Children moulded from an early age with UCMAS
Critical thinking, photographic memory and problem-solving are taught from an early age
CHILDREN from all over the country, escorted by parents and friends, convened in Birchleigh to compete and showcase their brain development.
Universal Concept for Mental and Arithmetic Systems South Africa (UCMAS SA) hosted its 10th national maths competition on August 19, hosting more than 180 children from all around South Africa and Lesotho at Wynand Marais Community Hall.
UCMAS is a full-brain development programme using the Chinese abacus to develop children’s mental capacity. Any child, no matter their background, can compete in this competition, which significantly increases their academic performance and problem-solving skills.
The tournament had various competitions which needed serious critical listening skills and the ability to focus without being distracted, such as mazes, tangrams, twin grams and flash cards among others.
“To test their photographic memory we flash numbers and sums on a screen. Under three seconds after the card was flashed, the answer needs to be given by the student.
“We also test their listening skills by reading out a sum and students have to do calculations in their head. And under three seconds after the sum was read, the answer needs to be given. At the end of the day the children would have been given eight minutes to complete 68 sums on their abacus or mentally,” said UCMAS CEO, Hennie Janse van Rensburg.
UCMAS COO, Judy Janse van Rensburg, said the competition would allow the champion to compete with other champions at the international championships.
“These children are as young as six and any one of them can compete at an international level in Bali in Indonesia. We want UCMAS SA to become bigger and we want more children to participate because it helps South Africa compete at a better level with the rest of the children from the rest of the world.
“The training they get also empowers the children as it boosts their judgement, problem-solving, reasoning and their academic performance.”
To find out more about UCMAS visit https://www.ucmas-sa.co.za/ or contact 011 394 5102 or 084 563 6795 or info@ucmas-sa.co.za
