Understand the abacus. Check the homework. Watch them master it.
Type in any problem and see it solved bead by bead — the way the class teaches it. Then let your child practice where they have to actually solve, not just peek at the answer.
Tap the beads — the number updates live.
📖 Learn from zero
History, the 7 types, and interactive lessons on reading beads and the “friends” tricks.
✅ Verify instantly
Parents & teachers check a full worksheet in seconds — with the steps explained.
🎯 No-cheat practice
Your child solves randomly generated problems and flash-anzan drills — no “show answer” button to lean on.
A short history of the abacus
The oldest calculator humans ever built — and still one of the best for training young minds.
Ancient counting boards
Sumerians and Babylonians used lined boards and pebbles (“calculi” — the root of the word calculate) to track numbers.
The Roman hand abacus
A portable grooved metal board with sliding markers — the pocket calculator of the ancient world.
The Chinese suanpan
The familiar bead frame (2 top, 5 bottom) spread across Asia for trade and accounting.
The Japanese soroban
Streamlined to 1 top + 4 bottom beads — faster, and the standard used in mental-math programs today.
Brain training
Programs like Best Brains, UCMAS and Aloha use the soroban to build focus and lightning mental arithmetic in children.
Two hands, two hemispheres
Moving beads turns abstract numbers into a physical, visual picture kids can later “see” in their heads.
The 7 types of abacus
Same idea — beads standing in for numbers — in seven forms from around the world.
Japanese Soroban
1 top + 4 bottom beads. Fast and simple — the standard for modern mental-math programs like Best Brains.
Chinese Suanpan
2 top + 5 bottom beads. The classic older frame, great for multiplication, division and even hexadecimal.
Russian Schoty
Horizontal wires with 10 beads each and no dividing bar. Everyday shop maths across Russia.
Roman Hand Abacus
A grooved metal board with sliding markers — the portable calculator of the ancient world.
School 10-row Abacus
The colourful early-years counting frame (rekenrek) used to teach number sense to little ones.
Lee Kai-chen Abacus
A 20th-century hybrid stacking a soroban and suanpan to speed up multiplication and division.
Cranmer Abacus
Built for blind and visually-impaired learners — beads hold their position by friction so they can be read by touch.
How to use a soroban
Four short lessons. Play along on the live abacus.
Parts of the abacus
A quick tour before the lessons.
Parents & teachers
✨ Never touched an abacus? You don't need to.Type in your child's homework and watch it solved bead by bead — check any answer, understand the steps, and print practice sheets with answer keys.
Answer checker
Enter a problem the way the worksheet shows it, e.g. 7 + 5 - 3 + 4.
Worksheet generator
Practice
Let your child solve it themselves — there's no answer to peek at. They earn stars and build a streak as they go.