Abacus

An abacus helps us in understanding mathematical concepts by developing number sense, something that cannot always be achieved while using a calculator.

The abacus is an ancient calculating tool that dates back centuries. Early societies used some form of Abacus to count and do arithmetic long before they invented numbers. Mostly, they calculated problems by moving stones or beans around in grooves or on tablets. You can still see the abacus being used in parts of Asia and Africa by merchants and traders who work with the swiftness of lightning. Your child will become just as skillful.

At Christ Abacus Academy, we use the abacus because it is an invaluable tool to help children understand mathematics. Little children have difficulty grasping arithmetic because it is not something they can see or touch. By working with beads on the abacus, math becomes something your child can understand.

In this mini-lesson, we will learn about the abacus - how to use, abacus calculator, and learning abacus as we learn the concept of the abacus.

An abacus is a simple calculating device that consists of beads arranged in rods of wires embedded in a wooden frame.

Calculations can be performed by sliding beads along the rods.

Parts of Abacus

The different parts of an abacus are:

• The outer boundary of the abacus is called the frame.

• The abacus we use currently has 17 rods and each rod has 5 beads.

• There are two divisions in an abacus. The horizontal bar that divides the upper and lower part is called the beam.

• The beads that are in the lower part are called the lower beads or the earth beads.

• The beads that are in the upper part are called the upper beads or the heaven beads.