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You’ve found it! Abacus West is an after-school math enrichment program that teaches math fundamentals while improving focus, concentration, and confidence. The center of our math curriculum is the Japanese Soroban Abacus. The Soroban is a base 10 system that is intuitive and easy to learn. With our curriculum, math is no longer merely counting, memorizing, or repetitive worksheet drills, but learning math through:
Our goal at Abacus West is for kids to take an interest in math, enjoy math, and enjoy learning in all areas. We connect with our students in a classroom environment in small groups. Each class is 55 minutes in length and weekly homework is part of the program.
The entire program consists of 10 levels and each level is approximately 10 weeks long.
The Soroban abacus is simple, yet powerful. It remains a popular method of teaching computation skills in Asian countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and India.
Initially, students learn to manipulate the beads of the abacus to perform math calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division). Students also learn to visualize the abacus, and are able to perform math calculations mentally, Anzan, without the physical presence of an abacus.
We also have a program for children aged 3 – 4 years old.
“My daughter is now able to do calculations with ease in her head. She was using her fingers and toes for simple math before. Her confidence has increased dramatically since starting abacus math.”
“My son loves to do his abacus homework. He is doing math calculations very fast. He says he can move the abacus beads in his head. It’s really amazing!”
“The teachers are all amazing! I am really impressed with how hands-on they are with the children, and how involved and supportive the teachers are with each individual student.”
“She used to struggle to complete her math assignments with her fingers, or paper and pencil. Now she does all her math assignments in her head without any instrumental help.”
“I am confident that her abacus math program along with the work we do on math facts in class will help her progress.”
“I have done lots of hard math before, but this class makes me stretch my brain in a very different way. It’s really cool!”
“I have never seen my daughter so excited about math. She does her homework right away and has taken her abacus to school to show her friends and teachers.”
“My son loves do his abacus homework. He is doing math questions very fast. He says he can move the beads in his head, it’s really amazing.”
“I am confident that her abacus math program along with the work we do on math facts in class will help her progress.”
“I wish this class was 5 hours a day and regular school was 1 hour!”
“Her first results for state testing came back and she increased her math from a 47 to a 71!! I am positive the abacus class helped with this improvement.”
“I really love to go to my abacus class. My homework is fun. ”
“Thank-you for offering such a valuable program for our children”
The core Abacus West program is designed for children between 5 to 12 years of age. AW Discover Math is designed for children who are 3 & 4 years of age.
The cost of the program is $300 per Level. Most new students will be required to purchase a Starter Kit for $50, which includes an abacus, a set of flash cards and a case.
The abacus used by Abacus West is the Japanese abacus or Soroban. It has 15 rods, each with 5 beads. There are 4 beads below the beam, and 1 bead above the beam.
Yes. The Abacus West program uses visual, auditory and tactile techniques to teach mental math which contributes to whole brain development and result in improved memory, focus and visualization skills. These are skills that are useful across all academic subjects.
All students start the program in Level 1 regardless of their age, grade level or academic ability. In Level 1 we introduce the foundational concepts and exercises of abacus math which are required for the upper levels.
Yes. Please visit https://abacuswest.com/theabacus.php?id=2#AcademicResearch to learn more.
Abacus West is focused on teaching abacus math, which leads to strong mental math skills. Once a child completes the curriculum, the mental math skills are generally there for life. The program is designed to be fun & interactive, so kids spend the in-class time learning from the instructor, and learning through certain exercises & games.
No. Abacus West classes are offered on a semester basis. We do not accept registrations after the semester has begun since the curriculum builds on itself. If you have missed the registration period we recommend that you register for the next semester.
Yes, we have many students in our program who have transferred in from other abacus math programs. Please contact us and we will set up a time to assess your child to ensure she starts in the appropriate level with us. The assessment fee is $75.
