We're considering RightStart but we have not yet purchased the materials. Recently read the article on RS's website encourages visualization rather than counting.

My son is learning basic additions such as 2+2, 3+1, 3+3, etc and while he can easily see 2+2 but when it comes to larger numbers he simply counts either outloud or silently. I told him not to count and to try to visualize and group the objects but he said he doesn't understand what I mean. I kept telling him not to count and he said okay. He became silent and came up with the answer. When I asked him how he got the answer, he said he counted silently.

I've told him to count if he doesn't know the answer all of this time because I didn't know better and how do I undo this? Do kids just then memorize single digit additions and subtractions?

Is there a way around counting? or is it only when they get to double digit stuff? I'm obviously frustrated because I can't make my son understand me, so I'd appreciate any input I can get.

Thanks.

To visualize quantities a child has to have a model to do so. This is where the abacus comes in. The abacus is broken down into groups of 5's and 10's which makes it easily visualizable once that pattern is recognized in the brain. To ask a child or anyone for that matter to not count is very difficult if that person does not have a strategy to use to figure out how to solve the problem being asked. Also, please know that the number 7 and 8 are hard numbers for children to visualize and must be worked on.

I think you would do well to go into Level B with your child and work at a pace that works well for him.

We must give our children the tools they need to solve problems, these tools are the gifts needed to visualize and "see" math. The abacus is one of these valuable tools.

I would like to invite you to read the article Math and the Young Child that you can down load off of this website at

http://www.alabacus.com/pageView.cfm?pageID=314

I hope this begins to answer your questions. Please feel free to email, post or call with any other questions you might have as well as to continue this conversation.

Thanks for looking to give your child a RightStart in math.

Sincerely,
Rosine