The world is large and diverse. As a child learns to discover this world, they strive to adapt within it. What role do mathematical skills play in this process? Is it possible to simply forget about this at first glance boring science of numbers and rules and somehow get by without it? Who will help the child unlock the secrets of mathematics and fall in love with it? How will the Soroban Mental Arithmetic courses help?
That will be the topic of our discussion.
The Soroban System
Mathematics. Is it necessary?
Mathematics is an educational subject that forms a mathematical combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities and helps develop social adaptation skills and life orientation in students. The child’s ability to navigate the world and move forward independently within it depends on their level.
So, what are the essential mathematical requirements for life?
- A sufficiently developed level of quantitative, spatial, and temporal concepts.
- The ability to perform arithmetic operations.
- The ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills to solve arithmetic problems.
- Knowledge of geometric material and its properties, sizes, and units of measurement.
These are the main mathematical conditions for children’s adaptive abilities and independence.
The answer is obvious – mathematics is absolutely necessary.
Mathematics for children
Mathematics for children is a world in which they encounter particularly difficult educational, cognitive, and psychological challenges.
Specifically:
1. With the phenomenon of mirror movements (one type of visual perception difficulty).
It manifests as errors in graphic activity:
- difficulties in writing – 12 – 21, 13 – 31, etc.;
- confusion of numbers from 12 to 19;
- disruption of the order of writing elements.
2. With the difficulties of the perception process itself: the child selects only 2-3 functions from an infinite number. Therefore, children:
- do not remember numbers from 10 to 100 when heard;
- do not understand the meaning of numbers;
- do not remember the composition of numbers 5 and 10.
3. With the transformation of the social situation in development:
- the breakdown of the “child – adult” system into “child – parents” and “child – teacher”;
- the start of education – stress;
- change in relationships: joint work, learning, communication;
- relationships with peers, working in pairs, groups.
4. With the new status of a schoolchild:
- withdrawal,
- fear of mistakes, responsibility;
- absence of friends;
- quick fatigue and irritability.
Mental arithmetic
The child does not understand mathematics. Why and how to help?
The culprits are:
- psychological characteristics of the child themselves: lack of self-confidence, dependence on the opinions of parents, relatives, and peers, fear of difficulties with something new;
- parental attitude: anger and criticism of the child for “muddling through”, “not trying”, “being stupid”, “having no talent for this science”;
- “neglect” of the problem (one misunderstanding + another = hopelessness).
How to help?
1. Do not increase tension, but reduce it.
2. Do not prepare the child to focus on failures.
3. Do not force the child to “drill”.
4. Help them understand the integrity of mathematics and become friends with it.
How to get the child out of the vicious circle?
Can parents who do not have the necessary knowledge and experience do it themselves? They need experts who know how and are able to help!
The Soroban School of Mental Arithmetic
Mental arithmetic courses at Soroban. How will they help?
Mental arithmetic courses await parents who have a strong desire to help their child overcome the problem of difficulties with mathematics but do not have sufficient knowledge, strength, time, and opportunities. Bring your child to the Soroban School for mental arithmetic courses. Experts who know how to work with children and are passionate about their work will help solve all the problems that the child cannot handle on their own, understand mathematics, and fall in love with it.
During the courses, they will create an excellent foundation for success:
- develop the ability to think abstractly,
- teach quick calculation,
- sharpen logic,
- teach to see and visualize the problem,
- develop imagination.
Mental arithmetic is a program for developing a child’s cognitive abilities.
Its goal is not quick calculation, although that is astonishing.
It is effective help in mastering mathematical knowledge, understanding the operations of addition and subtraction on the soroban abacus and then without it, understanding the composition of numbers. This method:
- connects both hemispheres of the brain in work, allowing for a faster path to the results of mathematical operations;
- develops them evenly and helps the child utilize all types of memory, precision, speed, and unconventional thinking, imagination, attention, observation;
- guarantees the first positive results in mastering skills and abilities to work with numbers within the first month.
By the end of the course, all problems with understanding mathematical concepts will disappear.
Using the soroban abacus and mental arithmetic methods, engaging the motor skills of both hands synchronizes the work of both brain hemispheres, increases the speed of information processing, and develops photographic memory, attention, and imagination.
A creative approach to solving mathematical tasks in a wild way helps develop the child’s thinking.
The child will learn to train their mind, spend time interestingly and usefully, learn to be self-confident, work towards success, not be afraid of mistakes, and find joy in work! The main thing is to learn to think quickly and become friends with mathematics!
