The home row: fingers rest on A S D F and J K L ;. The F and J keys have a bump.
The big ideaYour fingers rest on the home row. Every other key is a short reach from there.
How it works
Your fingers rest on the home row, the middle row of letter keys. Every other key is a short reach from there.
The left hand rests on a, s, d and f. The right hand rests on j, k, l and the semicolon.
The f and j keys each have a little bump. Your pointer fingers feel for the bumps, so you can find home without looking down.
After a trip to another key, a finger always goes back home.
Each key is tinted by its finger: the two pinkies share a tint, and so do the two ring fingers and the two middle fingers.
Example 1: Find home in the dark
Feel for the bump on the f key with your left pointer.
Feel for the bump on the j key with your right pointer.
Rest your other fingers beside them: d, s and a on the left, and k, l and the semicolon on the right.
Now every finger is home.
The bumps are on F and J.
Example 2: Which finger for which key
a: the left pinky.
s: the left ring finger.
d: the left middle finger.
f: the left pointer.
j: the right pointer.
k: the right middle finger.
l: the right ring finger.
the semicolon: the right pinky.
Example 3: A trip up and back
The left middle finger rests on the d key.
It stretches up to the e key on the top row and taps it.
It hurries back down and rests on d again.
Fingers may visit other rows, but they never stay long.
A trip from D up to E and back.
Words to know
home row
The middle row of letter keys, where your fingers rest.
bump
The little raised mark on the f and j keys that helps you find home by feel.
pointer
The finger next to your thumb. It rests on f on the left and on j on the right.
semicolon
The key at the right end of the home row, where the right pinky rests.
Watch out
A finger that does not come back home has to hunt for its next key.
Your fingers rest on eight keys: a, s, d, f, j, k, l and the semicolon.
Find home by feel, with the bumps on f and j, not by looking at your hands.
Try it
Which two keys have the little bumps?
Which finger rests on the s key?
Which finger rests on the semicolon?
After a trip up to the top row, where does the finger go?
Answers: 1. f and j · 2. The left ring finger · 3. The right pinky · 4. Back home
Try at homePut your pointer fingers on the little bumps on the f and j keys, and rest your other fingers beside them. That is your home row, and nobody needs to watch: you will feel it.
For grown-upsAsk your child to close their eyes and find the bumps on f and j by touch, then rest the other fingers beside them; if a finger drifts, just say go home and let them put it right.
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