CMA Math - Discussion

[jaybaobei]

my twins are 4yrs old now. is it too early to start abacus?


they are now at mid 2nd term of their abacus lesson. taught by 3G in their cc 1hr per lesson once a week. up till now they yet to start to learn abacus, most of the time is colouring & writing numbers. or maybe for N2 abacus class is like tat? i really clueless about it. i feel quite waste to pay $210x2pax per term for writing & colouring only.

i dun know to let them continue or withdraw from the 3rd term?
or let them join CMA for mental arithmetic?

can pls give me advise? i really headache!!!

[concern2]

jaybaobei:

my twins are 4yrs old now. is it too early to start abacus?


they are now at mid 2nd term of their abacus lesson. taught by 3G in their cc 1hr per lesson once a week. up till now they yet to start to learn abacus, most of the time is colouring & writing numbers. or maybe for N2 abacus class is like tat? i really clueless about it. i feel quite waste to pay $210x2pax per term for writing & colouring only.

i dun know to let them continue or withdraw from the 3rd term?
or let them join CMA for mental arithmetic?

can pls give me advise? i really headache!!!

I'm sorry, but it sounds like a waste of time to me if your ultimate aim for enrolling them is for learning Abacus and Mental Arithmetic.

CMA will be faster as they have programme for kids as young as 4 year-olds. My own child started at 4. Not colouring, but image recognition which facilitates the development of visualization skills - the ability to hold an image in one's mind for as long as he/she could, whilst being focused. This is a very important skill that the student develops overtime and it is good to start young. As they get older, the number and sum gets bigger and more complex (times, divide and decimals), and their ability to hold the image in their minds will be stretched. This ability is very powerful and it actually benefits other forms of learning in the long run. it is a right-brain activity - or rather, mental arithmetic is a right-brain activity.

As for writing skills, there are numbers to write too, and you can also do that on your own with your kids at home.

[Qiss33]

Hi all,


I would like to send my son to cma kovan centre. Can someone send me the referral code please? Thanks!

[michiiyo]

Have PM you

[jaybaobei]

Any referral for tampines branch pls?

[cool_hi]

Pm u!!

[doryfish]

My P1 son who had just started CMA class last Dec and is now coming to the end of 2nd term, suddenly lose his interest in abacus. He refused to do homework and attend the class too. Last month he still said he liked to attend CMA class. Now he said too much homework. I am contemplating whether to stop his class now. The past 5 months lesson has been wasted if I don't continue his lesson? Any advice? :sad:

[concern2]

doryfish:

My P1 son who had just started CMA class last Dec and is now coming to the end of 2nd term, suddenly lose his interest in abacus. He refused to do homework and attend the class too. Last month he still said he liked to attend CMA class. Now he said too much homework. I am contemplating whether to stop his class now. The past 5 months lesson has been wasted if I don't continue his lesson? Any advice? :sad:

Is he currently on book 115? The pink book? (hope i remember correctly) If he is, this one is the hardest to get by for beginners cos of the various 口诀. If you let go at this stage, yes, the past months' efforts would go down the drain. This stage onwards get more challenging, and he will need lots of encouragement and support to keep going. Also can check with the teacher on his progress and alert him/her on the situation.

[doryfish]

concern2,


Yes, he is now on the Pink book 115. No wonder it is getting tougher. I will try my best to support and encourage him. Btw, in yr opinion (for efforts not to be wasted), how long must a child continue to be in CMA class I.e. at least 1 to 2 yrs? Thanks so much for yr advice.

[concern2]

doryfish:

concern2,


Yes, he is now on the Pink book 115. No wonder it is getting tougher. I will try my best to support and encourage him. Btw, in yr opinion (for efforts not to be wasted), how long must a child continue to be in CMA class I.e. at least 1 to 2 yrs? Thanks so much for yr advice.

Glad I was of help!

In my opinion, for efforts not be be wasted, try to get him to be very familiar and accurate in his addition and subtraction using mental arithmetic through 心算 and 听算. That is the basic. This is based on the level in which he is in now (115) and the level which he is now in school (P1). Why do I say that?

At P1 level, and this is coming to mid-year, he is at book 115, means he has yet to master the technique of mental arithmetic. Yet, he is already dealing with simple addition and subtraction in school. This is where he is frustrated, and perhaps, confused. When he does school work, they teach them thinking skills . This is different from abacus. If he hasn't completed 115, he may not know how to do certain +6 or -6 questions for instance, because he isn't familiar with the 口诀 yet. So a simple question to you like 7-2+6, or even 5+6 might look easy, but if you ask him to do via abacus, he would be lost - unless he has already covered it in the pink book. This is because he hasn't learnt the 'formulae' i.e. 口诀 yet. Although he enjoyed abacus classes (before), he may not realize why he is unable to tackle some simple addition via abacus in school, which may cause him to feel frustrated.

For children who started at a young age, they would have had more time to brush up on their speed and accuracy before school introduces it, so by the time they cover it in school, their level would be way past, so not a concern.

Once the child has mastered addition and subtraction, he will move on to multiplication and / decimals. I can't remember at which grade they start multiplication at CMA, but if your child starts before the school introduces it, then your child's pace may still be all right. However, if your child starts later than the school introduces it, then it may cause another round of confusion and frustration.

That said, if you find learning abacus and mental arithmetic is a life-long and useful skill, then there is no rush in which stage he is in, doesn't even have to move along with school syllabus, but must be realistic in terms of the kinds of computations that the child can and cannot do using abacus method.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. Best is to monitor his progress as he moves along.