Bundle of ten
Make this number
14
10 here make a bundle
Tap a stick to count it.
and more in the box
You made 14, 23, 34, 40 and 52!
Every one out of bundles of ten and loose ones.
Well played! Now try the real one.
A bundle your child ties with their own hands is a ten they believe in. This screen is only a preview of that. Tip out sixty matchsticks or ice-cream sticks, hand over a few rubber bands, and let them tie their own tens.
The Bundle of Ten →Play it together
Sit with your child and count out loud with every tap. When a bundle ties, say it both ways: one bundle, ten sticks. At the end, say the maths name next to the real one: thirty-four, three tens and four.
What it practises
That the 3 in 34 means thirty. That is all we claim for it. The real version,The Bundle of Ten, does the same job with things from your kitchen, and does it better.
Five minutes on the screen is plenty. No sign-up, no sound, no ad networks, and nothing your child types leaves this page. More games in the Play corner.
Questions parents ask
My child says the 3 in 34 means three. Is that wrong?
It is the most common answer there is, and it is exactly what the symbol looks like. The 3 in 34 means thirty, or three tens. Do not correct it with words. Show three sticks next to three bundles of ten and ask which one the 3 is talking about. The game does the same after every round.
Why count sticks into bundles instead of just learning the numbers?
Place value rests on one hard idea: a bundle of ten is one thing and ten things at the same time. A child gets there by tying bundles, not by being told. The game is a preview. The real version, where your child ties sixty matchsticks into tens with rubber bands, is the one they believe in.