Soroban knowledge for parents
Everything a parent needs to know before and while their child learns soroban: what a soroban is, whether it really works, when to start, how to learn at home, and why Japan still teaches soroban. Written by the teaching team of Kodomo Soroban Center, following the method of Kodomo School (Japan, since 1976).
Mental math and grade-1 math
For every parent of a 5–8-year-old, even before soroban.
How to teach your grade 1 child fast mental math the Japanese way: 5 steps, 10 minutes a day
How to teach your grade 1 child fast mental math the Japanese way: 5 steps in order, from counting and making 5…
What is grade 1 “thinking math”? Should your child learn it, common problem types and how to teach it at home
What grade 1 “thinking math” is and how it differs from school math. The 6 common problem types (missing numbers, comparing, patterns,…
My child can’t focus when studying – what can I do? 8 ways Japanese classrooms build concentration (for ages 5–8)
Your child can’t focus when studying – what can you do? A realistic view of attention spans at ages 5–8, 5 common…
Mental math trainer (flash anzan)
Free online mental math training the Japanese way (Flash Anzan): numbers appear one after another on the screen, your child adds or subtracts them…
Start here
What a soroban is, what children gain, and whether it is really worth it.
What is a soroban?
The soroban is the Japanese abacus: 1 upper and 4 lower beads on each rod. How it is built, how it shows numbers, its…
Benefits of soroban
Benefits of soroban for children: fast and accurate calculation, place value, concentration, memory for numbers and confidence – what research says and how parents…
Is learning soroban good for children? Are there any downsides? A frank answer from 50 years of teaching soroban
Is soroban good for children, does it have any downsides, will it confuse them with school math? A frank answer from Kodomo…
Japanese soroban
The soroban is the Japanese abacus, designed for training fast mental calculation. Why the Japanese way of learning soroban is different, and what children…
Ages and choosing a class
When to start, and how soroban differs from other “thinking math” methods.
What age should a child start soroban? 5, 6 or 8 – and the signs your child is ready
What age should a child start learning soroban? Children can start from age 5, 6–8 is the “golden time”, and 9–12 is…
Soroban or Finger Math? Comparing 4 popular kinds of “thinking math” for children
How are soroban and Finger Math different? A comparison of 4 popular kinds of “thinking math” – Finger Math, Japanese soroban, franchised…
Soroban or Kumon? How the two Japanese ways of learning math differ, and which suits your child
Soroban and Kumon both come from Japan but are very different: the abacus and mental math with images versus self-study worksheets in…
What is Japanese “thinking math”? Soroban, Kumon, Gakken and how Japan teaches children math
What is Japanese “thinking math”? The Japanese don’t call it “thinking math” – they have 3 popular ways of teaching math: soroban…
Learning path
The Kodomo Soroban Center soroban program: 3 levels, 5 modules, 80 sessions. What each level covers, tests, certificates and our Vietnamese textbook “Vui học…
How to learn and practice
For parents who want to understand how their child calculates and practice together at home.
How to learn soroban at home as a beginner: 7 steps, 10 minutes a day
A guide to learning soroban at home for beginners: choosing an abacus, posture and how to move the beads, setting and reading…
Free worksheets
Download 22 free worksheets (PDF, print at home): 12 soroban sheets by level, 6 mental-math sheets for grades 1–2 (up to 10, 20 and…
Japan: history and how children are raised
Where the soroban came from, how Japanese parents raise children, and why Japan still teaches soroban.
How do Japanese parents raise independent children? 7 habits from Japanese schools that parents can start today
How do Japanese parents raise independent children? Not with iron discipline, but with 7 habits repeated every day at school and at…
The history of the soroban: from China to Japan, and why Japan still teaches the abacus in the computer age
The history of the soroban: the abacus arrives in Japan from China in the 16th century, the Jinkoki of 1627, Edo-period schools,…
EDU-Port Nippon
Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT) selected Morita Group’s Japanese-style soroban education and instructor development project in Vietnam as a 2026 EDU-Port Japan Supported Project.
About us
Morita Group is a Japanese family business with 50 years of soroban education, founded in Aichi in 1976. Since 2022, Kodomo Soroban Center has…
Can’t find the answer?
See the FAQ, or call · message us on Zalo at 096.802.8484. The surest way to know whether soroban suits your child is a free trial lesson.