Concept of Abacus:
The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used for performing arithmetic processes. The word ‘abacus’ comes from the Greek root ‘abax’ which means ‘calculating board’ or ‘calculating table’. Today, abacuses are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of wood, stone, or metal. The abacus was in use centuries before the adoption of the modern written numeral system. The use of this tool is still prevalent because of the numerous benefits it offers.
A calculator makes use of batteries while the abacus uses fingers along with the mental energy of the user. In an electronic calculator, the child feeds the number and the calculator provides the answer, but not the explanation. On the other hand, an abacus helps to increase your child’s mental math skills along with many other advantages.
The abacus teaches children simple mathematics, especially multiplication, as it is an excellent substitute for rote memorization of multiplication tables, which some young children find daunting. The abacus is also an excellent tool for teaching other base numbering systems since it easily adapts itself to any base.
All children are equipped with similar levels of energy and faculty, speaking generally. The potential for harnessing this vast and abundant resource depends on the use of right tools. Unfortunately, most parents do not know how to tap into the resource mines of these young minds in the right way and thus fail to realize their full potential.
There are procedures and training methodologies to master abacus use. When children use both hands to move the beads for small and large arithmetic calculations it betters eye-hand coordination. Also the rapid communication between hands and brain stimulates brain cells, promoting quick, balanced and whole brain development. |
