Abacus is an ancient calculating device that was invented for the sole purpose of doing higher calculations. In ancient times when calculators were not there, people used fingers for counting. This method had its limitations and was not usable for higher calculations. This lead to the discovery of an instrument that used beads for doing calculations and thus came into existence the tool Abacus.
It is imperative to understand that math is only a tool in abacus learning and math improvement is only one of the many benefits of this wonderful program. The abacus primarily is a complete brain development program that simultaneously activates both left and right hemispheres of a child’s brain. Predominantly only one part or hemisphere of the human brain is more active which in 90% of cases is the left one. The right hemisphere is responsible for creativity, concentration, recall, and photographic memory. The left hemisphere is responsible for logic, numbers, and calculation. On activation of both the parts, a child gets excellent calculating skills and number sense along with improved concentration, photographic memory, recall, and listening ability. Thus a child doing abacus not only shows improvement in mathematics but also excellence in all the subjects.

Abacus is a frame having rods and beads. Every bead has a certain value and calculations are done by moving the beads on rods. There are certain formulas that have to be implemented for doing calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Although invented with the objective of doing calculations, the abacus since the last three decades is widely used as a math improvement and complete brain development tool for kids.

Earlier, teaching abacus to kids at home was a big challenge as it was practically very difficult to take classes on video conferencing and making the kids practice on workbooks. Checking classwork and homework, taking exams and evaluating students and at the same time making the classes interesting and engaging for kids was a real uphill task. With the introduction of the E-learning platform by Mastermind Abacus, the scenario has completely changed. The interactive portal of Mastermind Abacus having an integrated screen of video conferencing with content video ensures excellent learning of kids without any workbooks. The entire practice is in form of game exercises which makes learning a fun-filled experience for kids. Online exams and evaluation, digital classwork, and homework make the Mastermind E-learning platform the best choice for teaching abacus to kids from the convenience of their homes.

To understand abacus mental math and its benefits, we have to first know what Abacus and mental math is.
Mental math is the technique of doing calculations mentally without using any pen paper or calculator. Kids who have done abacus courses up to certain levels are able to visualize the abacus instrument and do long calculations mentally with astonishing speed.
Abacus is an ancient calculating instrument that was primarily invented for doing calculations. About thirty years back it was discovered that this simple calculating instrument can be an important brain development tool for kids between 6 to 14 years of age. The human brain can be considered to be divided into two parts or hemispheres. The left or logical brain and the right or creative brain. Different responsibilities have been assigned to both parts of the human brain. While the left or logical brain is responsible for logic, numbers, calculations, and identification of black & white colors, the right or creative brain is responsible for creativity, imagination, concentration, recall & photographic memory. Abacus works on the principle of simultaneously activating both the hemispheres of a child’s brain resulting in improved concentration, listening ability, photographic memory, recall, mental calculating skill, and overall performance. As a result of this, the child performs better in all the subjects.