Japanese Abacus Math School
" The Art of Mental Calculation"
     www.jamsportland.com

                                    
                                                                     
                                           www.jamsportland.com

What is mental calculation, anyway? 
 
Mental calculation is a form of calculation that DOES NOT involve the use of
any physical external instruments such as the abacus, electronic calculator or
any other primitive or state-of-the-art implementation instrument. It is done
solely in the mind, i.e. mentally. 

What are the objectives of mental calculation education?
                                                                          
                                                                          
             
1-      To train and inculcate in children the habit of careful deduction based
on careful observation.
2-      To train and inculcate in children the habit of good memory and, recall
of data with maximum efficiency and minimum economy.
3-      To train and inculcate in children the habit of using multiple skills
simultaneously with maximum efficiency and minimum economy.
4-      To train and inculcate in children the importance of sound reasoning
and original thinking.
5-      To expand the children's mental prowess and faculty and thus to uplift
their moral fiber.
            
                          
What are the effects of mental calculation?
       The continuous practice of mental calculation will have the following
results :
     
1-      Revolutionize tradition mathematics.
        The special skills learned will enable students to perform calculation
with amazing speed and accuracy.
2-      Improve students' reactions.
        The finger manipulation techniques stimulate both left and right sides
of the brain and improve interaction 
         between the mind and body.
3-      Optimum exploitation of the human brain's resources.
              Scientists have found that man only use 1/10 of his brain's
potential most of the time. Mental arithmetic skill
              helps us to tap the vast treasures in the brain. It also helps
students to overcome obstacle during the learning
              process.
4-      Build up students' confidence.
              After attending the well-planned and interesting lessons in
mental arithmetic classes, students will have
              acquired the skills of mastering figures. Hence, they will never
hate figures again and can solve problems
              with confidence.
5-      Improve students' concentration and absorption power.
        Mental arithmetic not only stirs up students' interest in arithmetic
but also trains them to be more persistent
        thus improving their concentration and absorption power.
                                    
Useful Links:  

1- Math in daily Life     http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/index.html
2- Fun Brain                   http://www.funbrain.com
3- The Abacus                  http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/