Finger Counting is Good for the Brain!
Not only is it OK for kids to count on their fingers, when combined with counting games, they do much better on math tests. Finger counting is good for the brain! Many educators and academicians have discouraged children from counting on their fingers, but new research published inFrontiers in Educationshows using fingers may be a very important part of learning math concepts, even such basic processing as counting. Researchers Professor Tim Jay of Sheffield Hallam University and independent researcher Dr Julie Betenson confirm what parents and teachers have long known intuitively — that the sorts of finger counting and finger play are vital in developing math minds.
