EM begins with children's experience and connects that experience with the discipline of mathematics. Children begin school with a great deal of knowledge and intuition. EM makes use of this knowledge and aims for significantly higher achievement than has traditionally been expected. Investigations in geometry, data and statistics, and early concepts of algebra begin in kindergarten and continue with greater sophistication throughout the grades. The curriculum helps children make the transition from intuition and concrete operations to abstract ideas and the use of symbols, while at the same time fostering new intuitions that will mature beyond sixth grade.
Excellent instruction is crucial.
Teachers have many roles that the curriculum must support. These include explaining and demonstrating, questioning and leading discussions, managing practice, guiding practical work and explorations. Everyday Mathematics provides materials and procedures that help teachers to carry out the wide variety of instructional tasks that are required in a well-rounded program. Reforms must take into account of the working lives of teachers. EM materials are designed to be manageable and include many suggestions and procedures that make teachers' lives easier, at least in the long run.