The abacus
The abacus is a calculating tool that originated in China. Students learn to add, subtract, multiply and divide on it by moving beads according to a fixed set of rules and bead formulae.
Read the full article →What is abacus and mental arithmetic?
Children learn to calculate on the abacus, then learn to calculate on an abacus they picture in their head.
The abacus in the mind
With practice, a student no longer needs the tool. They picture the abacus and move its beads in their head. Calculating on this imagined abacus is mental arithmetic.
Skilled students answer as soon as they hear or see a problem, often faster than someone using a calculator.
Why learn it when calculators exist
For the same reason people run when they own cars: the exercise is the point. Abacus training teaches the principles behind basic arithmetic, and the skill doesn’t depend on a battery or the right button.
Abacus work asks for full attention against the clock, so students build focus and memory. Getting quick, accurate answers also gives children who make careless mistakes the confidence to stop avoiding maths.
Read the full article →Try a flash round
In competitions, numbers flash on a screen one after another and students add them on the abacus in their mind. The dashed abacus here stands in for that mental picture.