Finger Thumb test

One test I try to give when I work with a student is the Finger Thumb test.  Last week I forgot to try this.  This is a student I know is smart, so I forgot.  When she was struggling with some math, I asked her to put her thumb on each of her fingers in order from pointer, to tall, to ring to pinkie and then pinkie, to ring, to tall, to pointer.  When she struggled to do this, she looked at me in surprise.  We will work on this. For some reason it seems to make a difference in coordination for those struggling to learn.   I have only had one student who did not struggle with this test.  When a student finds they struggle with this they will practice until they master the exercise.  I also tell them to do the exercise when they are struggling to be still in school or when struggling to learn something.