100 Fingers

As a busy mom and teacher I often wish for more hands.  In frustration, I've said many times to my family, "Look at me...how many hands do I have?"  I never knew just how much I used that phrase until our then three year old held up his hands and said to my husband, "Look at me...how many fingers do I have?"  Years later, when things get hectic, we hold up our hands and say with a smile, "How many fingers do I have?"  Each year when I make this 100 Fingers chart, I think about that story, and how much I could get done if I had 100 fingers!

100 Fingers

The 100 Fingers chart is a great visual for counting by 1's, 5's, and 10's.  I paint 1 hand of each student.  Once the paint is dry, we go back and label each finger as we count together.  We then add the labels for counting by 10's, and finally the labels for counting by 5's.  (Your chart can always have a different number of fingers, depending on the size of your class.  If I have an odd number of students, I also paint my hand.)