Skills / Ages 5 to 8 / Math
Show six on the ten-hole box
Showing six on the box of ten holes as a full top row of five and one leftover bean in the bottom row, and matching it to the mark 6.
Why it matters
Six is the first number that spills out of the top row. If your child sees it as five and one more, every number after it is one step: seven is the next hole, then eight, nine and ten.
What it looks like when your child can do it
- Asked to show six, your child fills the top row, then puts one bean in the first hole of the bottom row.
- Your child points to the leftover bean and says six without counting the top row again.
- Shown the mark 6 on a card, your child builds the box to match.
How to teach it at the kitchen table
- 01
Start from a full top row
Fill the top row and say five together. Add one bean to the first hole in the bottom row. Say it the way the book does: five and one more is six.
- 02
Touch only the leftover hole
Have your child sweep a hand across the full row once and say five, then touch the leftover bean and say six. No recounting the top row.
- 03
Find six on an insect
The book says a bug has six legs. Use an ant, a beetle or a ladybug, where that is true. A spider has eight legs and a pill bug has fourteen, so skip those. A picture is easiest, since live insects rarely hold still. Count the legs, then build the same six on the box.
- 04
Match the box to the mark 6
Write a big 6 on a card and set it by the box. The bug's legs, the box, and the mark 6 all show the same how many.
You will need: A dozen-egg carton cut down to two rows of five cups · Ten dried beans or buttons · Small counters like beans, buttons and pennies can choke a child, so stay at the table while they are out and put them away from younger children · A picture of an ant, a beetle or a ladybug · A card with a big 6 on it
Try it together
Try 1
Fill the top row. Hold up one more bean and ask how many there will be when it goes in.
Listen for Six. Listen for six said right after five, not a count starting from one.
Try 2
Hand your child a pile of beans and ask them to show six on an empty box.
Listen for A full top row and one bean at the far left of the bottom row. Six beans scattered across both rows means the full row idea needs another look.
Try 3
Show six. Cover the top row with your hand and ask how many beans are hiding under it.
Listen for Five. Then lift your hand. Your child should be able to say five and one more is six.
Try 4
Set out cards with the marks 5, 6 and 7. Build six and ask which mark matches.
Listen for 6.
Try 5
Show six and ask how many holes are still empty.
Listen for Four. This is the stretch question, so let your child count the empty holes one by one.
Watch for
- Squeezing the sixth bean onto the end of the top row, as if the row had six holes. Count the top holes together: always five.
If it is not there yet
- Go back to a full top row. Fill it, empty it and fill it again until your child says five without counting.
- Practice five and one more on fingers: one full hand and one finger on the other hand is six.
A few days of this is normal, and it is time well spent. The lesson will still be there, and it will go faster.
Where this skill comes up
Zig and Zag Count to Twenty · Lesson 10
Seven
Needs it because seven is the next hole after six on the same box.