About this game

Count the raised fingers

Count the raised fingers: a free Pre-K math game for ages 4-5. Each round draws 5 questions; instructions are read aloud and every answer is checked and explained.

How it plays and why it helps

How old are you? Most Pre-K children answer with a hand before they answer with a word. Count the raised fingers turns that habit into a counting game. Each round shows five pictures of hands holding up between 2 and 9 fingers. The instruction is read aloud, and your child taps the number of fingers held up among four choices. Every answer is checked.

Fingers are the first counting tool children carry everywhere. Seeing a full hand as five, then counting on for the rest, is how 8 becomes five and three rather than eight separate taps. With 7, 8 and 9 in the bank, that shortcut starts to pay off. The hint keeps attention on the right fingers: count only the ones that are up, not the folded ones.

The likely slip is counting a folded finger too, so 7 becomes 8, and the neighbors of the answer are usually among the choices. Hold up the same fingers yourself and ask, "Can you make my hand?" Copying makes the count physical. Praise the copy: "Your hand matches the picture exactly."

Aligned with

  • P-MATH 1 Child knows number names and the count sequence.
  • P-MATH 5 Child associates a quantity with written numerals up to 5 and begins to write numbers.
  • P-MATH 2 Child recognizes the number of objects in a small set.

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