Experiences with Abaku

Hundreds of schools and thousands of children across the Czech Republic use the Abaku method. The best advertising for Abaku is "word of mouth." We rely on it because we know that Czech teachers are historically healthy skeptics and quite conservative. We see this as a positive. Our experience introducing the Abaku method has documented minimal negative attitudes—on the contrary—the vast majority of teachers and children describe joy and satisfaction. While an Abaku teacher typically describes it as a "functional and fun method," children typically describe it as a "game." We share selected reactions from teachers and children below for your inspiration, enjoyment, and collection of perspectives on "Play," because:
"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." ~ O. Fred Donaldson
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." ~ George Bernard Shaw

If you would also like to share your experience with us, we would be delighted – please write to info@abaku.cz

Quotes About Abaku

"I would like to share my experience with you of playing this apparently simple yet very refreshing and well-thought-out game online. I must confess that I knew about the game and its authors/representatives long before I tried ABAKU myself. I've only been playing the game for about half a year, but I really enjoy it. I don't mind spending my free moments taking a few minutes to 'relax' by doing something that makes sense to me, even though I understand that considering counting a meaningful break is not entirely common. As a university teacher (Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava), I'm used to calculating, but in a completely different way. And also, if I don't verify things myself, my distrust in their functioning is great. And ABAKU works, I observe it myself, in the speed of my thinking and recall, linking knowledge, and finding mutual conceptual interactions. So I recommend it and thank the authors." (Teacher Jana Škrabánková)

"I like Abaku because you can develop your math skills, you can play with anyone anytime or, for example, with a robot. Abaku is a great game that helped me relax, and at the same time, I was constantly learning something new, and it really helped me with mathematical thinking and calculation.
- I like Abaku because you can play with your friends together and it's fun. It's a great way to exercise your brain, especially with counting. Abaku can give us some experience with arithmetic operations. Like multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.
- I like Abaku because I can play and at the same time use my brain with my friends. Abaku gave me the ability to use my brain more when solving a logical game
- With Abaku, I've sped up my calculations, and I would say that because of Abaku (and also Desyat), I've learned to see examples in car license plates or numbers in descriptions
- I have to think about it and at school it's fun, I've improved in math. Fast calculating, quickly solve something" Students Grade 9 (Teacher Alena Vávrová)

"Abaku is a craft, and a good craftsman can become a good artist…"
Milan Hejný, Teacher (Hejný Method)

"I like the tokens and building examples, and I learned how to work in a group and understand the boys.
...I like building with blocks - examples, counting in a cross - creating pyramids - cards, because I like winning games - sequences, because examples link together - that it's hard - I can play with blocks - I like finding examples and I learned to cooperate with friends - most of all I like blocks and working with my friends in groups - I like that I can learn even hard examples - I learned to count 100 - 100 +"
Students Grade 2 (Teacher Kristýna Svobodová)

"Abaku seems pointless to me, I don't like Abaku because to me Abaku seems pointless" (Note: If a student has a large problem with writing and reading in their native alphabet, you can expect the same with elementary mathematical language)
Student Grade 9 (Teacher Alena Vávrová)

"...so you sit down - when in October a second-grader who knows nothing about multiplication tables asks you, what example did the robot see in the pair 39----I explain that it's a power---carefully and then a week later he comes with a question: 'And what's it called when it's 93 and the robot sees an example - and then wherever he goes, he's calculating the second power and square root…"
Dana Šipulová, Teacher

"Abaku is an excellent activity to support fast mental calculation without the classic drilling of math problems in workbooks. Undeniably, it opens the world of numbers to children in a playful way, supports logical reasoning and combinatorial skills. I used Abaku activities as a supplement during lessons in both grade 1 and grade 2 of primary school. According to reports from children and their parents, the funniest homework assignment was when they had to look for 'Abaku license plates' on cars all school year. It apparently kept the whole family busy."
Petra Prokopová Machalová, Teacher

"The comprehensive Abaku methodology fundamentally changes children's and students' relationship to mathematics and improves their arithmetic abilities. The advantage of Abaku is rapid introduction into schools, easy adoption by teachers, and long-term positive effects on children."
Tomáš Blumenstein, Teacher

"Don't believe everything you see or hear on the internet, man. First try it yourself. Then judge."
Teacher Jan Ámos Komenský (Honorary Chairman of the ABAKU Editorial Board)

Quotes About Play

"Play is joy. Learning through play is joyful learning." ~ Jan Amos Komenský

"Play is fundamentally important for learning 21st century skills, such as problem solving, collaboration, and creativity." ~ Academy of Pediatrics

"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity." ~ Kay Redfield Jamison, Psychologist

"The opposite of play is not work. It's depression." ~ Brian Sutton-Smith, Play Theorist

"Play is not the activity but the attitude. It's the mindset." ~ Darryl Edwards, Founder of the Primal Play Method

"It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play." ~ Leo Buscaglia, Professor Special Education

"Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father." ~ Rodger Von Oech, Creativity theorist

"Children at play are not playing about. Their games should be seen as their most serious minded activity." ~ Michel de Montaigne, Philosopher

"Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions." ~ Mark Twain, Writer

"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning." ~ Diane Ackerman, Poet

"Children learn as they play; most importantly, in play, children learn how to learn." ~ Fred Donaldson, Play Specialist

"Play is the highest form of research." ~ Albert Einstein, Big Player

"Play is often talked about as if it was a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning play is really the work of childhood." ~ Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers

"Play is not a break from learning. It is endless, delightful, deep, engaging, practical learning. It's the doorway into the child's heart!" ~ Vince Gowmon, Spiritual Teacher

"You can learn more about a child in one hour of play than you can in one year of conversation." ~ Plato, Philosopher

"For a small child, there is no division between playing and learning, between the things he or she does just for fun and the things that are educational. The child learns while living, and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play." ~ Penelope Leach, Psychologist

"Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn." ~ O. Donaldson, Play researcher

"If we want our kids to have happy, productive lives, we must allow more time for play, not less." ~ Peter Grey, Psychologist

"Let them play! The more they play, the more resilient and socially adept they will become." ~ Jessica Joelle Alexander, Writer

"People tend to forget that play is serious." ~ David Hockney, Painter

"The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery." ~ Erik H. Erikson, Psychoanalyst

"A child loves his play, not because it's easy, but because it's hard." ~ Benjamin Spock, Paediatrician

"Play is training for the unexpected." ~ Marc Bekoff, Biologist

"You can't tell a kids that it's time to exercise; that's a turn-off-you have to say 'Let's go to the park and have some fun.' Then you get them to do some running, play on the swings, practice on the balance beam, basically get a full workout disguised as play." ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger, Actor

"Play is the work of the child." ~ Maria Montessori, Pedagogue

"Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children." ~ Kenneth R. Ginsburg, Paediatrician

"Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold." ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce, Child development Specialist

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct." ~ Carl Jung, Psychiatrist

"Almost all creativity involves purposeful play." ~ Abraham Maslow, Psychologist

"The true object of all human life is play." ~ G. K. Chesterton, Philosopher

"The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery." ~ Erik H. Erikson, Psychoanalyst

"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men." ~ Roald Dahl, Writer

"This is the real secret of life—to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play." ~ Alan W. Watts, Philosophical Entertainer

"In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosopher

"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play." ~ Heraclitus, Philosopher

"Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn't taste good" ~ Lucia Capocchione, Psychologist

"In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior. In play it is as though he were a head taller than himself." ~ Lev Vygotsky, Psychologist

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing." ~ Dale Carnegie, Lecturer

"In our play we reveal what kind of people we are." ~ Publius Ovidius Naso, Poet

"All play is associated with intense thought activity and rapid intellectual growth." ~ N. V. Scarfe, Education researcher.

"The very existence of youth is due in part to the necessity for play; the animal does not play because he is young, he has a period of youth because he must play." ~ Karl Groos, Philosopher

"Whoever wants to understand much must play much." ~ Gottfried Benn, Poet

"Nothing lights up a child's brain like play." ~ Stuart Brown, founder of NIFP

"Play is the exultation of the possible." ~ Martin Buber, Philosopher

"A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost forever the child who lived in him." ~ Pablo Neruda, Poet