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We moved here from Georgia where our 7 year-old had been attending a similar program.
I was thrilled to find Abacus West here. The concepts were slightly different but Vinaya and her team assessed our daughter and recommended a level that would suit her skills but at the same time make it a fun experience. We have had a great experience in the Abacus West program. The whole team is very organized, professional and responsive.
Our daughter really enjoys going to her abacus class. All the teachers have made our transition from one program to another a breeze and I can’t thank them enough. I have already recommended this program to some friends. I was looking for a program that would teach my child a way to focus and use her mental ability to tackle math and I found just that!
“We have had our daughter in the Abacus program for several years; she has found it to be an enjoyable experience. She looks forward to classes and has enjoyed them throughout the years, and she hopes to continue on as a student teacher with the program.
Through word of mouth, we had heard Abacus was a valuable way to enhance a child’s comfort level and confidence with numbers and mathematics. We have definitely seen this as the case and her teachers have commented on her proficiency in math.
Our child has learned a different aspect of problem solving with numbers that extend beyond memorization. She’s learned that a different approach to mathematics is valuable and has added to her analytics skills. We are always impressed with our daughter when we do exercises that she can apply these principles to real life math questions in such an expedient and accurate manner.
Our teachers throughout have been amazing including her current student teacher that is thorough in explaining the concepts, yet also encouraging. Such an approach has challenged our child and she continues to find enjoyment and reward through the program and staff.”
“I’m writing this review as a tiny way of saying thank you to the wonderful owner and teachers at Abacus West.
Our two children have now completed their entire program. They feel a great sense of accomplishment and I’m thrilled to see their proficiency with the abacus. Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen them gain confidence in their ability to stick with something and work through difficulties and problems on paper and in their brains. The satisfaction they got from learning a new skill on their own was a joy to watch. It would not have been possible without the leadership and communication of the owner and the patience, thoroughness, and personal warmth and gentleness of the teachers.
What benefits did we gain from this program? First, they gained a familiarity with math concepts early in a fun, physical way which spared them any doubt or intimidating feelings when they encountered math in a more conventional way in the classroom. Second, and more important to me, is that they gained an ability to focus their minds intensely for significant stretches of time as they worked on the hand-eye coordination and mental visualization required by abacus use and practice. This was something I did not even expect or think about when we first enrolled in the program. I find this an invaluable ability for them to have in an age of constant screen use and non-stop multimedia distraction.
Thank you very much, Abacus West, for bringing such a beneficial, well-structured and unique program to the community!”
“Both of my kids, a three year old girl and five year old boy, have just finished with their first quarters with this fantastic program at the Sammamish location. I have been impressed with the professionalism and organization of the program. The instructors are all excellent at explaining the concepts to the kids and make connections with each child constantly throughout the class. All of the classes are small (5 in my son’s class, 1 in my daughter’s), so there is a lot of individual attention. Although calculations are originally done on the abacus, it seems the ultimate goal is to be able to do them in their heads.
I love that before your child even starts the class, they set up an intake interview to get to know your child. I’ve never seen that in an extracurricular program before and found it got things off on the right foot.
My son started in the Abacus 1 Jr. class (an extra starting class for younger kids) and is now in the regular level 1. I’m glad he had the extra start, since he was just learning to write numbers at the time and many of the basic math concepts were new to him. Kids who have had more instruction in school and are a little older get to start off directly in level 1. By the end of level 1 Jr., he could add and subtract a list of four double-digit numbers in his head. More importantly, he loves to “play abacus” at home even when it’s not homework time.
If your child takes these classes, be ready for plenty of homework. We work on it everyday for at least 20 minutes. It’s not nearly as much work as the Asian abacus classes, but for an American extracurricular class, it could take some parents by surprise.
My daughter is in the discovery math class. Unfortunately, they don’t get to use an abacus in this class (she was bummed that she didn’t get one like her big brother). However, the class is very age-appropriate. She learned about shapes, numbers, colors, patterns. We spent a lot of time learning to count accurately. There were fun songs and games. My daughter, a very energetic girl, was easily engaged the entire class time. At the beginning of the quarter, she only new one color and her counting was, well, “creative.” By the end of the quarter, she knew five colors, was counting with precision and was having fun making stamp patterns. Now, at home, she wants to count everything. So cute!
On a personal note, I know that the staff was originally hesitant to work with my son because of his learning disabilities, but they agreed to give him a chance and are now glad to have him continue in the program. I think they were worried both about him distracting other students and not keeping up. His wonderful teacher, Ms. Shilpa, has worked with me to help me provide the extra support he needs and he is flourishing. I will admit that my son has a knack for math, so this might not workout for all kids with disabilities, but we’ve made it work. The greatest benefit to him has been increased focus. I expect that he will continue through to level 10.”
“My son is 8-years old and in the 3rd grade. He joined Abacus when he was 4-years old while in Pre-K.
It was my husband’s idea to start Abacus which I disagreed with since I did not see the value. I was proven wrong and started to see the difference after two semesters.
My son’s mental math is beyond anything you can imagine for an adult. You throw numbers at him and he can add, multiple, etc. very quickly. This has supported his work in math class and he repeatedly performs very well. I attribute this to Abacus. I cannot say enough good things about the program. If we every move away from this area, it will be a significant loss for my son. “
“Our first grader has been taking classes at Abacus West for three years now. She not only loves the classes, but they have also had an amazing impact on her math skills as well as spacial abilities. It has been amazing to watch her skills and enthusiasm blossom. All of her teachers have been great, and Vinaya (the owner) is very communicative, accommodating, and professional. We feel truly lucky to have found Abacus West.
Additionally, our 4 year old has been taking the Discover Math class for two sessions now, and it’s a great intro to math for younger kids. We highly recommend this class whether or not you expect your kids to continue with abacus.
(UPDATE)
Our kids continue to thrive in this program, year after year. The curriculum provides such a solid foundation for not only math skills but so many other learning skills. “
“We had a great experience in the Abacus West program this summer.
I registered my 7 year old daughter so she could keep up her math skills through the summer. This program taught her how to visualize and introduced her to mental math. She now has an increased confidence and new enthusiasm towards math.
She really enjoyed going to her abacus math class and wants to continue – they made math fun for her! We are very happy to see the progress our daughter made in a relatively short time.
We are grateful to her teacher, Ms. Jan, who was very motivating and patient. Ms. Jan has a wonderful way of working with my daughter, the entire class, and us (parents) to ensure success.
I recommend Abacus West as a math enrichment option. This local company takes the time to understand the background of each child before the first class even begins. This program teaches kids to develop their visual skills while making math fun to learn. “
