How does Abacus (zhushan) work ?

How does Abacus work ?

Inspiring children's aptitude with numbers:
UCMAS programs train children’s minds for whole brain development, using the Abacus as a tool and Mental Math as a medium. The Abacus is used to teach the children to understand:

• Base-ten number system
• Number concepts and numeric relationships
• Place values
• Carrying and borrowing
• Combinations and complements of numbers

Combining mental and motor movements:
When children use both hands to manipulate beads of Abacus, there is quick communication between their hands and brain that stimulates both right and left hemispheres of the brain. Abacus/Mental Math reckoning process combines integrated thinking and motoring functions from both sides of the brain, so the left hemisphere (logical side) stirs virtual abacus image on the right hemisphere (abstract side).Training to harness brain power:
UCMAS program influences the child's brain development in various ways:

• Mental picture training (visualization) boosts memory power, as the children practice holding the number in their mind while operating the physical or mental abacus.
• Flash cards are used to enhance the visuals and help the children memorize the pictures. By the end of the UCMAS program they have 450,000 images stored in their memory.
• The speed training prompts the children to respond to questions quickly. And the speed oral training encourages the children to listen attentively, which forces them to focus and concentrate.
• As the children become more familiar with the technique, they become certain of the answer, which in turn, builds their confidence and self-esteem.

Speed is of the essence:
By activating both sides of the brain, children can achieve calculation speed previously only possible by math geniuses. Children learn to subtract by adding; learn to multiply without multiplying; and learn to perform long division problems in their head faster than most people can add two numbers together.