What is Finger Counting?

Have you seen children using fingers to count? You must have. Apart from children I have seen a lot of elders using it as well. You can find it at ticket counters where you would see booking clerks using fingers to count. You can find it at several other places as well. Just keep it in mind and you would find.

A child gets into the habit of finger counting from the time he starts getting familiar with the numbers. He starts his journey to counting by representing numbers with lines. He learns to add numbers by adding lines and subtract numbers by removing lines.

For example if a child needs to add 4 with 5 then he would do the following:

Draw 4 lines, then draw 5 lines and then count all of them to get the answer. The process can be explained below.

Drawing four lines >>>> Drawing five lines >>>> Counting all the lines

Another example can be taken from subtraction where he needs to subtract 2 from 8 then he would do the following:

Draw 8 lines, then remove 2 lines and then count the remaining lines to get the answer. The process can be explained below.

Drawing eight lines >>>> Erasing two lines >>>> Counting all the lines

Drawing and counting lines take time. It is good for starting the journey of the numbers. But, after some time child wants to improve upon the time taken by the process of drawing and counting lines. A child who has learned the basics of addition and subtraction does not want to draw lines on paper because he finds it boring and starts searching for methods to get rid of drawing lines.

During this search period he sees some of his friends using fingers and not drawing lines. He fancies this and starts using his fingers. Over a period of time from adding and removing lines on paper or slate he starts using fingers to make himself fast. Once he starts using fingers he finds that he has saved a lot of time by not drawing lines. He enjoys this state and continues doing it. This develops into an irreversible habit of finger counting.

Is Finger Counting bad?

The answer to this question depends on the age of the child. If the child is small i.e in the formative stage (6 – 7 years) then it is required. It helps him in understanding and working with the numbers with whom he would be dealing through out his life. But as he child grows up the good thing required at the formative stage starts turning sour and starts impacting the performance of the child. Finger Counting makes the child slow. So the effort should be made to remove Finger Counting as soon as the child passed the formative age.

When should we start working on Finger Counting Removal?

When the child has attained 8 years of age then we should start working in the direction of Finger Counting Removal.

Does Vedic Maths help in Finger Counting Removal?

We have developed a course called Teachers Training–Vedic Maths for Kids. In this course we use Vedic Maths and specially designed tools to work on Finger counting removal.

How to remove Finger Counting?

Practice:

It could be removed by practice. It would need 20 – 30 minutes per day. Start giving hundred sums on addition and subtraction every day to your child and get it done by him. It would take six to eight months. The sums should be of increasing difficulty. Meaning that you should give him easier sums first and little difficult one latter. Mastering difficult ones would be easier if he has mastered the easier ones. Do not increase the difficulty level suddenly. It needs to be gradual. But the children dislike it, they do not want to practice the way you want them to. They do not want to sit and do something like this.

Singing/Rhyming:

Earlier the children used to practice by singing. Students used to assemble under the guidance of the teachers. One of the students used to lead the chorus and others used to follow. This was one very effective method of finger counting removal. Now, you would not find such teachers who can carry out such rituals. So there lies a problem.

Using Games:

Using games to make them practice the concepts learned is very powerful tool. Children want to play. They can play endlessly. So the solution lies in finding a game which give him enough practice without him realizing it. We have developed one such course where we use various games to remove finger counting and teach maths facts/fundamentals. We train teachers who can teach maths facts/ fundamental to the children using games. On our website you can check TTP- VM for Kids.