For parents
Number bonds to 10: explore a ten-frame
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Ten can be made from seven and three, six and four, or other pairs of parts. Before memorising a list, build the pairs together. A frame with ten spaces helps show what changes and what stays the same as one part grows.
Make a ten-frame
Draw a rectangle divided into two rows of five equal spaces. Prepare ten large red paper counters and ten blue ones. Each space holds one counter. Count the spaces, pointing out both rows. The NCETM resource below discusses composing numbers from parts; this activity uses a single fixed whole of ten to explore that idea.
Show seven and three
Fill from left to right, completing the top row before starting the bottom. Place seven red counters: five across the top and two below. Three spaces are empty. Fill them with blue counters and write 7 + 3 = 10. Count each colour separately, then all the occupied spaces. Counters outside the frame are spare supplies, not part of this total.
Change just one space
Replace the last red counter with a blue one without moving the others. There are now six red and four blue: 6 + 4 = 10. Red has decreased by one and blue has increased by one, while every space remains filled. Before the next replacement, ask your child to predict both amounts, then check with the frame.
Find every pair
Start with all blue counters and replace one at a time with red. Record 0 and 10, 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, then 5 and 5. Continuing reverses familiar pairs, from 6 and 4 to 10 and 0. There are six pairs when order does not matter, or eleven arrangements when the first and second colours are distinguished.
Play ten-space parking
The counters become cars of two colours. An adult orders a full car park containing four red cars. Your child selects six blue cars, fills every space and states the addition. Swap roles. Include an order for zero red cars: having no red cars is a valid part of the arrangement, with ten blue cars filling the whole frame.
Four questions with explanations
How many blue counters go with two red? Eight, because 2 + 8 = 10. With nine red? One: 9 + 1 = 10. Replace one red with blue in a six-and-four arrangement: it becomes five and five. Do 7 + 3 and 3 + 7 have different totals? No, both equal 10; the order of the parts changes, but the whole does not.
What to notice
Your child can recognise the full top row as five and add the counters below. If the total exceeds ten, check for two counters in one space. Allow pointing and building instead of demanding immediate recall. A parent can later choose addition in Otto Math on iPhone or iPad. The first five routes in each book are free; further routes require Otto Plus.