← The Maths They Teach Now · Lesson 1 of 4
Number bonds
A number bond shows a whole and two parts that make it: 10 at the top, and 7 and 3 below. Children learn the bonds to 10 by heart, the way many of us learned times tables.
The point is flexibility. A child who knows that 7 and 3 make 10 can work out 7 + 5 as 7 + 3 + 2: make ten, then add what is left.
If your child says "I made ten first", that is not a shortcut they invented to cheat. It is exactly the method.
Your child works out 8 + 6 by saying "8 and 2 make 10, then 4 more". What are they doing?
A lesson is kept once you've answered the question and written at least 8 words. Nobody grades it; it stays on this device.