How to help your child get off to a strong start with math

Like many parents, you may find it natural to curl up and read a book—or several—with your child. But math can be a different story. Introducing it at home can feel daunting, especially if you haven’t practiced in years or never considered yourself a math person.

The early years are an important time for math learning. According to 2024 results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 39% of fourth graders in the United States are at or above the proficiency level in math⁸. Many children fall behind when foundational concepts are introduced late or in ways that feel too abstract¹⁰. Those who enter school with a strong foundation can build on what they know as math becomes more complex—and approach new concepts with confidence⁴ ⁵.

That’s exactly why Lovevery developed The Math Skill Set. Working with leading math experts and using the best and latest research, we created a first-of-its-kind, play-based program that’s fun, hands-on, and connected to the real world. The Math Skill Set is designed to build a progression of essential skills in a way that keeps your child engaged and motivated. When math is playful and rooted in everyday experiences, it becomes something children can truly understand, use, and enjoy ❤️

Your own early experiences with math may have focused on memorizing numbers or naming shapes. But a strong foundation goes much deeper than that. It’s about helping your child understand what numbers really mean, how they relate to each other, and how they can be used to solve real-life problems. Over time, this builds confidence with numbers, time, money, and everyday problem-solving—skills your child will carry with them for life⁶ ¹¹.

Here’s what the research says about how children learn math: 

Children learn best when math is connected to real life⁴

Long before formal schooling begins, children are already developing mathematical understanding through everyday experiences—and research shows these early skills are strong predictors of later academic success⁴.

For young children, math isn’t abstract. It shows up when they divide snacks, count cracks in the sidewalk, or compare which stack of blocks is bigger. These moments help children understand quantity, space, patterns, and relationships in ways that feel meaningful³ ⁶.

Language plays an important role, too. Words like more, less, equal, and before help children make sense of what they see and how quantities relate to one another. Research shows that children who hear more “math talk” develop stronger math skills over time¹¹ ⁶.

These everyday experiences even lay the groundwork for early financial understanding—like recognizing that money is exchanged for goods, or that choices involve trade-offs.

When math is connected to real life, children begin to see it as useful, not something abstract or intimidating. This is why the Math Skill Set is grounded in real-world play. Through games, stories, and hands-on activities, your child explores math in ways that connect directly to their everyday experiences. 

Knowing both why and how helps make math click¹² ¹³

Children learn math best when they understand both the why and how of what they’re doing.

The why, known as conceptual understanding, means your child understands what numbers represent and why a solution works, not just how to get the answer. This can help them see different ways to solve a problem.

The how, sometimes called procedural fluency, is knowing the actual steps needed to solve a problem. This frees a child’s mind for more complex problem-solving.

The Math Skill Set helps build both at the same time. Through hands-on activities, your child first explores why math works by seeing and manipulating real objects. Then, through repeated play, they practice the how, building fluency in a way that feels natural and fun 🙂

Hands-on play helps children make sense of abstract math ideas¹⁴ 

Many math teachers and experts regard the Concrete–Representational–Abstract (CRA) model as a highly effective, evidence-based way to help children learn math. Here’s what it means:

• Concrete: using real objects to see and feel your way through a math problem
• Representational: using drawings and visual models like number lines and ten frames to represent quantity and relationships
• Abstract: using numbers, symbols, and equations to allow for quicker problem-solving

Children don’t move through these three ways of exploring math in a straight line. They go back and forth, strengthening their understanding of math concepts and problem-solving strategies along the way.

That’s why the hands-on play that happens with The Math Skill Set is so powerful. It helps children connect visual representations and abstract ideas to objects they can actually see and touch.

Math skills develop step by step, with each concept supporting the next³

The Math Skill Set focuses on the skills that matter most in the early years, each one building on the next:

Number sense: Children begin by understanding quantity, counting, and how numbers relate to one another. Tools like the Counting Cups reinforce one-to-one correspondence and counting, while the Number Builder Board helps children understand magnitude and compose numbers in flexible ways, such as seeing that both 4 and 2 and 3 and 3 make 6.

Addition and subtraction: As children grow, they begin developing strategies for addition and subtraction. The Plus and Minus Space Mission allows children to rely on counting to add and subtract, while the Ten Buddies book and Count On Cafe introduce strategies to support mental math, like making 10 and counting on.

Real-world math: Children also begin applying math to everyday life through measurement, time, money, and problem-solving. In The Math Skill Set Part 1, measurement is introduced through comparison and nonstandard units in the Stack It Up Measurement Game. These ideas are revisited and expanded in Part 3 through estimation and standard measurement. Part 2 extends math into everyday contexts by exploring telling time, collecting data, and building early financial literacy—helping children see math as useful and relevant in their daily lives.

Place value: A strong understanding of place value is essential for later success with multi-digit operations. With the Place Value Number Builder in Part 2 of The Math Skill Set, children explore tens and ones using base-ten blocks, and Place Value Putt Putt supports addition and subtraction across ones, tens, and hundreds.

Early multiplication and division: Exploring groups, sharing, and equal parts builds the foundation for more complex math. The Equal Orders Bakery, also in Part 2, introduces equal groups, setting the stage for multiplication and division.

Confidence grows when practice feels meaningful and achievable¹ ⁷

Research consistently shows that children learn math best when they can connect ideas, use hands-on experiences, and apply concepts in meaningful ways.

The Math Skill Set is designed around this progression, with a focus on essential skills that can be challenging—like composing and decomposing numbers, understanding the equal sign as a symbol of balance, and developing place value understanding.

But it isn’t just what your child learns, it’s also how they feel as they do it. When math is stressful, it can interfere with thinking and memory⁷. And when children feel successful, they’re more likely to stick with it¹. Through repeated, low-pressure play, The Math Skill Set helps your child experience small wins that build both confidence and motivation over time.

About The Math Skill Set

The Math Skill Set is designed as a three-part program that you can purchase individually on Lovevery.com, starting with the part that’s right for your child.

Part 1 is available now and ships right away. You can also choose a Part 1 and Part 2 bundle to secure Part 2 in advance. Part 2 will ship later in 2026 when it becomes available.

Part 3 is coming soon and will build on earlier skills with more advanced problem-solving and real-world math applications.

Learn more about the research

¹ Bandura, Albert. 1997. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W. H. Freeman.

² Carpenter, Thomas P., Megan Loef Franke, and Linda Levi. 2003. Thinking Mathematically: Integrating Arithmetic and Algebra in Elementary School. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

³ Clements, Douglas H., and Julie Sarama. 2014. Learning and Teaching Early Math: The Learning Trajectories Approach. New York: Routledge.

⁴ Duncan, Greg J., Chantelle J. Dowsett, Amy Claessens, Katherine Magnuson, Aletha C. Huston, Pamela Klebanov, Linda S. Pagani, et al. 2007. “School Readiness and Later Achievement.” Developmental Psychology 43 (6): 1428–46.

⁵ Geary, David C. 2011. “Cognitive Predictors of Achievement Growth in Mathematics: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study.” Developmental Psychology 47 (6): 1539–52.

⁶ Levine, Susan C., Linda Huttenlocher, Meredith L. Vasilyeva, and Elissa Gunderson. 2010. “What Counts in the Development of Young Children’s Number Knowledge?” Developmental Psychology 46 (5): 1309–19.

⁷ Lyons, Ian M., and Sian L. Beilock. 2012. “Mathematics Anxiety: Separating the Math from the Anxiety.” Psychological Science 23 (9): 1015–22.

⁸ National Center for Education Statistics. 2024. NAEP Mathematics: Mathematics Results, 2024. The Nation’s Report Card. U.S. Department of Education. Accessed May 6, 2026. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/mathematics/2024/g4_8/

⁹ National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, and Council of Chief State School Officers. 2010. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Washington, DC.

¹⁰ National Mathematics Advisory Panel. 2008. Foundations for Success: The Final Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

¹¹ Purpura, David J., and Allison R. Napoli. 2017. “Early Numeracy and Literacy: Untangling the Relation Between Specific Components.” Child Development 88 (6): 2002–18.

¹² Rittle-Johnson, Bethany, Michael Schneider, and Jon R. Star. 2015. “Not a One-Way Street: Bidirectional Relations Between Procedural and Conceptual Knowledge of Mathematics.” Educational Psychology Review 27 (4): 587–597.

¹³ Schneider, Michael, Bethany Rittle-Johnson, and Jon R. Star. 2011. “Relations Among Conceptual Knowledge, Procedural Knowledge, and Procedural Flexibility in Two Samples Differing in Prior Knowledge.” Developmental Psychology 47 (6): 1525–38.

¹⁴ Uttal, David H., Christopher Scudder, and Judy S. DeLoache. 1997. “Manipulatives as Symbols: A New Perspective on the Use of Concrete Objects to Teach Mathematics.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 18 (1): 37–54.

¹⁵ Witzel, Bradley S., Cecil D. Mercer, and M. David Miller. 2003. “Teaching Algebra to Students with Learning Difficulties: An Investigation of an Explicit Instruction Model.” Learning Disabilities Research & Practice 18 (2): 121–31.