It turns out it’s good for your children to count on their fingers to do math. While finger counting is still broadly considered by adults as a less intelligent way of counting and calculating, attitude about it seems to be changing in the world of math education. In fact, fingers are very useful and always accessible visual aids. According to Aditya Singhal, co-founder of Transtutors.com, “finger-based strategies play an important role in learning and understanding arithmetic.”
As Jo Boaler, a Professor of Mathematics Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, wrote recently in The Atlantic magazine, “Stopping students from using their fingers when they count could, according to the new brain research, be akin to halting their mathematical development.” Improved fingers perception is probably the reason why musicians have higher mathematical understanding than people who don’t play a musical instrument. Parents and teachers should encourage younger children and students to use their fingers to solve number problems since this may greatly help them over the long term.
Picture: Arcanys Early Learning Foundation
