9 Things I Love About The Abacus

Since they were babies, my kids have had an abacus that they could play with.  Last week, I showed SpiderGirl how we can use the abacus to add and subtract larger numbers.  Not until we worked with it together did I truly see the power of the abacus as a manipulative.

Top Things I Love About the Abacus

1. The abacus is both visual and kinesthetic.  Oh, it's auditory too.  We hear a satisfying clack! for every bead we count.
2. Turned sideways (which, my Chinese bias says, is the way an abacus should be used), the abacus represents base ten numbers exactly the way they are written:  left to right.
3. It doesn't require remembering which counter represents which place value.  Everything is organized.
4. It doesn't have distracting uses.  As much as I love lego, I can easily see my SpiderGirl (who likes math a lot) begin to build things with lego while I am trying to explain how to use them as a math tool. Which might be fine if I had the patience for her to finish building things and then come back to me when she is done.  But I don't.  O_o
5. Two abacuses, one above the other, easily represents integers.
6. It does decimals too!  Put a little piece of tape between two columns to represent the decimal.
7. The abacus is fast and easy.  A student doesn't have to worry about losing pieces while they are counting.  (S)he doesn't have to stack neatly or count very carefully.  The beads are large and on a stick; they aren't going anywhere.
8. Like any manipulative, the abacus is not a calculator.  It's not a black box that does all the work for you.  You have to do the thinking.  The abacus just keeps you on track.
9. Finally, the abacus feels nice to use.  The large wooden beads just feel good on the fingers as you move them along the pin.  Running your palms over the abacus feels akin to a relaxing hand massage.

That's it!  What else can I say?  The abacus is simultaneously simple and powerful.  It is elegant --  a mathematician's highest praise.