10-year-old Izhevsk resident Yuliana Lomaeva is a little child prodigy. It can add and multiply six-digit numbers faster than a calculator. Recently, the schoolgirl took 1st place at the International Tournament in "Mental Arithmetic" - she became the best among 150 participants from Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Faster than a calculator
In the first grade, Juliana did not want to study, she received triples and rarely pleased her parents with good grades. She was not sure of herself, she was afraid of her peers. The girl was engaged in dancing, went to a music school. But even there she did not like it. Yulia liked to count more.
In October 2015, Aunt Yulia began teaching in the newly opened Mental Mathematics class, and it was she who suggested transferring her niece there.
- We had about 50 students. But Julia very quickly gave them a head start - usually children master the so-called "first level" in a year - they learn to add and subtract. And Yuliana learned to count in 6 months,”says Ariadna Lapina, director of the Development Center.
At the new school, Julia began to study much better - she easily memorized poems, historical dates. In mathematics, instead of the usual triples, she received only fives, became more confident and was able to make friends with classmates.
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The teacher suggested that Juliana take part in the tournament - she understood that such a talent could not be hidden. Participants had to pass three tests: counting multidigit numbers in their heads, adding and calculating on abacus under dictation, and calculating on abacus, first writing the exercise on a piece of paper (the easiest of the three tasks).
Julia became the best in the second test. Participants were given 20 examples - they had to add or subtract six-digit numbers from the accounts. Children could not write tasks on a piece of paper. The only hope was memory and sleight of hand.
- They gave 15 seconds to solve each example. Such calculations on a calculator take about 22 seconds. Imagine being dictated: 7,000 350,685 minus 6,843,184,000. And the child has only a quarter of a minute to solve this task. 20 of Juliana's 20 answers were correct and she became the best! - says the girl's teacher Tatyana Lomaeva.
New tournaments
In the class of mental mathematics, they study for 3 years - Yulia is left with only one. But the girl does not want to give up this activity - in the future she wants to teach children mental mathematics and is already helping to teach at the summer camp. Parents also support Yulia in her endeavors.
- To give Julia more time to study mathematics, we transfer her to home schooling. But she will not give up music school yet, - said Yulia's mother Elena Lomaeva.
By the way, the company that opened a mental mathematics class in Izhevsk wants to send students to competitions in Europe. Most likely, Yulia will go to them.
In the meantime, the girl is enjoying the new "Monopoly", which she bought with her won certificate (5000 rubles) and is preparing for the next competition in Moscow - another tournament will take place next summer.
REFERENCE
Mental arithmetic is a method of developing the abilities of children from 4 to 16 years old, based on the system of oral counting. A student can add, subtract, multiply and divide faster than on a calculator using special Soroban accounts - each of the 13 knitting needles has 5 knuckles (in ordinary accounts, there are 10 knuckles per knitting needle). By the way, in Japan, mental arithmetic is considered a sport.