We’ve collected 8 of the very best abacuses for teaching math and reviewed them so you can easily choose from the winners to keep your children happy and learning about money!
Here they are: the top picks for the best abacus for teaching math, reviewed for you!
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What is the Best Abacus for Teaching Math?
Here’s a list of 8 of the top picks for the best abacus for teaching math for you to choose from:
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Melissa & Doug Abacus. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
The best abacus for teaching math might very well be this lovely abacus from Melissa & Doug. This is a traditional-style abacus with 100 brightly-colored beads strung inside a wooden counting frame. Each thick-coated wire holds 10 beads.
The abacus comes with eight extra extension activities to help children from 3 to 5 years of age with their early math, counting, and logical thinking skills. Children also learn about colors and patterns.
Melissa & Doug products have been called “the gold standard in early childhood play” by NBC News, and have received hundreds of awards including Good Housekeeping Best Toy award for 2018.
Users love that this abacus is well-made, sturdy and colorful. They also love that it is really helpful for their children to learn subtraction and addition in a hands-on, visual way.
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MICKYU Plastic Abacus Math Toy. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
This lightweight and multi-function abacus has a counting frame with brightly colored beads on an adjustable stand. It is foldable for easy storage and transport, and is made from non-toxic, environmental plastic.
This abacus features printed numbers from 1-10 across the top, 10-100 down the side, and letters A B C and a o e. Along the bottom are the add, subtract, divide and multiply symbols.
Children can practice counting, math, and fine motor skills.
Users love that there are so many colors, and that it’s lightweight, easy to carry on trips, and simple to clean and disinfect (very important for the classroom!)
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Cltoyvers Wooden Abacus for Kids. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
Some things never change, and for a good reason. For centuries now, the abacus has remained a vital math tool. At its most fundamental level, the abacus is an engaging and effective visual math aid that teaches children how to construct and deconstruct numbers. This exceptionally sturdy abacus from Cltoyvers comes with one hundred wooden sticks and one hundred and ten individual math cards. The card slot design on the top lets the child display their assigned equation so they can easily see the problem that they are working to solve with the beads.
Additionally, the included colorful counting sticks can teach children how to solve simple math problems. This abacus is constructed with a sturdy wood frame and features colorful beads that easily slide back and forth on metal rods. An abacus is the perfect educational addition to a young learners toolkit, whether in preschool, daycare, or a classroom.
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Melissa & Doug Add & Subtract Abacus. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
This wooden abacus includes 55 colorful beads and 2 interchangeable wooden boards, double-sided. The boards have addition and subtraction operations in matching colors to the beads.
Slide the wooden boards into the base and then encourage children to solve equations by matching the correct number of beads on the addition and subtraction sides. Younger children can simply follow the patterns of color.
This toy encourages math skills, fine motor skills, color recognition, hand-eye coordination and pattern recognition. The metal rings and wood base are sturdy and durable for safe play, and the beads are made of colorful plastic.
Users love the colors and that it’s well-built and fun to use.
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Lewo Wooden Abacus. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
This cute abacus has rows of colorful beads on either side of a wooden frame painted with a friendly green dinosaur. There are ten rows of ten beads each, with each row being one of 5 different colors (red, blue, orange, green and yellow).
Children develop hand-eye coordination, color recognition, counting and sorting. The abacus is light and can be used on a child’s lap or taken on trips in the car.
Instructions are included on the box, and it comes fully assembled and ready to use. The toy is made of wood and is durable.
Users love that this abacus is cute, solid and attractive for children, and that they seem to be happy to play with it for long periods of time.
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Wissner Wood 100 Students Abacus. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
This abacus has 100 blue and red beads strung on wires across a frame made of sustainable re-wood. It can be used either standing or lying flat.
Children can learn counting skills and other simple mathematical operations.
Users love the compact size of this abacus which makes it easy to store and carry, and that it’s robust – strong enough to last for years.
They also love the strong design which means it doesn’t topple while being used. Having the colors in red and blue helps children with higher math operations such as counting in 5s.
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ROBUD Abacus for Kids. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
One hundred colorful beads help make this abacus from ROBUD into an excellent tool for learning both math and color recognition. This classic-style wooden abacus works to convey the concept of both grasping and moving beads to solve simple math equations. The learning aid will also foster a more visual and sensory relationship with numbers, leading to the potential for learning math to become a whole lot more fun.
This abacus also features a pullout blackboard for parents or teachers to write out numbers or formulas that need to be solved. The great thing about this particular abacus is that it is conveniently small enough for children to hold or put on their desks while working out various math problems.
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Yellow Mountain Imports Vintage Style Wooden Abacus. Click the photo to see the price on Amazon.
Finally, this classic-style wooden abacus has a wooden frame with brown beads in 17 columns, in the shape and form that is still used in some parts of the world by merchants, traders and stores. Children learn math operations with a beautiful toy that looks good and does the job.
Perfect for older children, this abacus is also a 17-digit professional sorban and has a mechanical reset button that pushes all the beads to the down position to start a new calculation.
It has non-marring rubber feet that keep it from sliding around and protects furniture. It is Consumer Toy Safety certified by the Canadian Standards Association, the ASTM International and the European Union Standard.
Users love the look of this abacus, and that there are YouTube videos available to discover lots of fun ways to use it. They appreciate that you can use it like a game as well as an abacus, and that it’s still used today by adults in some parts of the world.
What is The Best Abacus for Teaching Math – Thanks For Reading!
From preschoolers to kindergarteners and beyond, introducing an abacus into the daily educational routine is one of the most fundamental and practical ways to learn the importance of math and to make it exciting in the process. Be sure to check out our many other great educational product guides such as our review of the best classroom timers!