Alissa A. Lange, Ashli-Ann Douglas, Carrie S. Cutler, and Jessica Mercer Young

In Count on Me, by Miguel Tanco, a young child describes the unique passions, interests, and activities enjoyed by family members and peers at school. But alas, none of these passions is a good fit.... This child knows one thing she really is drawn to and loves: Math. Through beautiful illustrations and text, math is depicted as all around us, both in plain sight and hidden as a joy to find.— Stephanie Calabrese, HELLO post contributor to the NAEYC Early Math Interest Forum

Continuous, collaborative learning is a hallmark of preparing and supporting educators and ongoing professionalism. By advancing their knowledge, understanding, abilities, and skills, early childhood educators hone their practice and nurture their relationships with children and families.

NAEYC’ s myriad Interest Forums are one way to engage with other educators to advance learning and build a professional network. We( the authors) are a few of the facilitators from the Early Math Interest Forum, which works to promote high-quality mathematics learning opportunities for all children. The Forum provides early childhood educators with a space to come together, share playful learning resources, and learn more about the big ideas in early math. A critical part of the Forum’ s mission is to address issues of equity and access to early math learning opportunities while fostering positive mindsets toward math among children and adults( see“ History and Purpose of the Early Math Interest Forum”).

As part of the Early Math Interest Forum’ s professional networking opportunities, members can gather in person at NAEYC’ s Annual Conference and attend virtual meetups and webinars throughout the year. As facilitators, we also participate in NAEYC’ s

58 Educating Young Children

Fall 2026