game.    Shame they do not sell it here in Slovakia.
I just wrote in another thread that we would like to know your miracle schedule 

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