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Live online · Ages 6 to 12 · Batches of ten

Abacus Math Classes for Kids in Canada🇨🇦

Three-digit sums in their head, with no calculator and no finger counting. The first live class is free, and you watch it.

Near you, wherever you live in Canada: every class is live online, in your time zone, and your child joins from home.

How old is your child?

Show us on the beads.Top bead 5Bottom beads 1 eachLeft rod tens

We teach ages 6 to 12. Not sure if yours fits? Book anyway and ask the instructor on the call.

Move the beads to show your child’s age.

Not sure how the beads work?

Fill in the simple form insteadSee how a soroban works

Book a free demo class

A live 30-minute lesson with the instructor who would teach your child. You watch the whole class.

500+ students over 7+ years · certified instructor · live, never recorded

Step 1 of 2

Your child

How old is your child?

Turning 6 soon? Pick 5. Every child starts at Level 1.

Batch times are set for your time zone.

  • Free. No card, nothing to pay.
  • Nobody will ask you to pay or decide anything on the call.

Seats open in the current batch

Prefer email? Write to us directly

Trusted by families across Canada 🇨🇦, the United States 🇺🇸, and the United Kingdom 🇬🇧.

Built around Canadian elementary school

Live classes matched to your child’s weekly schedule, building the mental math and fact fluency that provincial curricula reward, from Ontario to BC.

Grades K to 2
Ages 5 to 7
Grades 3 to 5
Ages 8 to 11
Middle school prep
Grades 5 to 6

For Canadian families

Province by province the math tests differ. The skill underneath does not.

Education is provincial in Canada. Ontario tests math in Grades 3 and 6 through EQAO, and British Columbia in Grades 4 and 7 through the Foundation Skills Assessment. Each of them rewards quick, accurate mental calculation, which is what a soroban trains.

Cartoon of an older sister moving beads on a soroban while her younger brother watches with a mug of hot chocolate, red maple leaves outside the window

  1. K to 2

    Kindergarten to Grade 2

    Ages 5 to 7

    Counting by fives and tens is built into the soroban itself, with one five-bead and four one-beads on every rod. Children see 7 as a five and a two long before they write it down.

    Addition and subtraction facts to 20 recalled instead of counted.

  2. Grades 3 to 4

    Grade 3 and Grade 4

    Ages 8 to 10

    Multiplication and division on the rods, then in the head. Ontario's 2020 curriculum asks for mental math strategies in the Number strand from the early grades, and the soroban is about the most concrete strategy there is.

    Multiplication facts in place around the Grade 3 EQAO and Grade 4 FSA.

  3. Grades 5 to 6

    Grade 5 and Grade 6

    Ages 10 to 12

    Multi-digit work without paper, so fractions, decimals and percent are not slowed down by the arithmetic inside them.

    A steadier pace on the Grade 6 EQAO in Ontario, the Grade 7 FSA in BC, and math contests.

Many Canadian children learn math partly in French. The class is taught in English, but the soroban itself does not depend on vocabulary: a bead moved is the same number in either language.

Most Canadian families start between kindergarten and Grade 3. Older starters move through the first levels faster.

The parent portal

Quality over quantity is easy to say. We let you check it, class by class.

Every family gets a private parent portal. After most classes the instructor writes you a note about your child, and the attendance, the timed tests and the certificates sit beside it.

IraLevel 2 · Mon and Thu batchSample child

Updates from class

  1. Thu 16 Oct New

    Set 47 + 25 with no wrong moves, and used the index finger for the top bead without a reminder. Two minutes a day on “take five, add one” before Monday.

  2. Mon 13 Oct

    A slow start, then the steadiest hand in the batch on the last round. Ask her to show you a sum on the beads tonight.

After most classes, the instructor writes what your child did and what to practise next.

Example screens with a sample child. The portal opens when your child joins a batch, and each family sees only their own child.

Parents answer the question you came here with: is abacus good for kids?

My son's math skills improved dramatically after just three months of classes. His concentration has improved in all subjects too.
Sarah Fernandes·Parent of 8-year-old

Excited about math for the first time

Yes! He is enjoying the classes. I have never seen him so excited about math.
Pravin·Parent of 7-year-old

Now enjoys math challenges

After six months of classes, my daughter's confidence in mathematics has soared. She now enjoys math challenges!
Lisa Rodriguez·Parent of 7-year-old

Significant improvement in just months

Thank you so much, teacher. It is due to your patience and dedication that my child has shown significant improvement. We truly appreciate your efforts.
Hanisha Ali·Parent of 8-year-old

Completed level with full marks

We are delighted to share that our daughter has completed her level today with full marks! This achievement wouldn't have been possible without your constant support.
Mahesh·Parent of 9-year-old

What happens after you book

Four steps, and only one of them is yours

  1. You book

    Two short steps: your child's age, then how to reach you.

  2. We confirm a time

    Within 24 hours, by email or phone, with the fee for your country in writing.

  3. Your child takes the class

    Live, on a real soroban, with the instructor who would teach them.

  4. A seat is offered

    After the class, by invitation. An invitation holds a seat for 14 days.

Nobody will ask you to pay or decide anything on the call.

Class facts

Everything a month includes

Live classes
2 a week, 1 hour each
Children in a batch
10 at most
Batch times
Set for your time zone
Levels
10, each ending in a graded test
First graded test
About month 3
Practice at home
About 15 minutes a day
Soroban and workbook
Sent to your door
Fee
One fee for your country, in writing

It suits children aged six to twelve, including those already good at math, in a family that can protect two hours a week and fifteen minutes a day. If that is not possible today, come back when it is: we would rather lose the enrollment than lose your child in month two.

Cliffpoint Abacus Academy teaches live online abacus classes to children aged 6 to 12 from Goa, India, to families in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Gulf, Canada, Australia and Singapore.

The ten levelsThere are ten of them, and each one ends with a test. Read what the ten-level program asks of your child at every stage.Open the prospectus

Ten seats per batch, and every child begins with one free class.

  • Every field on one page, for parents who would rather just type
  • The fee for your country comes in writing with your demo time

Book a free demo class

A live 30-minute lesson with the instructor who would teach your child. You watch the whole class.

500+ students over 7+ years · certified instructor · live, never recorded

WhatsApp works best. We use it only to agree a demo time.

By booking, you agree we can contact you about this demo. Your details stay with us: no spam, never shared.

Seats open in the current batch

Prefer email? Write to us directly

Online, so location is not a barrier

Abacus classes near you

Toronto in February or Vancouver in the rain, the class needs no drive: “abacus classes near me” ends at a live online batch in your own time zone.

  • Toronto
  • Mississauga
  • Brampton
  • Markham
  • Scarborough
  • Vaughan
  • Ottawa
  • Montreal
  • Vancouver
  • Surrey
  • Calgary
  • Edmonton
  • Winnipeg
  • Kitchener
  • Halifax

Plus the Greater Toronto Area, the Lower Mainland, the National Capital Region, Alberta, the Prairies, Atlantic Canada, and every postal code in between.

Classes run live over video. With a stable connection and a quiet corner, your child can join from anywhere in Canada.

Before you book

Common questions

What Canadian parents ask us most, from every province.

What time are classes for families in Canada?

Batches run in Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time, after school on weekdays and on weekend mornings. Tell us your child's school day and activities on the demo call and we will suggest a batch; from then on it stays at the same time every week.

What are the fees for abacus classes in Canada?

Monthly, in Canadian dollars, so your card is never charged in another currency. That covers two live classes a week, eight a month, in a batch of at most ten. The exact fee comes in writing with your demo time, and the abacus and workbooks are a one-off purchase shipped within Canada.

Will this help with math facts and mental math at school?

It targets exactly that. Number facts, times tables and the speed of mental calculation are what each level trains, and every provincial curriculum relies on them, the Number strand of Ontario's included. It runs alongside your school's program rather than replacing it.

Is the class taught in English or French?

In English. Children in French immersion join too: the soroban works by position and movement rather than words, so a child can calculate on it whichever language their school math is in.

How do I teach my child to do mental math?

Start with what they can already see. Group objects in fives and tens, ask for the number that makes 10 with 7, then with 8, and keep it to a few minutes a day. Once those bonds are quick, two-digit sums become a matter of combining them. A soroban turns exactly that idea into something a child can hold.

For parents

Latest articles

Articles for families across Canada. Research-backed writing on abacus learning, mental math, and choosing the right after-school program for your child.

Math Fact Fluency: Why It Matters More Than You Think (and How to Build It)

Why fluent math facts free your child's brain for real problem solving, why timed drills alone backfire, and what actually builds automatic recall.

Kumon Alternatives: Where Abacus Fits, and Which Child Each Suits

Kumon and abacus both build strong arithmetic, in very different ways. A fair, side-by-side look at how each works and which kind of child each one suits.

Is Your Child Scared of Maths? What Helps, and What Makes It Worse

Maths anxiety is real and common, and it can change. How to spot it, why worry makes sums harder, and what helps a child find their confidence again.

See all articles

For Canadian parents

Provinces, time zones and French immersion

Whichever province sets the curriculum
Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec each write their own math curriculum. Abacus does not follow any one of them; it builds the calculation skill all of them assume, so it fits whichever province you live in and survives a move between them.
From Pacific to Atlantic time
Batches run across Canadian time zones. Newfoundland families are welcome too; we sort out the half-hour difference on the demo call.
Inside a month
Two live one-hour classes a week, around fifteen minutes of practice on the days in between, a graded test to finish each of the ten levels, the soroban and workbook shipped to your door, and a fee quoted in Canadian dollars, in writing.

Read what an abacus is, follow the free step-by-step lessons, try the free virtual abacus, read how our mental math classes work, or see the ten-level program.