For subtracting you need a small plate which is placed next to the ten-slot field. On a worksheet or a piece of paper there are minus tasks. With red or yellow cherries the child lays the quantity picture of the number from which something is to be subtracted (minuend). Now it takes the cherries that are to be subtracted from the field. The quantity picture on the ten-slot field is reduced backwards. The child puts the cherries on the plate. A glance at the ten-slot field reveals the result of the subtraction task. This result is written down.
Example task 6-2
6 wooden cherries are placed in the ten-slot field according to the quantity picture of 6. Now the last two cherries are taken out of the field and placed on the plate. The result of the subtraction task is visible on the ten-slot field as a quantity picture: 4.