Episode 199 - The Many Ways to Show Numbers with Fingers

In this episode, I explore the fascinating world of finger use in math and specifically how we represent numbers differently. After noticing that Dan Finkel and I show the number 3 with completely different finger configurations, I dive into why these variations matter for children's mathematical understanding. Through personal stories about my own children's attempts to show the number 5, I highlight how fixed representations can limit children's number sense. Join me to discover why showing quantities in multiple ways—whether using fingers, ten frames, or rekenreks—helps develop deeper mathematical thinking and flexibility. A must-listen for teachers and parents wanting to build stronger number foundations with young learners.

Om Podcasten

The Build Math Minds podcast is for my fellow Recovering Traditionalists out there. If you don’t know whether or not you are a Recovering Traditionalist, here’s how I define us. We are math educators who used to teach math the traditional way. Flip lesson by lesson in the textbook, directly teaching step-by-step how to solve math problems. But now, we are working to change that to a style of teaching math that is fun and meets our students where they are at, not just teaching what comes next in the textbook. We want to encourage our students to be thinkers, problem solvers, and lovers of mathematics..we are wanting to build our students math minds and not just create calculators. If that is you, then this podcast is for you.