A new method of teaching children is gaining popularity in the world - mental arithmetic. "What is it?" - you ask. We are in a hurry to clarify the situation. In fact, this is a system for the development of mental abilities of children, based on the ability to count in the mind.
Training principle
Thanks to constant training, the child learns to use both hemispheres of the brain during the solution of arithmetic problems . Thus, after a while he can calculate complex examples without the help of a calculator.
Initially, it all starts with studying on the accounts. Mental arithmetic is based on this. Reviews indicate that the child actively uses both hands to quickly subtract and summarize. Using accounts, you can perform not only elementary arithmetic operations, but also more complex ones, such as multiplication, division, and even exponentiation.
The next step is the training to solve examples in the mind. The child must mentally imagine the abacus, and how he would work for them, if they were in front of him. This is how mental arithmetic works. The feedback of parents and the opinions of experts agree that girls and boys studying according to this methodology begin to think creatively very well, which makes them difficult tasks.
A mathematical example for a child should become an associative picture, which he represents in his mind in the form of seeds on the accounts.
Main tool
The first few levels of classes are carried out on ancient abacus accounts. They are an object familiar to us, but with some changes. So, instead of one square with knuckles, there are two here - for the right and left hand. This is the main point. Working with two hands, the child stimulates the activity of both the right and left hemisphere.
The history of abacus is very long. They were first used in Ancient Babylon and Egypt. Later, skills were transferred to scientists in China and India. In Europe, scores appeared much later - at the turn of the 8th-9th centuries.
At what age is best to start training?
This is a simple science - mental arithmetic. Training should be carried out with children aged 4 to 12 years. Some schools accept children up to 16. But, as research shows, the brains of children under the age of exactly twelve are best amenable to learning. It is believed that before this period, the complete formation of the main organ of a person is taking place.
Goals and objectives
Many parents like mental arithmetic. Education is designed to develop in children such abilities:
- Be focused on one task.
- Remember pictures, which means to develop photographic memory.
- Think creatively.
- Observation.
- Logical thinking.
- Imagination.
Training Dates
Since the age of children is very different, of course, they are divided into separate groups. In total, the duration of training can last from 2.5 to 3 years. Reviews of parents about mental arithmetic suggest that you should not immediately lead a child of 4 years to the development of intelligence. The course is quite intense, but during this period you can simply discourage learning, forcing you to constantly go to difficult classes.
Training in mental arithmetic is conducted in many countries of the world. The first samples were in Japan, the USA and Germany. Now we have such a practice. Children are invited to overcome 10 levels, as in the game. Each of the stages will take approximately 3-4 months to complete. In this case, you do not need to drive a child daily. Only two to three times a week is enough.
Mental arithmetic - a unique technique or another business idea?
Many probably saw a video where a child did complex computational actions with four-digit numbers in a few seconds. But far from all adults are ready to give an answer in a few seconds. Moreover, the video most often depicts guys from eastern countries - China, Turkey and Japan, and it is precisely them who are considered the founders of such a technique as mental arithmetic. Reviews about this method prompt you to remember how children were taught thousands of years ago. The ancient way of counting on abacus was passed down from generation to generation, until it came to our country.
Although science is old, mental arithmetic, reviews about it are very mixed. Some say that such classes are just another business idea, the purpose of which is to pump money from parents, if only the child was busy with something. And this is not surprising, because the price for a course in a small city can reach 15-20 thousand, and in large centers even more. Are parents ready to pay for such classes for a four-year-old child at the cost of studying in a prestigious gymnasium?
We bring up geniuses
Many parents are sure that their children should definitely grow up to be great people. Each school of mental learning repeats: with us your child will gain abilities that you have never dreamed of. He will participate in top-level olympiads from the first class, the fourth will jump, and in the sixth he will take first place in the All-Russian championship.
But before, somehow children grew up without ingenious techniques. And many achieved success on their own, thanks to perseverance and desire. How many geniuses give to the Earth! And it is thanks to this opinion that negative reviews collect mental arithmetic.
Now what happens? For those parents who have money, the children will be the "cream" of society, the geniuses of their generation, and all the rest who are more victorious - learn how you want to be backward. Is this the dogma of modern life?
How to make the right choice?
No one disputes that parents wish their child only the best. And they are ready to pay a lot of money, if only he developed. Such moms can be seen right away. In children's stores, they take only the “right” toys, their kids are recorded in all possible circles, and when asked by the child: “Mom, can I play a ball?” They answer: “You can’t, you can hurt your leg, then you won’t be able to go to chess ".
But does the child himself want such a childhood? Are we not depriving him of useful football, fun “Cossack robbers” and hide and seek? We all want to raise a genius, but is there this germ in our sweet little angel? Or maybe our innocence will slam eyes at the age of 16 and rush off to fulfill all our cherished dreams contrary to our parents? And it will be impossible to stop the bleeding and protect from mistakes. Indeed, as practice shows, the more parents restrict a child in childhood, the more he breaks into freedom as a teenager, and the more he makes stupid things.
What do specialists think about early childhood development
Some experienced pediatricians leave their comments on mental arithmetic. They are sure that the desire to develop a child at an early age is just a method of rivalry between parents. Very often in the clinic one can only hear one mom boasting to another that, they say, my child at the age of one and a half years already knew how to almost read and write. All this is just a way to prove once again that your own child is unique, better than everyone else.
If you look from the point of view of the development of the cerebral hemispheres, then at some period of time one part grows, then another. The sites responsible for various thought processes are located on the entire surface of the cortex, and there is no need to forcefully stimulate the premature activity of a particular site. Everything has its time.
From the excessive activity of one of the hemispheres, you can get an inversely proportional result. Most often, the load from intellectual work goes to the left hemisphere. If it accumulates too much “baggage” of knowledge, it simply “blocks” the work of the right, thus making a completely normal child out of the desired genius. So the mental arithmetic of expert reviews is very disappointing from this point of view.
The opinion of teachers
Work in the center of development of intelligence requires a lot of knowledge. The feedback on mental arithmetic from the educators themselves is very inspiring. Teachers write that each lesson is a separate game. At school, they cannot devote as much attention to the child as at the center of development. Here, each teacher leads the student almost individually.
Children enjoy activities. They play, communicate, and the whole process takes place in a fun, funny way. Of course, with each level it becomes more difficult, you have to become more serious, but the children grow up, and with them we improve and develop.
A good teacher is also a psychologist and a pediatrician all rolled into one. It is necessary to constantly adapt to the child, to his thinking and skills. Only in this way, looking at the task from the student’s side, can one influence his intellectual development.
In their practice, teachers use many different techniques. So, often you have to portray the Pythagorean table. Mental arithmetic (reviews indicate that this approach helps to diversify and improve each lesson), thus, it becomes more understandable and accessible.
Opinion of parents
Moms and dads are often very pleased with how they deal with their children in development centers.
Many students like mental arithmetic. Parents' feedback is a confirmation of this. Often, mothers write what kind of interest kids have in their activities. There were times when the guys, arriving home after a walk, themselves asked to be given a count. And after that, the parents came and checked, and it was interesting to both children and adults.
Another interesting nuance is associated with the start of training. At one of the first lessons, the child is asked to carefully look at the abacus, remember it, and then draw on a piece of paper. Of course, mistakes are not uncommon. But after several courses the child is asked to repeat the procedure. And this time, the drawing will be an exact copy of the usual tool. Thus, progress is clearly visible.
Parents are also very pleased with the successes of their children in school after the lessons of mental arithmetic. Many note that the concentration of attention, perseverance and academic performance has significantly increased. Children began to go to the Olympics and take prizes. Isn't it a joy for parents? And the children themselves begin to be proud of the fact that they cause positive emotions in their mothers and fathers.
Intellectual Development Centers in Moscow
As early development is gaining immense popularity, many training centers have opened in the capital. The first such educational institution was the Pythagoras School. Now the offices of the center are opened not only in Moscow, but also in many other cities of Russia.
Pythagoras invites parents and children to attend the first free lesson in the Mental Arithmetic course. Feedback from parents and teachers can be heard and learned firsthand. In addition, it will be useful for the children to try their hand and find out whether such activities are interesting.
Another office is Abacus Center. In Moscow, it has two representative offices. One is in Aptekarsky Lane, and the other is on Sharikopodshipnikovskaya Street. Parents, whose children visited the center, are very pleased with the work of teachers. They assure that here the child will be in safe hands. In most cases, boys and girls like to attend classes, and the result is visible after a month's course.
For the first time in Moscow, training in mental arithmetic is conducted in English. The Menar Center is engaged in this. The program is designed for very talented and smart guys. In addition, the center employs very experienced teachers who can find an approach to any of the students. For families in which there is more than one child, there is a discount offer.
Conclusion
In general, there is nothing wrong with the fact that your child will additionally engage with teachers in some new and trendy technique. If funds allow you, why not sign up? Another question is what the result will be. Perhaps your child is so talented that he can independently develop the same skills. But if he is behind, and at school he is not interested, then, of course, he needs help.
But, in our opinion, this should be done no earlier than 4th grade. And at 4 years old, the child does not need large numbers and complex arithmetic operations at all. And what is the use of the fact that in five years your child will easily betray that 329 plus 458 will be 787? To please grandmothers and envious neighbors? Let it grow and make you happy, and you help him become better.