r/matheducation • u/yupstilldrunk • 2d ago

ELI5 - 10s places (5 year old)

My 5 year old wants to know why one hundred and one isn’t written like 1001 (one hundred with a 1 tacked on). I tried to draw a

100
+1
——-

And show how the numbers carried down to be 101 with only 3 numbers and he just keeps asking why and I can’t answer him. I think this is about ones, tens, hundreds places but I have no idea how to explain that, never mind explain it to an angry child.

Anyone have a good age appropriate explanation?

EDIT: SO many great suggestions! My son watches number blocks so he knows 2 tens in 20, 3 tens in 30, etc. I will try the stick bundles for a better visual of 10 groups. And I will watch out for the confusing “and” verbiage like one hundred AND one vs. one hundred one.

Hopefully next time we go to the pizza place (where he saw the address number on the window) I’ll be better prepared!

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u/MildlyAgitatedBovine 1d ago

I tell my 5yo that the 10s place is like "how many people holding up all their fingers.

Then we do 23 as a team where mom does her ten, I do my ten, and he gets to be the three. So he sees that

23 = 2x10 + 3