For parents
Tens and ones: show your child why 14 is 10 + 4
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In the number 14, the digit 1 does not stand for one block. It stands for one ten: ten blocks grouped together. The 4 represents four additional ones. Start with objects so your child can connect each digit to an actual quantity.
Make one ten before naming it
Put fourteen blocks on the table and find a small box. Count ten blocks into it, one at a time. Say, “This pack holds ten, so we can call it one ten.” Keep the box open so your child can check. Moving the pack does not change its contents. If counting ten objects accurately still needs practice, make that the whole first round rather than rushing to written numbers.
Build 14 and connect it to the digits
Place four loose blocks beside the pack. There is one ten and four ones: 14 = 10 + 4. Write 14 on a card. Point from the 1 to the pack, then from the 4 to the loose blocks. Ask how many blocks are inside, how many are outside and how many there are altogether. The aim is to link the written number to the amount, not just recite a place-value label.
Why this is not 1 + 4
One pack and four loose blocks make five visible items, but fourteen blocks. Be clear about what you are counting. Empty the box and count its ten blocks again: the total remains fourteen. In a two-digit whole number, the left position records tens and the right records ones. Swapping the digits makes 41, which represents four tens and one one, a different amount.
Play a packing game with packs of ten
Make order cards for 11, 14, 16 and 19. A parent picks a card; the child fills the order using one pack of ten and the required loose blocks. The checker counts the contents, names the tens and ones and writes the addition. Swap jobs. Deliberately offer a pack containing nine blocks and ask whether it deserves a “10” label. Add the missing block before treating it as one ten.
Four questions with explained answers
1. What number is one ten and three ones? It is 13, because 10 + 3 = 13. 2. Split 18 into tens and ones. One ten and eight ones: 18 = 10 + 8. 3. Remove two loose blocks from a model of 16. It becomes 14: the pack still holds ten and four remain outside. 4. How can you show 10? One ten and zero additional ones. The zero does not mean the pack is empty.
Check the unit before moving on
Avoid counting a pack as a single block or labelling an incomplete pack as ten. Ask how many ones are inside one ten, then unpack and regroup them. If you add one block to 19, the ten loose blocks can form another pack, making two tens: 20. That is a further step. There is no need to tackle it before numbers 11–19 make sense with the model.
Continue briefly with Otto Math
Finish by letting your child choose a number from 11 to 19, build it and explain the digits in their own words. A parent can later choose a short calculation route in Otto Math and invite the child to model one calculation with blocks. The app is available on the App Store. The packing game is an offline activity created for this guide.