So I've a student, 7, who, when I ask her to wiggle her thumb without looking at her hand, wiggles her pinky. I say, "no, try again," and she gets her middle finger. In short, she needs too look at her hand in order to move the right finger. Naturally, you can imagine how this is inhibiting her growth. Have any of you seen similar scenarios? Any ideas?

Today I ended up just trying to get her to learn her four fingers (by moving them together,) and the thumb the one's that left over. She eventually learned her four fingers, but her thumb was still her pinky. I tried having her flip her hand over thinking maybe she's thinking in relation to her body, but that didn't seem to help.

Her homework is to get her dad to help her with this, and I've spoken with him about it, too. However, that was her homework last week, too, and I wonder how much time was spent on it--if any at all. Today I stressed that she needs to do this at home, otherwise we're going to spend lesson time on it, which she won't like.

I am really at a loss. How long will this take?

Are there not children's rhymes and finger wiggle games going with them that create finger awareness?

Who knows, Sal?

I have a new one in January, about the same age.

Numbered her thumbs 1 by placing them on the pinky fingers (5) in her traced hand picture.

Another student I had who left after 4 years of study, at the interview when I invited her to put her hands on the piano and we would learn to play a song, lifted her hands to the keyboard with the palm facing up, and the fingers curved pointing to the ceiling.

I've used the children's song about "Where is Thumb-kin" it's a finger play motion while singing. Do you know it?

Does she also have a problem in knowing LH from RH.

It will take as long as it takes, sorry to say.

Perhaps Jelena will post to this issue. Jelena?

Betty

Something you might want to try - same idea but apposite approach:
Have her close her eyes and hold out her hands. Touch one of fingers or gently pinch it and have her name which number. By doing this, she will start with the feeling and define it which might be easier than telling a certain finger to move.

i had a student like that... and i'm going to be devils advocate for a second... is she just vying for attention? I had a student do something very similar, and at first i "thought" there was a problem until QUITE firmly i said 'mike' PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I"M SAYING. and he got it right ever since, he was just toying with me :S

Maybe, maybe not. I had the disconcerting experience of having my left hand inches from my face on the violin, wanting to lift finger # 3, say, and it wouldn't lift. I stared at it, and couldn't get it to lift. So I tapped it, the brain fired in "aha, so that's who you meant!" and then it lifted. And I was in my 40's at the time.

Sal_, I've done the following with very good success. Have the student fold their hands together, then begin the game by saying, "Wiggle your right middle finger." Repeat and mix up the fingers to wiggle. Playing this game about 5 minutes at the beginning of each lesson, probably for 4 - 6 weeks, should make considerable progress.

My lessons are recorded to DVD, so I can notify the parent on the written lesson assignment sheet that there is an exercise they need to do with their student and they can see it at the beginning of the DVD. The next week, if there is no indication that the parent has done it, I generally print in bold and large type that we are having to take lesson time to do something the student and parent could do at home. This generally gets the job done.

I do similar to what John does with them holding their hands together and wiggling the same finger on each hand together. You can also do a rhyme with finger movements like Betty recommended. I know one call "Tommy Thumbs" that goes like this:
[ask student to raise up both thumbs. Help them if needed, then say & do motions below]
Tommy thumbs up (point thumbs up to ceiling)
and Tommy Thumbs down (point down)
Tommy Thumbs dancing all around the town (make thumbs dance as arms go outward in a circle)
Dancing on your shoulders (wiggle thumbs on shoulders)
Dancing on your head (wiggle on head)
Dancing on your knees (wiggle on knees)
Now tuck them into bed (hide hands under arms)

You can repeat this with "Mommy Pointer" and "Baby Pinky" (I try to avoid finger 3 for obvious reason :p ). Once this gets easy for her, then you can do drills on the piano with finger numbers. I will often do this as they learn the names of the keys, by saying things like, "Now play all the Cs on the piano with RH finger 3". She will catch on soon enough, and will enjoy the games.

I've had her put her hands together and say "wiggle..." and she did fine--because she was looking. I did consider that she might just be doing it as a game, but she held up her story when her dad was in the room, and he's not the type for games. It's not that she doesn't know her finger numbers, but rather that she just has to look to move the right one. When I had her look at her hand and wiggle her thumb, she did it fine, and then she could wiggle it fine immediately after looking, but seemed to have been forgotten quickly--so I don't know.

Before I noticed this problem, I asked "Do you look at your feet when you walk?" "yes" which really ruined my analogy, but it also describes her character. Other than apparently have to look at her body to get it to do what she wants, she seems perfectly normal--or at least as normal as anybody ever is.

I think tomorrow I'm going to try what Katie suggested and take the opposite approach--maybe also have her put her hands together to start (eyes shut this time.)

Thanks for the ideas. Depending how things go, I might come back begging for more finger games.

Well, yesterday was interesting. Neither she nor her dad did their homework, so as promised, we spent class time on it. After about 15 minutes she started begging to play piano rather than work on her fingers, and I told her the same thing I had before about the importance of knowing them. Naturally, she because rather upset, but a miracle happened--a lightbulb must have gone off and she could name the one I touched and wiggle certain fingers when asked.