Mental Arithmetic Learning Experiences

by Alex Chu

When I was only six years old, my parents signed me up for abacus class. I had always hated it when I first tried it out because I thought it was too hard for me. I practiced everyday but I missed out on playing for a little bit. Skipping out on playing was worth it though. I slowly got better and better at abacus.

I started at Level Seven. I practiced and practiced and I passed. Then I skipped to Level Five and I also passed it. I practiced a lot and after level five and I was able to skip all the way to level two. Learning abacus is very helpful and it helped me in school. When we play games in math class, I'm always first to answer the question and I always get it right. During math homework assignments, I can practically just zoom through it because I can calculate in a fast speed that is also faster than calculators because if you use calculators it takes longer to type the numbers and sometime the number are too big and may not be able to fit on the calculator. When that happens, you can just use mental math to solve the problem.

Sometimes when at a store, the total price is wrong and I can tell the cashier so we don't have to pay more for the cashier's mistake. That is not the only reason I learn abacus. It can be fun and interesting. You can also train your memory which is like training your mind when you do abacus.

I am about to test for an Advance Level and I am practicing everyday to pass a level. Most importantly, I have a goal to reach Advance Level Ten. In order to reach that goal, I keep practicing mental math and it is the thing that keeps me going until I reach that level.