Do you have young students who need some reinforcement of finger numbers? Then we have a great game idea for you! I picked this up from a Way Cool Keyboarding Camp handout by Debra Perez, so this idea is not original to me, but I have found it very useful in my studio. I got a small basket from the Dollar Tree and a collection of cheap “party favor” type rings for this game. The rings came mostly from the Dollar Tree and Party City. You can use the basket of rings in a private lesson or group setting. If you are planning on using it in a group you need more rings, but that just adds to the fun of having a lot of crazy rings!
All you have to do is ask students to quickly put a ring on the fingers that you call out. I like having them do both hands at once because this helps reinforce the idea that the hands mirror each other. I call out numbers until all the fingers have rings on them, it can get pretty humorous as the students try to get rings on all their fingers! Then we go backwards, I call out numbers for students to take the rings off. This is great for kinesthetic learners because it is so physical, they can actually feel that ring on finger 2 rather than just looking at it on a piece of paper. This is also great for beginning piano summer camps. Do you have any other fun finger number games you like to use?
Author: Spring
Spring Seals, NCTM, teaches 60 piano students ranging from age 3 to 70 in Fort Worth, Texas. She also serves as the Director of Certification for TMTA. She is passionate about helping teachers become more effective in their studios through professional development, new resources, and fresh ideas.