Start with a problem your child can picture. Lina has ten stickers. Six are blue and the rest are red. Ask your child to point out what the ten and the six each describe. If they like, let them arrange ten counters and slide six to one side before they draw.
Draw one bar for all ten stickers. Mark a section for the six blue ones and leave the rest with a question mark. Ask which part is missing. Your child can count up from six to ten or subtract six from ten, then write four in the blank part of the bar.
Check the drawing by asking your child to explain why six blue and four red still make ten. Try a second problem with the same numbers that asks for the whole instead. Let your child move the question mark to the top of the bar and describe what changed.
