CMA Math - Discussion
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hugeclaw:
The child's father told me his girl has been with CMA for 3 years since P1. They could have been with another branch previously, I'm not too sure. He was quite upset that she did not 'apply' what she learnt at CMA.
hi mrswongtuition, I've a son currently enrolled at kovan cma as well. Just being curious, from what I know the center has been around for only 2 yrs, how come you've a student who's been there for 3 yrs??? Furthurmore my son started the classes at the age of 5, he's a very playful and short attention span kinda boy, but he can do mental calculation very well (he's 6 now), thus I'm really surprised that your student can't do mental sums after the course.mrswongtuition:
Just to share, I have a student who is taking CMA classes at Kovan. She has been at that centre for 3 years and she is now in P4. Her mental sums is still very poor (she can't add or substract mentally). I taught her another method of mental calculation (number bonds) and now she is able to add/substract mentally much faster and more accurately.
I personally feel that every child has their own method of learning. It's good to expose your child to let them learn another method which they may accept but ultimately if your child is showing displeasure or disinterest and you've tried your best, no point stressing your child and yourself up.
Learning should be fun and enjoyable. Worksheets should be a game in which children are eager to complete and not a chore.
I personally feel that it's more of amplitude and different learning styles. This student of mine is not the type who will 'apply' what she knows unless you explicitly tell her to do so.
And her mental sums is really very poor. For example, when I ask her to add 7 and 4, she'll take around 1 minute to give me the answer, and sometimes it can be wrong! When I give mental sums drills (50 question in 1 worksheet) for single digit numbers (warm up), she can get 30/50 and can take 1/2 hour to finish the worksheet. And she's P4, if a P1 student takes that long to complete the worksheet, I might be able to understand that exposure and practice may not be enough. But at P4, you would expect them to be able to count faster plus she attends abacus class!
It's good your son enjoy this method. As I said before, there is no ONE method that is suitable for ALL students. Some will thrive, some will not. If there is really one method that is suitable for everyone, I'm sure MOE will include it in the syllabus! -
ellehcim:
Hi, it's true on abacus we do the hundreds, tens, ones. Actually you will get the same answer on the abacus either way you do it. So why hundreds, tens, ones? Bcos kids are taught to do mental sums very fast as u read the numbers to them. We read hundreds, tens, ones. For example, 136+ 512, we read \"one hundred and thirty six, five hundred and twelve\". Cannot wait for the person to finish reading all the numbers then start adding ones, tens, hundreds, they have to start calculating as the person reads.I do agree that number bondings is easy to learn but my K2 girl till now don't seem to see the pic of such bonding... :stupid: maybe wait till she learn in her pri sch bah...
one thing that confused me is the abacus method and our sch method. Heard someone mentioned to me before, both calculation sequence seems diff, for eg, \"136+512\" for school and our school-days learning method, normally we add the ones, then the tens then the hundreds. For abacus seems the other way from the front first. Please correct me if I'm wrong. this is something that I'm holding back in sending my kids long time ago.
Some parents also have concerns about showing working in school work. It's not a big problem. They still can use their mental calculation to add the ones first, then the tens. Example, 98+32, do the 8+2=10, carry the 10 over, then do 1+9+3=13, answer 130. Kids are smart enough and they know what to do. Before handing in their papers, they can quickly double check their answer again..\"98+32=130\". -
Oh..oh... seems like nobody is posting on this thread after i posted. I mean no harm, just thought of helping to answer questions or clear some doubts that some parents have.
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Wow, are you really one of the trainers?
Personally, I think mental arithmetic is great - it is beyond benefits out of performance in school. It benefits the child a LIFE TIME. Question is, will they forget after they ‘graduate’ from CMA? -
abacus_trainer:
Oh..oh... seems like nobody is posting on this thread after i posted. I mean no harm, just thought of helping to answer questions or clear some doubts that some parents have.
hi abacus trainer, can check with u whether the one-hand method or two-hand method is better in abacus? would think two-hand is superior since require both sides of the brain but one-hand should be easier to learn right? m thinking if my 3.5year dd would b able to handle cma math. so m considering trying out either cma math or E&P (both so far seem to have good reviews). -
Hee…heee… good to see someone reply. Yah, I am one of the trainers.
If the kid only learn the basic for a short period of time and did not master it, he probably will forget it due to lack of practise. For a kid who has mastered it, after quitting the class, he will not forget but his calculation speed will slow down. It’s just like a swimmer, if you practice everyday, you can build up good stamina and join competitions but if you only swim once awhile, you won’t forget how to swim but you can’t complete with those who are practicing everyday.
Besides learning to calculate, another advantage of mental arithmetic is total brain development and right brain training. Must grasp hold of this precious brain developing phase in young children to develop their brain.
I am a very long winded person. I am refraining myself from writting too much. Do let me know if you wish to know more. -
abacus_trainer:
thats a great analogy. hmmm, maybe i should make that appt to try out the session soon... how much is the hw everyday? one page only or more har? :?Hee..heee.. good to see someone reply. Yah, I am one of the trainers.
If the kid only learn the basic for a short period of time and did not master it, he probably will forget it due to lack of practise. For a kid who has mastered it, after quitting the class, he will not forget but his calculation speed will slow down. It's just like a swimmer, if you practice everyday, you can build up good stamina and join competitions but if you only swim once awhile, you won't forget how to swim but you can't complete with those who are practicing everyday.
Besides learning to calculate, another advantage of mental arithmetic is total brain development and right brain training. Must grasp hold of this precious brain developing phase in young children to develop their brain.
I am a very long winded person. I am refraining myself from writting too much. Do let me know if you wish to know more. -
Heyya abacus trainer, nice to have ya around our forum!
Have you introduced yourself at the Newbies, cos i don't
remember seeing you there...
In your expert opinion, what would be the best age to
take advantage of this right-brain training via abacus? -
foreverj:
hi abacus trainer, can check with u whether the one-hand method or two-hand method is better in abacus? would think two-hand is superior since require both sides of the brain but one-hand should be easier to learn right? m thinking if my 3.5year dd would b able to handle cma math. so m considering trying out either cma math or E&P (both so far seem to have good reviews).
Our left and right hands are controlled by our left and right brain. Using both hands help develop their left and right hand coordination and motor skills. Some left handed students may have the habit of using their left hand most the time, after some practice, they can be corrected to using both hands. Nothing is too difficult for young children.
Yr dd need to be able to write numbers, count and understand concept of +,- (adding how many, taking away many).. -
Can share how one manages to do up the
mental calculation beginning from the 100s
if there was to be carrying over in a question?
If no carry over, no problem quite straight forward.
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