abacus – Early Math Counts https://earlymathcounts.org Laying the foundation for a lifetime of achievement Tue, 11 Jul 2017 15:48:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 183791774 The Abacus https://earlymathcounts.org/the-abacus/ https://earlymathcounts.org/the-abacus/#comments Mon, 11 Apr 2016 11:00:14 +0000 http://www.mathathome.org/blog1/?p=1578 An abacus is an ancient counting tool that has been used all over the world, for centuries, primarily in Asia.  The frame is traditionally made of wood with wire or small wooden rods running through it.  On each of the rods there are beads that move from one side to the other. Children being using an abacus by moving the beads from one side to the other and counting them as they go.

abacusThe abacus pictured above is designed for an early childhood environment.  This one has 10 rows of 10 beads.  An abacus designed for older children or adults provides “decks” or separate areas to represent place value.

Since children take in information through their sense of touch (as well as their other senses), the abacus makes good sense.  It reinforces one-to-one correspondence and number sense.

Did you know that blind children all around the world learn mathematics with an abacus?

]]> https://earlymathcounts.org/the-abacus/feed/ 8 1578 An Old Friend and An Abacus https://earlymathcounts.org/an-old-friend-and-an-abacus/ https://earlymathcounts.org/an-old-friend-and-an-abacus/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2014 12:03:16 +0000 http://www.mathathome.org/blog1/?p=3133 When my husband was a child living in Laramie, Wyoming he befriended a boy from Japan who was spending a year in the US with his family.  His father was a visiting scholar at the University of Wyoming.  Although they only spent one year playing together, this friendship held something special for both of them.  When they recently reconnected via Facebook, all of the stories of their 8th grade year came flooding back.  Last week we had the pleasure of hosting his son for the weekend, He is a college sophomore studying in Missouri.

It turns out that his father, the 8th grader from Wyoming, is now a teacher and business person who specializes in THE ABACUS.

You all know that I love the abacus.  It is an ancient tool that can do everything a modern-day computer can do, without electricity. In countries around the world, even very young children complete pretty sophisticated computations using the abacus.  Watch this video to see the results.

For general information about the abacus and how it can be used, click here.

If you, yourself do not know how to use a simple abacus, watch this short tutorial, which will give you enough information to feel comfortable introducing it to the children in your care.

If you want to challenge yourself, check out this website.  There, you can practice your skills.

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