Abacus Mind Math Instruction Book Level 1: Step by Step Guide to Excel at Mind Math with Soroban, a Japanese Abacus (Abacus Mind Math - Level - 1 ... Book, Workbook 1 of 2, Workbook 2 of 2)

I purchased the entire curriculum: all Instructor’s guides and all workbooks. I began using the curriculum for my two children, who were 4 and 5. First, (as mentioned before) students do need to know how to read numbers from 1-99, know place values (ones, tens and hundreds) and be able to write numbers. I had no previous exposure to the Soroban; therefore the Instructor’s Book was essential. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly - with dedication and work - my children picked up the skills necessary to use the Soroban. Ten months after starting the curriculum, my children are halfway through book three of the six workbooks. We have taken two weeks, instead of one week to repeat about three lessons which they found to be difficult. Additionally, I am currently taking about three weeks to practice mental math with them, as this skill has provided the greatest challenge (although both children are doing better than I would have predicted). I would highly recommend this curriculum with some caveats: 1. You must be committed to sticking to the 5-6 day per week schedule. 2. This commitment includes practicing with your child daily; it is likely that they cannot do this without a parent unless they are older than 12. (For example, I spend an hour on Mondays introducing the new lesson and practicing. Tuesday-Friday, I spend from 30-45 minutes with my children as they practice/do Soroban homework). I have found the customer support to be extremely helpful. They have emailed me detailed responses and spent a good deal of time on a phone call to answer some of my questions and concerns. If you have the time and discipline, this program can work very well for your child/student. I would never have imagined that my 5 and 6 year old would be capable of doing three digit mental calculations before I started using this program; it really does work and I am hoping they have plans to release additional levels that introduce multiplication, division, percentages, decimals and negative numbers for children.

I just purchased the Level 1 & 2 Workbooks and Instruction books and after spending several days reading them, I must say I am very happy with my purchase. All of the books are well written, nicely illustrated, easy to read, understand and follow. They are all well worth the price paid. Just what I have been looking for to learn the abacus and mental math myself, so I can teach it to my grandson. Level 1 covers 20 weeks of instruction with daily exercises and Level 2 covers an additional 22 weeks of lessons with daily practice problems.. The workbooks are just that - workbooks to be used for the daily exercises. The Instruction Books are very important because they cover the "how to" part of the course with easy to follow, step by step illustrated instructions. Before ordering I thought the prices for the instruction books were a little high, but after reading them I realized they were worth the price paid. By comparison, here in the SF Bay Area, there are private schools that teach the Abacus and Mental Math. The going rates are $17 to $20 for a once a week 1 to 1 1/2 hour class - plus additional charges for books and materials. Way too expensive for me. For just a fraction of that, I can purchase the Abacus Mind Math books and study whenever I want at home. Thank you Abacus Mind Math.

I've purchased the three levels of this series teaching the Japanese abacus (soroban). I grew up, having been taught the use of the soroban. This book series has been quite valuable in the review of the abacus for myself and teaching it to my family. The instruction books and the workbooks for each level are well written with much practice to accompany each lesson. The multi sensory way of learning mathematics by means of the soroban makes a great impact upon your learning. Visual, hearing the problems, motor memory by moving the beads and sensory by means of your hands. Even if you've never used an abacus, the instruction books will help you to understand the theory and use before you teach it to your own children.

No complaints!

I bought this book in combination with both of the workbooks. This system has transformed the way my daughter views numbers, her capabilities and intelligence, her school experience, and our relationship. She has had trouble with number concepts and operations since she started school, and she is now third grade. We spent hours every night doing the one or two sheets of homework she was assigned. She didn't understand grouping, number lines, those drawings of blocks, lines and dots, the number machine--none of it. She tested "within normal range" at school, but anything she couldn't count on her fingers was difficult for her to comprehend. We dreaded homework every night, and more often than note one or both of us ended up crying. It was creating a rift--I felt so frustrated and powerless, and I lost my patience often. I was worried that she was reaching the age that she would fall behind the other kids, or she would just push it aside rather than struggle with it, with me. I knew i had to give her a different way to look at numbers. When I was in high school, someone came to our Japanese class one day and taught us how to use the soroban (abacus). I learned how to use it in about ten minutes, and I remember we were doing lots of different operations within the class period (not that I remember them now). So I found this system online, and purchased it, as well as a soroban. For a few weeks, she fought me--she didn't want to take the chance of failing at this too. But once she tried it, she got it in a snap. Within one session, she was able to use the abacus to add and subtract numbers she would have struggled with on paper, and would have been impossible for her to do in her head. We spent extra time on the abacus part, so that she was extremely comfortable and confident when we moved onto mental math. We have only been doing the mental math section 10-15 minutes a day, three days or so a week, and she can already add and subtract pretty much any non-carrying number less than 100--in a series of three to five equations (eg. 10+25-30+2-1+17). In her head! I have to use the abacus to keep up with her. I am so proud of her, and thankful for this system.

I bought the Abacus Mind Math Instruction Book along with Workbook 1 and Workbook 2 about a month and a half ago. This is the best set of books I have come cross on Abacus. It is very detailed, self-explanatory and structured. I am glad I purchased this. Kudos to SAI Speed Math Academy for doing a wonderful job. I even called them to find out if they have any plans to publish other levels. The person on the phone was really very kind and helpful! . Can't wait for their Level 2. My son loves it! He eagerly awaits the day when he could finish the Level 1 and take the test to get a personalized certificate. If you are considering to buy one, I recommend buying all 3 books together (Instruction Book, Workbook 1 and Workbook 2)

My seven year old son is partly through the level 1 workbook and we both like it. I am learning along with him and its fun to use the abacus to do math. It's a little harder for my old brain to do the mental math but my son prefers thr mrntal math to using the abacus. I like the step by step progression from one lesson, which takes one week to complete, to the next. The customer support is very good as well. They were very kind and helpful in answering my questions about when or how to use the sample problems in the instructor's guide as well (use as dictation problems) as when I should spend more time on one lesson. I will definitely use this program with my younger kids once they finish their kindergarten math.

We love abacus math! My husband was raised in Japan and he was adamant that our kids learn abacus math. We used to pay between $300-500/month per kid for abacus classes once a week. Naturally, we couldn’t keep that up long term with multiple kids. A friend of mine found this set and mentioned it to me. I’m loving it and so does my son! It’s just like what they used to do in their classes. We spend about 10-15 minutes each day on this curriculum and he is progressing nicely. I’ve noticed that he’s much faster at mental math in our other curriculum after only 1 month of abacus. I highly recommend this for both homeschool children and children in school out of the home. It’ll give them all a major, major boost!

I tried this for fun. Blown away at the speed I can do simple calculations. Can be faster than punching numbers into my phone if learned correctly. If I ever have children, I will certainly teach them the Soroban. It’s given me a new appreciation for simple addition and subtraction.

Excelente libro con conceptos fáciles de explicar. Ayuda a tu hijo a entender los conceptos del ábaco japonés. Muy buena calidad de impresión y buenos contenidos.

Nice, useful but pricey

J'ai acheté ce livre en espérant trouver une introduction plus complète à la méthode de calcul mental avec un boulier. Malheureusement, j'ai été très déçu par le contenu. Pour un prix aussi élevé, le livre ne propose qu'une initiation très basique et très superficielle, s'arrêtant à des exercices simples qui ne justifient absolument pas l'investissement.

Super