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Today two different ancient methods are available for school students to conquer math. With either of this technique students are able to do large and complex calculations in their head without need of any modern day electronic devices. These techniques are: 1) Abacus Math and 2) Vedic Math. Before we indulge straight into the differences let us first know what these two methods are.The abacus is an ancient tool invented during Greek and Roman times. Over the period abacus has evolved into different types as it traveled across the world. However it was in China the abacus was innovated further and used heavily in day-to-day life for calculations. Abacus math is a technique derived from this very old technique and fits right into the modern day world. Abacus use can build confidence, provide a sense of achievement, promote intuitive thinking, enhance problem-solving capability, stimulate creativity and improve concentration and mental endurance.

Vedic Mathematics has no legal definition. Hindu philosophy is based on Veda-s (ancient scriptures written in Sanskrit, some say as old as 5000 B.C.) and mathematics translated from these texts is termed as Vedic Mathematics. These ancient scriptures were rediscovered by Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji (1884-1960) and he translated the complex text into simpler understandable mathematics.

The system is based on 16 Vedic sutras or aphorisms, which are actually word-formulae describing natural ways of solving a whole range of mathematical problems. Some examples of sutras are “By one more than the one before”, “All from 9 & the last from 10″, and “Vertically & Crosswise”. These 16 one-line formulae originally written in Sanskrit, which can be easily memorized, enables one to solve long mathematical problems quickly. These formulae describe the way the mind naturally works and are therefore a great help in directing the student to the appropriate method of solution.

With Abacus math, abacus is used as a tool to learn calculations. Beads are moved up and down and various columns to represent the number. When children use both hands to move the abacus beads to perform arithmetic calculations, there is quick communication between the hands and the brain that stimulates both the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This promotes rapid, balanced whole brain development. Abacus math should be started at very early childhood, as young as age 4. Abacus math starts at very basic level by teaching the numbers and then progressing to calculations. Eventually the child retains the memory of bead positions and the relevant notation. Abacus math if started during later ages can create a bit of hindrance.

Vedic math is entirely done in mind. Vedic math also starts at a basic level of numbers and gradually progressing to simple additions, subtractions, multiplications and division. Vedic math goes much more beyond just the basic calculations. With Vedic math one can also solve complex geometrical theorems and algebraic problems. Vedic math can be started at later ages as well without any difficulty.

The key in both techniques is to practice and implement the methods in your day-to-day life. And what could be a better way to practice then using the math worksheets. Today there are various websites you can refer to gain knowledge of either method.

Dhaval Shrimankar focuses on mental math techniques to enhance brain development during early childhood. You can find math worksheets on abacus math and resources for vedic math at www.nurtureminds.com

When has one ever enjoyed rote memorizing? If you forget just one point or a particular figure the entire thing falls apart. Interesting things never leave our mind and it is more so for children who like to learn the fun way. Pictorial memory is retained better and is definitely more interesting. The Abacus as a tool for mental calculation has been proved by studies to be an effective method of brain development. The benefits of using the abacus to calculate have a bearing not just on this particular area but also on other walks of life too.Rote Memorization of tables is a very tedious process that the child is obviously apprehensive to it. Learning the tables with the Abacus is a fun way because the retention is better for the child with the pictorial memory. Otherwise if the child forgets just one figure in the time tables then he is sure to get confused about the whole sequence. The Chinese abaci were designed with a special suanpan technique to specially make the multiplication process easier to handle.

According to researchers visual memory is a very crucial aspect of learning. For learning tables with the abacus the children will use both their hands for moving the beads. The synchronizing movement of the hands initiates the cell development in the brain and also utilizing the right part of the brain which is very important to actually master something.

The human brain is divided into two parts the left brain and the right brain. What is used by children most of the times is only the left brain and the right brain which is the actual seat and origin of intelligence is left unutilized. This very important part of the brain integrates whatever information is received and is also responsible for thinking and creative human activities. The learning of time tables through the abacus is one of the many activities that prompts simultaneous activity of the both the parts of the brain.

The use of the abacus is not just a better method for learning time tables over rote memorizing but also the abacus being an attractive tool manages to capture the undivided attention of the child too. It eliminates the phobia attached to tables and makes the processing of numbers a relatively easy activity for them.

Numerical memory and improvement of the spatial arrangement of memory are most enhanced by the use of the Abacus. Apart from that the skill of solving general mathematical problems of the elementary school grade are seen to improve too. The facts stated here are backed by results of tests conducted among children, one group using the Abacus method and the other group without this method. The group using the Abacus method was more efficient naturally as they correlated the calculation with the Abacus image in their minds and were not confused.

So choosing the abacus method for your children will definitely give you the satisfaction of ensuring for them a better future. This will be by making their basics strong right from the beginning. Go ahead get the abacus advantage for your child and recommend it to other people as well so as to pave the way for a sound and confident future for the young generation.

Anu Sindhwani focuses on researching mental math techniques. She writes extensively on mental math nurturing minds for early childhood brain development. For more information can be found at the http://www.nurtureminds.com/ and http://nurtureminds.blogspot.com/

The abacus has been around in various forms for over 2300 years. It was used for various counting and operational tasks. One might even call it the original math manipulative (unless you count fingers and stones). In my younger years, abaci were relegated to the bottom shelf or used as a toy for the kinesthetic kids. These days, abaci can meet the same fate that the abaci of my youth did. The first known abacus, the Salamis tablet, collected dust for over 2100 years. For all those lonely and banished abaci on dusty shelves everywhere, I dedicate this article on how to represent, add and subtract whole and decimal numbers.As most teachers know, the use of manipulatives by younger elementary students helps them to understand the concepts of place value and operations later on. In my search for a variety of manipulatives to teach number sense, addition and subtraction, I came across a convenient tool in the abacus. I’m sure it was no coincidence that each row on the abacus included exactly ten beads, but there was no operators manual with the abacus I found. When I found an instruction manual several years later, I found that the manufacturer of the abacus saw it as no more than a counting device and had no idea of the place value power inherent in the design.

Representing Numbers With a Dusty Abacus

When I first started using an abacus as a manipulative in math class, I was teaching grade six. In the grade six curriculum, students were supposed to represent whole numbers greater that one million and decimal numbers to thousandths. If you count the number of places from one million down to thousandths, you get ten places. Coincidentally, the abacus had ten rods of ten beads each. I’m sure what I discovered was discovered long ago, and some manufacturers probably even send out better instruction manuals that make note of this, but at the time, it was a completely new discovery.

To make a long story short, I assigned each row a specific place value starting with millions at the top, and thousandths at the bottom. One could use a strip of tape or an indelible marker to label the rows. To represent a number, a student would simply move the number of beads for the value of each place in the number they were given. For example, the number 325,729 was represented by moving three of the hundred thousands beads, two of the ten thousands beads, five of the thousands beads, seven of the hundreds beads, two of the tens beads and nine of the ones beads.

I didn’t have a class set of abaci, so I made up little sketches of an abacus (six or so per page) and students showed representations of numbers using these.

Adding and Subtracting Numbers With a Polished Abacus

Once students are familiar with representing numbers using an abacus, they can move onto adding and subtracting numbers. The idea of adding using an abacus and place value is quite a simple process. Begin by representing the first number. Add the value of each place value in the second and subsequent numbers one at a time beginning with the lowest place value and regroup as necessary.

Consider this simple example, 178 + 255. The student would represent 178 on the abacus to begin. She would then add five to the ones row. Since there aren’t five more beads to add, this first move would also involve regrouping. The student would move the two remaining ones, then regroup by sliding all ten ones back and replacing them with a ten. She would then move three more beads since she already moved two of them for a total of five. Since there was some regrouping, there would now be eight tens. The students needs to add five more, so there would be another regrouping, this time of ten tens to make a hundred. Finally, the student moves two additional hundred beads; this time regrouping isn’t necessary. If everything was done correctly, the student would end up with four hundreds beads, three tens beads and three ones beads.

A variation on addition is to add the second and subsequent numbers from the highest place value to the lowest place value.

Subtracting is much the same as addition, but it involves “removing” beads. The procedure for subtracting is to represent the first number then to subtract the value of each place value in the second and subsequent numbers beginning with the highest place value.

Consider this example, 3.252 - 1.986. The student would first represent 3.252 using the abacus. He would begin by subtracting one one. This is fairly straight forward because there are enough ones available. In the next step, though, the student has to subtract nine tenths from two tenths. He begins by subtracting two of the nine tenths, but he then has to regroup one of the remaining ones into ten tenths. Once he has ten more tenths, he can subtract the remaining seven tenths. He continues by subtracting eight hundredths from five hundredths, and again, he has to regroup, this time, one of the tenths into ten hundredths. The final step also involves regrouping since six thousandths must be subtracted from two thousandths. In the end, the student hopefully ends up with one one, two tenths, six hundredths, and six thousandths (1.266).

Subtraction could also be accomplished by subtracting the lowest place value first, but this sometimes means more manipulations of the beads which means more chance for error.

Conclusion

The use of the abacus takes a little bit of time to master. It is important that the teacher and the students use the correct place value terminology (e.g. “regroup ten hundreds to make one thousand” instead of “turn ten green beads into one blue bead”), so the concepts of place value, addition, and subtraction can be transfered to mental strategies and paper/pencil algorithms. Remember, the best way to dust and polish an abacus is with little fingers!

Peter Waycik is an elementary teacher and a reading specialist. He supplies thousands of free math worksheets to teachers and parents every day at http://www.math-drills.com

Speak of Mathematics and chill runs down through your spine. And same is the story when it comes time to teach mathematics to our children. And you as a parent / tutor are not at fault. Today’s schooling system teaches a very ineffective method of learning math, rote memorization of times tables. We all wish our children could perform calculations quickly. And we all know the only way quick calculations are done if performed mentally. And once again we think of rote memorizing tables. Well, that is not the case anymore. Today centuries old technique of Abacus education has been revived and the materials are available easily. I am sure by now you are thinking - Why Abacus?One particular use for the abacus is teaching children simple mathematics and especially multiplication. The abacus 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.Children naturally have vast potential of energy and brain power. But most parents do not know how to tap into the depths of these young minds in the right way and thus fail to realize and nurture these young minds to their fullest potential.

When children use both hands to move abacus beads in arithmetic calculations, it stimulates cells in both the right and left sides of the brain. This results in quick, balanced whole brain development, leading to greater mental capacity. Using the abacus, a child can do all arithmetic calculations up to 10 digits without relying on an electronic calculator.

Using the abacus also:

• Fosters a greater sense of numbers.
• Helps develop an intuitive understanding of numbers through their concrete representation.
• Fosters one’s trust in the process of calculation by enabling one to observe it in action.
• Manifests the concept of decimal places and the progression of units by tens physically.
• Instantly accomplishes addition and subtraction when numbers are placed on the abacus.
• Improves understanding of compounded numbers (through the use of supplementary numbers for 5 and 10).
• Helps in developing the beneficial qualities of concentration, patience, and endurance.
• Fosters one’s confidence in calculation.
• Uses a left to right calculation method, which makes quick estimation and rounding off possible.
• Works on the decimal rather than fractional system, an easy progression to digital systems.
• Develops mental calculation, which is the ultimate resource.
• Develops the right brain tremendously.
• Leads to greater mental capacity.
• Expresses large numbers simply and easily.
• Provides a sense of achievement as one’s proficiency improves.

With abacus, you can help your child achieve more than just math skills. You can boost your child’s confidence, provide a sense of achievement, promote intuitive thinking, enhance problem-solving capability, enhance creativity, and improve concentration and mental endurance.

Find out more on why abacus education is increasingly popular in many countries like Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, Singapore and elsewhere. The abacus has become valuable teaching tool in schools, tuition centers and community centers, and is used by home schooling parents around the world.

This gift to your child will result in big rewards down the road. It is about time you make a decision to enhance the quality of your child’s life. Make a difference in your child’s life - today!