Countries like Japan and China are already taking full advantage of the abacus to boost their mental faculties.

Every student should therefore learn the abacus so they can also advance in their respective fields and not stay behind the competition.

Learn how to boost your child's memory for their academic success.

I'm the author of this article and I'm a qualified abacus teacher, answering questions from around the world online abacus and various questions from online-soroban.com students.

Table of contents

Practice is the ultimate way to boost a child’s memory.

And the tenet is especially true for the case of math skills.

The more one practices, the better they get at their topics.

But is practice everything?

As it turns out, it is not.

Memory also plays a huge role in solving mathematical problems.

We can very easily see this when we look at how the brain works.

We learn techniques to solve questions, then move on.

Whenever we encounter a similar kind of problem in the wild, our brain remembers the technique learned and uses that to solve the issue.

Of course, if the memory didn’t work properly, the whole system would collapse.

 

1-1.Boost Child's Memory and Why Is It Popular in Japan

What mental calculation is Mental calculation refers to the act of calculating in the head.

Calculating here mainly refers to arithmetic operations, but may also involve a large amount of algebraic or geometric thinking.

The main thing to remember is that using calculators, pen or paper, or writing material of any kind is strictly prohibited.

All calculations have to be done entirely within the head.

Not even remote rough work is allowed.

Such calculations may be helpful when a computer or calculator is not available.

Moreover, there are championships held at the international level, where contestants fight for the World Mental Calculation Champion Title.

It is an exciting field for sure!

Competitions aside, students of maths should at least have basic command over mental calculation to properly move forward in their maths journey.

Why is mental calculation so popular in Japan?

Japan is a country known for its time management skills, discipline, and hard work.

With that a given, it is for sure that if Japan is doing something, it has some sort of advantage to it.

Mental calculation is one of those things.

Japan has the culture of the soroban, a special, simple version of the abacus that is practiced by children from a young age.

Unlike other methods of maths, the abacus discourages the use of paper to make calculations.

Instead, everything is to be done in the head.

Let us look at some important advantages about boosting your child's memory with mental maths: - It boosts accuracy - It encourages higher-order thinking - It helps build resilience and willpower - It keeps the mind disciplined

 

1-2.Using the Abacus to Boost Child's Memory

Abacus can be a powerful tool in the hands of the right learner.

If one practices daily with this ancient, effective but simple calculating device, they are bound to see a boost in their memory.

But can the abacus be used to learn any serious mental techniques?

The answer is yes!

There are tons of abacus-based exercises that are proven to boost mental calculation speeds and accuracy.

But why is the abacus so good at boosting a child's memory and how can you use it for your own benefit?

To start with the first question, the abacus is so good at improving mental math capacities because it does away with numbers.

That’s right! The abacus, although it is a mathematical device, does not rely on numbers.

Abacus mathematics relies on the movement and position of the abacus beads, not numbers.

This is the reason why doing maths with an abacus is so easy.

There are no carryovers or digits to keep track of.

Just move the beads and solve.

Now for the second question, how can you take advantage of the abacus?

The answer is simple, but often hard to do: practice.

The most skilled users of abacus in countries China, Korea, and Japan tend to not use the actual abacus anymore.

Using a real abacus would actually slow down their thought process.

Instead, they imagine an abacus in their head.

This technique is called mental abacus and it is how anyone can use an abacus to boost their memory.

 

1-3. How Can Mental Maths Be Used to Boost Child's Memory?

Mental maths is extremely useful to boost your child’s memory.

A lot of people indulging in the matter tend to confuse problem-solving with an area of mathematics which is simply not true!

There are problems to solve everywhere, not just in mathematics.

Of course, maths is the only subject that focuses on solving problems specifically.

So how can we use mental maths for problem-solving?

Let us check out some points related to this: Mental maths makes thinking about problems easier.

This means that people with faster brains can solve problems much faster than people who are not trained enough in mental calculations.

Having a fast and calculative brain allows one to think at a deeper level.

They tend to see what most people would miss and that is often exactly what is needed.

This is how mental calculations help.

Another point to note is that while mathematics is an infinite subject, the variety of problems that can be formed on any particular topic are limited.

With enough practice, people can easily master the available types and score high marks in the subject.

Mental calculations will help to master the topics faster.

It builds up confidence and boosts memory.

If you go into an exam hall with fast calculations in your toolkit, you feel much more confident than if you did not have the fast calculations.

This is another way in which fast mental calculations can help in problem-solving.

Being able to define and confidently face the problem is half the journey! And mental calculations can take us there!

 

Overall  
Mental calculations are one of the most important parts of learning and learning to learn mathematics.

Most teachers and books today do not focus on the proper improvement and development of this very important aspect of learning mathematics.

Once the children start focussing again on this aspect, problem-solving, learning pure mathematics and similar tasks will seem like cakewalks.

 

 

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