Teach Kids How to Write Numbers With the Number Thumb Trick
For some children, learning how to write numbers can be a real challenge. There is so much to learn! In all kinds of bizarre shapes! You can see how frustrating this is. But the occupational therapy assistant may have come up with a way to help these children. She called it the “thumb” method.
However, this particular method will only work for right-handed children, so she also has some tips for left-handed children. They can flip their right hand palm up and write numbers with their left hand. If this is too inconvenient, she also suggests that they practice tracing numbers in something like sand or flour with just their index finger to eliminate the fine motor component and get a feel for the numbers forming.
If you flip through her photos, you’ll also see that she uses the same ruler technique that shows a hand with a finger sticking out – like this one . It is commonly used to help kids learn to leave enough space between words when they write sentences or practice vocabulary, but it can also be used as a guide to thumb numbers for right-handers or left-handers.