Abacus Bee | American Printing House

What is the Abacus Bee and how does it work?

The APH Abacus Bee is a fun and engaging competition designed to ignite a passion for mathematics in students who are blind or have low vision. By allowing the use of various formats like print, braille, UEB math, or Nemeth code, the competition ensures that participants can use methods that suit their individual learning styles. The APH Abacus Bee encourages the use of mental math and abacus skills, unlocking students’ full mathematical potential. To learn more, check out Calculating Confidence article.

The APH Abacus Bee is divided into two phases. The preliminary regional contests, organized by partner organizations or schools, provide a platform for students to compete locally and showcase their skills within their communities. This phase not only fosters healthy competition but also allows students to meet and engage with other students from their region!

Regional Abacus Bee competitions will take place across the country between September – November 2024. Finalists from each region will compete in the Abacus Bee Finals in Spring 2025.

Does this sound like something a student you know would enjoy? Encourage them to join the excitement, boost their confidence, and let the APH Abacus Bee inspire their journey into the fascinating world of mathematics and beyond!

2024 Regional Abacus Bee Competitions

Thanks to the Simons Foundation’s ongoing support, the 3rd Annual APH Abacus Bee will engage ten regional competition partners in Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Washington, Iowa, Kansas & Missouri, Michigan, Texas, and South Carolina. Each APH Abacus Bee competition has five categories based on skill level: starters, movers, riders, flyers, and blaster. This tiered approach ensures students are competing against their peers with similar skill levels, making the competition fair and encouraging for everyone involved.

Florida Abacus Bee: Hosted by Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired
Contact: Florida Abacus Bee Website

Iowa Abacus Bee: Hosted by Iowa Educational Services for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Contact: Iowa Abacus Bee Website

Kansas & Missouri Abacus Bee: Hosted by AlphaPoint
Contact: Alex Van Dyke avandyke@alphapointe.org

Kentucky Abacus Bee: Hosted by Kentucky School for the Blind
Contact: Martin Monson martin.monson@ksb.kyschools.us

Maryland Abacus Bee: Hosted by Hosted by Maryland School for the Blind
Contact: TBA

Michigan Abacus Bee: Hosted by Michigan DOE-Low Incidence Outreach
Contact: Michigan Abacus Bee Website

New Jersey Abacus Bee: Hosted by VISTAS
Contact: New Jersey Abacus Bee Website

South Carolina Abacus Bee: Hosted by South Carolina School for the Blind
Contact: Marty McKenzie MMcKenzie@scsdb.org

Texas Abacus Bee: Hosted by TBA
Contact: Maricela Garza Maricela.Garza.adj@esc20.net

Washington Abacus Bee: Hosted by Washington School for the Blind
Contact: Jessica Chandler jessica.chandler@wssb.wa.gov

How do I prepare my student/child for the Abacus Bee?

Here are APH trainings, products, and tips to help you prepare your student for the Abacus Bee Competition! Check out these options:

APH Courses and Webinars:

APH HIVE – See the course titled “The Abacus: A Million Manipulatives in Your Pocket”. Create a free account quickly and easily with your email address and take this course on your own time, at your own speed. The course modules explain the importance of the abacus and walks learners through addition and subtraction on the abacus. This is a great starting point for teachers and parents alike.
APH Access Academy Recordings: Watch recorded webinars on APH’s YouTube Channel. Get out your abacus and follow along. (Familiarity with the abacus is needed – start with the HIVE Course above!)
- Multiplication on the abacus
- Division on the abacus
Watch APH Excel Summer Camp Webinars: “Oreos and Abaci”

Products:

Tips:

Try out some of our Practice Exams that are available to download
Practice your 100s times tables together!
Practice your 10s complements for addition/subtraction
Remember good testing procedures such as:
Getting a good nights sleep before the event
Eat a healthy breakfast
Take deep breaths. Slow down and don’t rush. Correct answers are better than lots of wrong answers.
If you finish early, go back and review your answers!

Beyond Calculations & Testimonials

Even though each competition varied in size and location, there was one common theme amongst them all: CONFIDENCE. When asked, the regional coordinators and participants’ families all commented on how much of a confidence boost it was for the students to compete and show off their talents. Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what some of student participants and their families had to say about their experience:

“In the past two years of participating in the Abacus Bee, I have definitely noticed a positive change in my son’s attitude toward math. He is more confident and seems to recognize his gift more readily and is thinking about ways that he can use it in his future career.” – parent
“I met other nice students and liked how everyone got an award. I used a great mental math strategy that helped me to do great in the Oral (Space Race) Round!” – student
“Thank you for offering this event! It has instilled a great deal of confidence in my son and has definitely inspired his interest and abilities in math!” – parent
“I loved the Abacus Bee. My favorite part was meeting new friends!” – student
“I loved the red-carpet event! The look of joy and pride on each child’s face showed how much the enjoyed the event!” – parent
“For me personally, this shared experience with my granddaughter truly opened my eyes to the challenges she faces now and will carry throughout life, but also all the massively inspiring young people and volunteers I met, this was a humbling experience and so grateful I was able to attend.” – grandparent

Abacus Bee 2023-2024

APH was pleased to invite 31 finalists to the Abacus Bee Finals event in Louisville, KY on March 21-24. We had finalists from each of our participating regionals. Here’s the breakdown of who came and from where!

Finalists by State:

Florida | 9
Kentucky | 6
New Jersey | 2
Washington | 5
Maryland | 3
Iowa | 6

If you have questions regarding the finals event, please contact our Northcentral Region Outreach Specialist, Jennifer Brooks at Jbrooks@aph.org.

2024 Abacus Bee Results

Twenty-nine finalists from each region gathered in Louisville, KY between March 21-24, 2024, to compete in the National Abacus Bee Final. You can read all about the competition and other events that took place in our blog, Summing Up Success: 2024 Abacus Bee Finals.

The Finalists

Having placed as finalists in their respective states’ regional Abacus Bees, 29 blind or low vision students came from Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Washington, and Iowa to compete in the Abacus Bee Finals 2024. Below are the finalists from each of the 5 categories of competition: