My older son is doing Level B. My younger son (just 4 in December) is loving it as well. He shows great interest in the abacus and loves working on the practice addition sheets. I'm wondering if 4 is too young to start in Level A. Or if I should wait until next fall. Any suggestions or opinions from those who might have been in this situation? Thank you in advance, Stacy.

Dear Stacy,
Thank you for sharing your positive comments about how your son is loving the curriculum. It is always good to hear good reports.

As far as your youngest son working with Level A, it is never too early if he is interested in it. What I would recommend is that you only teach a few lessons a week and play lots of games to be sure he is understanding the concept of quantities. You can make copies of the finger cards, tally cards, dot cards, and abacus cards. Mix and match them to form concentration games. Be sure he knows those well. The more comfortable he is with that the better. We recommend that a four year old go through one or two lessons a week as he is able. Use each section as a different day's lesson. Then next year you review quickly and move ahead. How many lessons you do depend on his interest and your time. Enjoy it together and don't pressure him to "get it" before he is ready, but also you don't want to hold him back if he is ready to move forward.
Hope that helps.
Nancy

I just finished level A with a 4yr old. He was interested so I thought I'd give it a shot. He loved it! He'd jump up and down when it was time to do math! We played games as needed and his retention has been great. He's now in level B. I didn't skip as many lessons as recommended when you move from A to B since he is so young, I figured more review wouldn't hurt and he hasn't minded the review.

I say go for it....watch for signs of frustration and just camp out and play games until he is ready to move on.