Abacus?

[Naturalist]

I just bought my son a lovely vintage Japanese abacus to help him learn his maths facts better. It has sets of 4 "earth" beads paired with 1 "heaven" bead. Can anyone recommend a good online tutorial, practice sheets, etc.? I have always wanted to learn it too.

 

[Harrison]

There are quite a few Youtube videos on it, here's one

Good luck

 

[Nitro]

I just bought my son a lovely vintage Japanese abacus to help him learn his maths facts better. It has sets of 4 "earth" beads paired with 1 "heaven" bead. Can anyone recommend a good online tutorial, practice sheets, etc.? I have always wanted to learn it too.

Awesome tool Teach him how to read a map too. A GPS doesn't work well when the batteries are dead.

 

[Naturalist]

Awesome tool Teach him how to read a map too. A GPS doesn't work well when the batteries are dead.

Agreed! Fortunately there is something of a map addiction in our house... And my husband is really good at orienteering (old school, using compass). I personally hate the GPS, unless marking Latitude and Longitude coordinates. The GPS in the car is always directing me to turn the wrong way down a one-way street...

 

[Nitro]

Agreed! Fortunately there is something of a map addiction in our house... And my husband is really good at orienteering (old school, using compass). I personally hate the GPS, unless marking Latitude and Longitude coordinates. The GPS in the car is always directing me to turn the wrong way down a one-way street...

often to rely on technology to do all your work will have downfalls in education and common sense

 

[Naturalist]

There are quite a few Youtube videos on it

Thanks for the link! I have a habit of forgetting to check YouTube, which is bad as it is an amazing resource. I have the day off so I can spend some watching the videos. My son and I are both visual learners so the videos are a great idea. Unlike a teacher, you can press "pause" when you need more time to absorb the information!

Already I like the way the abacus breaks down numbers into parts that are easy to manipulate mentally. My husband has always done mental maths this way but he has a tendency to forget what numbers he started with halfway through

 

[Nitro]

Thanks for the link! I have a habit of forgetting to check YouTube, which is bad as it is an amazing resource. I have the day off so I can spend some watching the videos. My son and I are both visual learners so the videos are a great idea. Unlike a teacher, you can press "pause" when you need more time to absorb the information!

Already I like the way the abacus breaks down numbers into parts that are easy to manipulate mentally. My husband has always done mental maths this way but he has a tendency to forget what numbers he started with halfway through

I was always able to calculate ratios and relative speeds in my head faster than an engineer with a calculator