What a ten-frame teaches
A ten-frame is a simple box of two rows with five squares each. Because the top row fills first, children soon see that a full row means five, and they stop counting each dot one by one. Recognising amounts at a glance like this is called subitising, and it's a strong foundation for later addition.
How to introduce it
- Draw one big frame on a sheet of paper and use real objects, such as jingle bells or pom-poms.
- Fill the top row and say "five". Add two more and say "five and two more is seven".
- Then try this page together, and let your child take over when ready.
Christmas ways to play
Decorate a paper tree with ten stickers, a row at a time, as a countdown. Or fill a frame with buttons and ask how many more are needed to make ten, with every answer earning a gold star on the tree.
Adjust for your child
If ten feels like too much, set "Numbers up to" to 5. Children who find it easy can move to 20, which shows two frames and introduces the teen numbers.