Abacus Finger Theory: Benefits for Children

The word Abacus is floating all around in the lives of both parents and the kids and shaping the lives of kids in a great way. Interestingly, Abacus exists in so many different forms that many people do not even realize when they see Abacus related events around them, let us look at some examples below:

• Abacus online classes for kids which are provided by both private and public schools these days, as well as individual Abacus teachers
• Abacus competitions for getting the best out from the kids; both at national and international levels where young stars demonstrate their amazing calculation skills.
• The benefits of using Abacus for kids is so widely recognized that Abacus based education toys is used by toddlers in almost every household (we will talk about these below)
• Children undergoing Abacus classes doing calculations for their school Math homework, using a physical rectangular Abacus tool
• Children who have completed advanced levels of Abacus course doing complex calculations (like multiplication and division including decimals) via Abacus Visualization technique, without even using a physical Abacus tool where they do the finger movement in air and create an image of Abacus tool in their mind. Sounds unbelievable? But this is 100% true.

While the topic of today’s blog focuses on Abacus Finger theory (which is a subset of Abacus world or Abacus Theory), it is important to first understand some basic details about Abacus, its benefit and types so we can comprehend the Abacus finger theory details also in a meaningful way.

What is Abacus

While you will find many definitions on the internet,  in simple words – Abacus is an ancient learning framework to teach children the concept of numbers and arithmetic calculations in an intuitive, easy, quick and effective way. It has been in existence since ages and is still the most trusted and effective methodology when it comes to developing the ability to do even the most complex arithmetic calculations mentally just on fingertips, without using paper and pen.

Many people will be able to resonate with the Abacus based educational toys that they have themselves used in their childhood and which they use for their kids also. The reality is that Abacus educational toys are used in almost every household across the world. It may look something like below. Though Abacus based toys come in many variations in the market, the common theme will be that they all will have rods and beads to represent numbers.

However these Abacus based toys are just a tip of the big Abacus world. The main Abacus tool consists of a wooden frame which is divided into lower and upper deck and both decks containing rods and beads to represent numbers. The Abacus tool looks like the picture shown below (though the number of rods may vary like 13 or 17, depending on how big or complex calculations the child will need to do). Whenever you will enroll your child into Abacus classes for kids, he will use this Abacus tool to learn the basic concepts.

How many types of Abacus courses are there?

There are mainly two types of Abacus courses available

Traditional Abacus classes for kids – based on physical Abacus tool and Visualization Technique

This is the ancient Abacus technique which creates the foundation of strong mathematics at an early age, by teaching the concept of numbers and arithmetic calculations in the most intuitive way that the human mind can comprehend. It has been in existence since the time of our ancestors, and even used in modern times today in many Asian countries like Japan who are still close to their roots. We all know that Japanese people are the most advanced in the world when it comes to technology, but they still teach online Abacus classes to their kids for a good reason.

Abacus sharpens the mind, develops confidence and removes dependency from digital calculators. Just imagine the Abacus trained kids as young as 6-7 years of age doing complex calculations for multiplication, addition and subtraction on their fingertips using Abacus visualization technique. Sounds unbelievable? Watch our video gallery and you will be amazed that something of this sort is really possible.

Abacus Finger Theory

Some teaching academies are actively promoting Abacus Finger Theory these days. In this course, children are taught to do arithmetic calculations using their fingers, where kids are taught to represent the numbers using their fingers. However you must note that in reality the Finger theory is not related to Abacus at all, but many academies are promoting this under the disguise of Abacus courses, since it is much easier to teach in the short term to small kids without the need of trainer having to spend a lot of effort. Let us talk about this in more detail below.

What is Abacus Finger Theory

As we mentioned above, Abacus does not have any concept of finger theory. Rather it is a new and different concept (independent from traditional Abacus learning) where kids are taught to represent numbers on their fingers.

How to learn abacus with fingers

Let us look at the steps involved in how to learn abacus with fingers

• A child does simple calculations mentally (single/double digit addition or subtraction or simple tables like single x single, or single x double) and then represents the answer using his fingers. The trick here is the abacus finger movements, using which any number from 0 until 99 can be represented by using both the hands.
• Typically a child is taught to represent one’s place digit using the right hand, and the ten’s place digit using the left hand.
• Using this approach, as you can imagine, a child is able to represent only the double-digit numbers until 99. Triple digit or bigger numbers cannot be taught using the finger theory approach.

How is Finger Abacus different from Traditional Abacus

We hope that by now you understand the fact that Finger Theory is not the part of Abacus and has nothing to do with traditional Abacus learning. It is sad and disappointing that some academies are selling finger theory in the disguised name of Abacus, since parents resonate with Abacus which is really a great course for kids of all age groups.

All parents must be aware of the following difference between Finger theory and Abacus

Conclusion

As a parent if you are exploring Abacus for your child, our suggestion is that you should be prepared for committing at least 6-9 months of training time. During this time, if your child follows some basic guidelines like daily regular homework for 10 minutes, and practices thoroughly instead of rushing into solving the questions, he will become the master of numbers and will get a unique competitive edge over his peers.

Finger theory is a fluke/myth which is being promoted by people who are not Abacus professionals, since it needs a lot of effort and patience to become a good Abacus trainer. We do not recommend anyone to learn the finger theory simply because it does not provide any real benefits to kids whereas the real traditional Abacus is a boon for kids both in his academics as well as other spheres of life. We would encourage you to read the Google Reviews of our Mathcruise family (both past and present parents and kids) to understand the real value of Abacus. 

Tanmay Gupta

Tanmay Gupta, a specialist in mathematics, possesses a deep passion for the subject. He has been involved with Mathcruise since its inception and takes pride in being a part of the growing Mathcruise family. Tanmay excels in both Abacus and Vedic Mathematics and is particularly interested in developing innovative methods to effectively engage with children, aiming to eliminate their fear of mathematics.