The last (and perhaps only) time you learned what an abacus was might have been in an anthropology or history class back in college, but some of North Edison’s highest achieving math students are learning at a much younger age. They’re learning how to use them, too.

Now, the process of sliding beads on sticks may sound a little too archaic for our high-tech times, but this ancient counting tool is boosting the math skills of kids in North Edison’s ALOHA Mind Math after-school math tutoring program thousands of years after its invention.

Rather than focusing on repetive and, frankly, boring rote-learning strategies, “ALOHA,” which stands for “Abacus Learning Of High Arithmetic,” teaches students to transfer the physical counting process of operating the abacus to a rapid mental exercise that promotes development in both the left and right lobes of the brain and improves focus.

After enough practice, students in these small, instructor-led classes are able to solve complex arithmetic problems (think: 2+3+8-4+6-2+6+8) faster than most people can on a calculator.

ALOHA Mind Math originated in Malaysia, spread rapidly as a math tutoring method throughout East Asia, and now operates more than 3,000 schools worldwide. It arrived in the United States in 2006 and serves more than 4,000 students in this country. At the North Edison school, parents here have a special opportunity to take advantage of a kids math program that has proven itself worldwide to improving arithmetic abilities while also making math fun to learn.

Parents can sign up their children, ages 5 to 12, for a free session at the ALOHA Mind Math Center, located at 7 Lincoln Highway, Suite 224.

Download the free ALOHA Mind Math class certificate and call 732-593-8062 to register.