Mac's Abacus - Very Rugged, Hardwood, Washable. Beads slide easily, yet hold their place so kids don't lose their counts!
Workbook 360 - very attractive Picture Lessons and Examples clearly teach all concepts. Kids enjoy these Lessons.
Lesson Planner - (6 pages) All Lessons are grouped and listed in order by Concept. Makes planning your sessions easy.
Teaching Guide - has answers to all Lessons along with a brief discussion of each concept being presented. You don't have to know how to use an Abacus to teach it!
Curriculum Teaches: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Sizes, Develops the Decimal System midway and then has many lessons on Counting Money.
Covers concepts in clear detail extending into the 5th Grade!.
Touring Mac's Abacus: This 4-page presentation is a great way to glean a hint of the curriculum's depth of coverage and how each Problem-Row in a Lesson is used to expand concepts. It highlights some of the main concepts and how they are developed: From:
I think Mac's Abacus Basic is most likely to be used as a supplement over a number of years. It teaches basic counting, one-to-one correspondence, recognition of numerals, and numeral writing which are key concepts and skills for young children. It continues from there to teach addition, subtraction, place value, carrying, borrowing, and decimals--concepts that stretch up through fourth and fifth grade. Also, it has a few lessons on measurement and telling time plus many lessons on money. Money receives a lot of attention since it is used to teach decimals.
The way Mac's Abacus is used to teach decimals seems particularly ingenious. It builds on strategies used earlier to teach place value, but it uses images of coins (and eventually bills) to teach decimals. Switching to money helps students transition to this new use of the abacus.
Mac's Abacus and the Mac's Abacus Basic workbook are truly unique in their approach and design.
Read Cathy Duffy's full Product Review of Mac's Abacus Basic curriculum on Cathy Duffy's Website.
We won an Honorable Mention in the 2019 Practical Homeschooling® Reader Awards™ in the Elementary Math category, which appears in the Spring 2019 issue (#137) of Practical Homeschooling Magazine®. A big THANK YOU to all our customers who voted for us!
See the latest Product Review of our Mac's Abacus Basic curriculum by Melissa L. Morgan and Mary Pride, in issue #135 (Sept-Oct 2018) of the Practical Homeschooling Magazine®. Pages 43-44.
See a Product Review of Mac's Abacus Basic supplementary curriculum in The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine online.
Mac's Abacus Basic curriculum is recommended in Bob Claymier's STEM is Elementary Newsletters of June 2017 and June 2018.