Lesson 18: Abacus subtraction practice for kids
Level 2, Easy Street. Fill the bead jar. Every right answer drops in a bead.
What your child does, card by card
Taking away practice. Practice day! PlayBuddy opens the lesson: “Practice time. Let's get quicker and better.”
9 − 6 = 3: the abacus makes 9 and 3 by itself, a green ring on each bead just before it moves, and the hands copy. The top bead goes up. A bottom bead comes down.
In Try it a green ring marks the next bead while your child works out 4 - 2 and 8 - 5.
Ten beads to go: a mission of 10 tasks with a bead jar that fills with every right answer. Your child must work out 3 - 1, 7 - 5, 9 - 4, 4 - 3, 8 - 6, 2 - 1, 6 - 5, 9 - 7, 3 - 3 and 7 - 2.
Copy me: the beads show 6, 2 and 8 and your child answers by tapping the drawn fingers, the hands window glowing.
In your head: the abacus is covered and your child works out 4 - 2, 8 - 5 and 9 - 8, showing each answer on the drawn fingers.
Jar full! You can take away with every bead on the rod.
What this lesson trains
18 answers in about five minutes. The tasks take 14 bead moves in all: 5 with a top bead and 9 with bottom beads. 1 of the 15 bead tasks end on zero. 9 is the top number here. Then 3 quick looks in your head.
It starts with doing: work out 4 - 2 and 8 - 5.
Fingers and hands
Below the abacus the drawn hands show zero and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 here, finger for bead.
In Copy me the beads lead with 6, 2 and 8, and your child answers on the fingers: the reverse of making a number on the beads.
What PlayBuddy and PlayType say
PlayType: “To take away, move beads off the bar.”
Stars
18 answers: 1 slip still gives three stars; up to 4, two stars.