Benefits of Abacus Math are many. Without rehashing they why and how again in this post, as covered in “Why Abacus in this Age of Computers?”, Abacus learning produces best results for children in the ages 4-12. Not only is the child able to develop Mind Math skills, but also develops Visualization to improve big picture thinking, creativity, concentration and focus among other benefits. All these benefits last a lifetime.
These results come from Abacus Training strengthened through routine practice. There are two core components for Abacus Training and both are equally important. These are:
- Learning to use the Abacus
- Visualizing Abacus for Mind Math
Learning to use the Abacus
Abacus training begins with easy numbers. Every week the program teaches one or two basic techniques on the Abacus. Even though the numbers are initially small and easy to do mentally for some students, it’s essential that the Student do these questions on the Abacus. The numbers continue to get difficult week over week and if the child fails to master basic usage of the Abacus during earlier weeks, it is likely to slow down their progress in the program and possibly lead to unnecessary frustration.
The program is designed for typically 60 minutes of Abacus work a week completed in two 30 min sessions. Pick two days of the week to do the Abacus work. We recommend Sat and Wed as the two Abacus days – Saturday for learning the new technique and Wednesday to complete anything left over from Saturday.
Visualizing Abacus For Mind Math
The end goal with Abacus Training is Mind Math. To achieve that goal, we recommend starting work on Mind Math with the student early in the Program. We recommend that the child work on Mind Math about 10 minutes a day for 3-4 days of the week using the Mind Math worksheets included in the program. So if your Abacus day is Saturday, spend 10 minutes after the Abacus Work on Mind Math.
Spend 10-15 minutes for Mind Math on Monday.
Do Abacus Work on Wed. Spend 10 minutes after Abacus Work on Mind Math.
Spend another 10 minutes for Mind Math on Thursday.
Here’s a typical weekly routine for Abacus Training. A PDF version of the routine can be downloaded here.
| Day of the Week | Abacus - Time | Mind Math - Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 30 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Monday | 10 minutes | |
| Wednesday | 30 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Thursday | 10 minutes | |
| Totals | 60 minutes | 30 minutes |
Achieving the desired results for 90 minutes a week of Abacus Work is a no-brainer!