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JennGM
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| Posted: March 08 2008 at 12:23pm | IP Logged
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One Abacus and Several Abaci...
How to use one? How to teach your child to use one? Very basic stuff. I did an initial search and now am more confused. 
Why are there different kinds? Mine is just with 10 rows I think of colored beads, not divided into two parts. Will that work?
ETA: I bought it from IKEA, it has 10 rows, 2 of each color (so 5 colors).
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Maryan
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| Posted: March 08 2008 at 12:37pm | IP Logged
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Jenn -
I'm only familiar with how to use a Right Start abacus to teach math. Dr. Cotter uses an abacus of 10 rows (so 100 beads) divided into two colors. The reason for the two colors is because she believes in teaching the child to visualize 5s. After 5 rows, then the colors switch -- again keeping with the visualizing five theme and to indicate where the 50 row ends and 60 begins...
On the other side of the abacus she has 10s, 100s, 1000s marked so that the child can learn to count and carry in decimal places.
I'm certainly not an expert at the abacus -- but I have learned a lot this year! I've always wondered what to do with one!
And having used one with two colors, I can't imagine using one without it.
ETA: I have a really big abacus that I got at IKEA with ten rows each of different colors. The only one who uses it is the baby. I just don't know what to do with it otherwise. 
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Maryan
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Willa
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| Posted: March 08 2008 at 1:07pm | IP Logged
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I have just been wondering the same thing. I have one of the basic toy wooden Melissa and Doug abaci with the ten rows and ten colors. My littlies like it all right but I have been stumped on exactly what to do with it "formally" and have found little advice on the internet.
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Maryan
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| Posted: March 08 2008 at 5:27pm | IP Logged
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Mine must be just like yours Jenn!! It requires me getting up to go check though. I'm tempted to paint it the same as the Right Start abacus now that you've asked about this... In my free time...
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Maryan
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: March 08 2008 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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I have always been fascinated by them, but never entirely understood them. My current plan is to stick with the Montessori small and large bead frames, which are each an abacus, but organized a bit different, I think.
They are each organized by hierarchy, so the first three rows represent units, tens and hundreds, then a space, with the next three rows being thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand - another space and a row for the millions (that's the large bead frame). There are ten beads on each row and so much work can be done on them that makes so much sense to me.
I like the idea of seeing the 5s though - perhaps with different shades of the colors... I'll have to think about that...
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stefoodie
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| Posted: March 10 2008 at 11:58am | IP Logged
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I've got the Right Start Abacus, a typical Chinese abacus, *and* the Ikea abacus, which I'm going to paint when I get back to match the Right Start Abacus/Rekenrek.
The Right Start abacus is similar to the Rekenrek, description here. It basically helps with visualizing in 5's and 10's.
I only know how to use the Chinese abacus for basic addition. I hade a Malaysian friend, however, who performs 5-digit multiplication tasks in just seconds. It's amazing to watch.
how to use a Chinese abacus
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Mary G
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| Posted: March 10 2008 at 5:23pm | IP Logged
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I know my rather smart brother taught himself to do caculus, etc on a real Chinese abacus when he was in middle school ... he's the one that went to the Navy Academy!
A Chinese abacus splits -- 5 beads below the bar and 2 beads above so that as you count 5, you move an upper bead, etc..... like tally marks.
The other abacus is 10 beads and helps teach placevalue on a base-ten idea....more what we would be used to....
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: Can We Talk About Abaci?
