How Does Soroban Build Mental Math? I Watched My Son's Brain Transform Over 18 Months

The Big Picture: Physical to Mental

Before diving into stages, let me explain the overall journey. Soroban works because it creates a visual mental representation of numbers that the brain can manipulate internally.

Traditional mental math works verbally: 'Seven plus eight... carry the one... fifteen.' It's sequential and uses language processing.

Soroban mental math works visually: The brain 'sees' numbers as bead patterns and 'moves' imaginary beads to calculate. It's spatial processing—faster and with higher capacity.

The journey from physical beads to mental images happens gradually through consistent practice. Here's exactly how.

Stage 1: Learning the Basics (Months 1-3)

What's Happening

At this stage, everything is new. Your child is learning:

• •What the beads represent (upper bead = 5, lower beads = 1 each)
• •How to read numbers from bead positions
• •Basic finger techniques for moving beads
• •Simple addition and subtraction rules
• •The complement system (friends of 5 and friends of 10)

What It Looks Like

Max's Stage 1 was characterized by:

• •Slow, deliberate movements
• •Lots of thinking between each step
• •Frequent mistakes (wrong beads, wrong direction)
• •Occasional frustration with new concepts
• •Visible 'working it out' expressions
• •Questions like 'Which bead do I move?'

Brain Activity

During this stage, the brain is primarily using the prefrontal cortex (conscious decision-making) and motor cortex (controlling finger movements). Everything requires active thought.

Stage 2: Developing Fluency (Months 3-8)

What's Happening

The basics become automatic. Your child no longer thinks about individual movements—they just do them.

• •Bead movements become smooth and rapid
• •Complements are retrieved automatically (not calculated)
• •Multi-digit calculations become possible
• •Speed increases significantly
• •Fewer errors on basic operations
• •Muscle memory is established

What It Looks Like

I noticed these changes in Max:

• •Fingers moving confidently, almost reflexively
• •No more pausing to think 'which bead?'
• •Able to hold conversations while calculating
• •Enjoying the increasing speed
• •Competing with himself to go faster
• •Moving from single-digit to two-digit problems easily

This is similar to how a new driver eventually stops thinking about each pedal and gear shift—it becomes automatic.

Brain Activity

The motor cortex and cerebellum take over. The prefrontal cortex (conscious thought) is less involved. This frees up mental bandwidth for more complex operations.

Stage 3: The Visualization Emerges (Months 6-12)

What's Happening

This is where magic happens. The brain begins building an internal representation of the soroban that can be accessed without the physical tool.

• •Child can 'see' the soroban with eyes closed
• •Numbers start appearing as bead images in the mind
• •Simple calculations become possible without the physical abacus
• •Finger movements may continue (ghost movement)
• •Answers sometimes appear before fingers finish moving

What It Looks Like

Around month 8, I noticed Max doing something strange. During a car ride, I asked him a math question. He stared into space, his fingers twitched slightly in his lap, and he answered correctly—without any physical soroban.

I asked him what happened. He said, 'I saw the beads in my head.'

Other signs I noticed:

• •'Ghost fingers' – subtle finger movements while calculating mentally
• •Eyes looking up or closing when thinking about numbers
• •Answering simple questions without reaching for the soroban
• •Saying things like 'I can see it in my head'
• •Increased mental math confidence

Brain Activity

The visual cortex and parietal cortex (spatial processing) become heavily involved. The brain is creating and manipulating mental images—a fundamentally different process than verbal/sequential math.

Stage 4: Anzan Development (Months 12-24+)

What's Happening

Anzan (mental soroban) becomes reliable and fast. The mental image is now a stable, usable tool.

• •Multi-digit mental calculation becomes reliable
• •Speed may exceed physical soroban for simple problems
• •Numbers are processed visually, not verbally
• •Mental 'beads' can be held and manipulated over time
• •Working memory capacity for numbers increases
• •Ghost finger movements may decrease or become invisible

What It Looks Like

At 18 months, Max could do this: I'd say '156 plus 278' and he'd pause for a few seconds, maybe with a slight unfocused gaze, then say '434.' No fingers. No visible processing. Just answer.

When I asked how he did it, he'd say, 'I moved the beads.' But there were no beads. The beads were in his mind.

• •Reliable three-digit addition and subtraction
• •Multiplication and division with mental visualization
• •Increasing speed over time
• •Can explain his process ('I added 8 to the ones column, carried over...')
• •Mental math in everyday situations (grocery stores, restaurants)
• •Pride in a 'superpower' his friends don't have

Brain Activity

Brain imaging studies show that expert anzan users process calculation primarily in the right hemisphere (visuospatial) rather than the left hemisphere (verbal) that typical math uses. They've literally developed a different neural pathway for mathematical processing.

Why Physical Practice Builds Mental Images

I've thought a lot about WHY this progression works. Here's my understanding as an engineer and avid science reader:

Embodied Cognition

There's a concept in cognitive science called 'embodied cognition'—the idea that physical experiences shape how we think. Moving physical beads thousands of times creates a strong mental template. The body teaches the brain.

Consistent Visual Pattern

Every time your child sees '7' on a soroban, it looks the same: upper bead down, two lower beads up. This consistency builds a strong visual memory. The number 7 becomes associated with that specific image.

Multi-Sensory Learning

Soroban engages visual (seeing beads), tactile (touching beads), auditory (clicking sounds), and motor (finger movements) systems simultaneously. Multiple pathways reinforce the same information, creating stronger memory traces.

Procedural to Declarative

Initially, bead movements are procedural knowledge (how to do something). With practice, the results become declarative knowledge (facts you know). You don't think about how to move beads—you just 'know' the answer appears in a certain configuration.

Timeline Expectations (Realistic)

Based on Max's experience and what I've learned from other parents:

What If Visualization Doesn't Develop Strongly?

Here's an important point: Not every child develops strong anzan abilities. And that's okay.

Some kids will become mental math wizards. Others will develop moderate visualization. Some will stay primarily physical soroban users.

All of these outcomes still provide benefits:

• •Physical soroban skills alone improve calculation speed
• •Number sense develops regardless of visualization level
• •The learning process builds focus and discipline
• •Understanding of place value and complements transfers to regular math
• •Confidence in math often improves even without strong anzan

Don't pressure your child to develop visualization faster than their brain is ready. Let it emerge naturally.

How to Support Each Stage

Stage 1: Be Patient and Encouraging

• •Don't rush—foundation matters
• •Celebrate small wins
• •Expect mistakes as part of learning
• •Keep sessions short (10-15 minutes)
• •Make it feel like play, not work

Stage 2: Build Consistency

• •Daily practice becomes crucial
• •Gradually increase speed expectations
• •Use timed challenges for motivation
• •Introduce more complex problems
• •Let them feel the progress

Stage 3: Nurture Visualization

• •Try 'eyes closed' exercises after a problem
• •Ask 'Can you see it in your head?'
• •Don't discourage ghost finger movements
• •Use flash calculation apps that encourage mental processing
• •Be excited about visualization signs!

Stage 4: Challenge and Apply

• •Increase problem difficulty
• •Practice anzan-specific exercises
• •Create real-world mental math opportunities
• •Balance physical and mental practice
• •Consider competitions for motivated kids

Watching It Happen Was Amazing

As someone who loves understanding how things work, watching Max's brain develop this new capability was one of the most fascinating experiences of my parenting journey.

He went from fumbling with beads to calculating faster than I can on a calculator—using nothing but his mind. He built a mental tool that will serve him for life.

And it happened through the simple practice of moving little beads on a wooden frame, 15 minutes at a time, day after day.