Counting to 5 with Fingers

Your fingers are built-in counting tools! Everyone has 5 fingers on each hand, which makes hands perfect for learning the numbers 1 through 5. Hold up one finger and say 1. Hold up a second finger and say 2. Keep going: 3, 4, 5. Your whole hand is showing! Fingers help you count anywhere, anytime.

Each finger stands for the number 1. When you put up one more finger, you add 1. One hand with all five fingers up is the number 5. This is called finger counting, and mathematicians believe it is one of the first counting tools humans ever used. The word digit even comes from the Latin word for finger!

Show 3 fingers for 3 cookies. Show 4 fingers for 4 stars. Show 5 fingers for 5 puppies. If someone asks how many, just flash your fingers instead of saying a word. Fingers are a backup brain for numbers. They never run out of batteries and they always come with you.

People in every country use their fingers to count. Babies learn finger counting before they learn to speak numbers. When you count with fingers, both sides of your brain work together — one side knows numbers, the other side controls your hands. That is why finger counting helps you remember numbers better than just saying them.