Reforms often fail because they do not take into consideration the working lives of teachers. The new curriculum should be practical and manageable and it should include suggestions and procedures that make teachers' lives easier, at least in the long run. The new curriculum should include practical routines to help build the arithmetic skills and quick responses that are so essential for building number sense, estimation skills, and flexibility in a problem-rich environment. Thinking with mathematics becomes as natural as thinking with language Features of Everyday Mathematics Everyday Mathematics establishes a framework for dialogue about mathematics between teacher and children and among children themselves. Thinking with mathematics becomes as natural as thinking with language.
Calculators are an integral part of the program as an aid to concept development and applications.
Estimation and a variety of strategies for problem-solving are emphasized throughout. Everyday Mathematics assumes that each child has a slate, a calculator, measuring tools, and drawing tools, and that each teacher has a classroom set of manipulatives. This requires an initial investment, without which genuine reform cannot be successfully implemented. The first year of the curriculum supports about 100 hours of mathematics activities. The program emphasizes playful, verbal interactions and manipulative activities while laying the groundwork for symbolic understanding.