Hi Shawn!
According to BANA Guidelines for the Transcription of Early Educational Materials from Print to Braille (3.1.1 and 3.1.2), transcriber’s notes can be used for all grades and can be used to list keys.
We recommend use of a key to show something like the following:
<p style="font-weight: 400;">A 2-inch square with the key explanation "bundle of 10 sticks" and a 3/8" by 2-inch vertical rectangle with the key explanation "1 stick". For younger grades these shapes should be solid/filled-in rather than outlines alone.</p>
Refer also to Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics 6.8.2 and 6.8.2.1, since counting blocks are similar to what is used in your print example. 6.8.2 explains that they are often shown as "bundles", which yours are. 6.8.2.1 explains the amount of space to leave between each block (or in your case, between each bundle and individual stick).
Each of the two "collections" in your example 6.a. should begin on a new line. Based on the sizes suggested above, we suggest that each of them would appear on a page of its own.