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Family & Community Engagement

Family & Community Engagement

The Center for Early Learning translates research findings into practical supports and resources for those working directly with young children.

We use research findings to offer recommendations and materials for families and caregivers to engage in fun and effective learning activities. 

Find some of our learning engagement resources here!

When a neurodivergent child refuses to do math, resists learning, or says they hate it, most parents assume it’s a curriculum problem. Maybe it’s the wrong program, the wrong approach, or the wrong timing.

But what if the resistance is pointing to something the whole family is carrying without realizing it?

That’s the heart of this podcast. Dr. Sarah Eason is a researcher at Purdue University who has spent her career studying how family interactions shape children’s early math development. Her work offers a striking reframe: math anxiety isn’t just a child’s problem. It lives in families. It travels through tone of voice, through avoidance, through the stories we tell ourselves about who is and isn’t a “math person” and it reaches children long before they ever sit down with a worksheet.

Read this article that explains why early math skills are important, what early math is, how to talk to your children about early math, and well as additional resources.

Watch this video of Dr. Sarah Eason talking about how parents can help kids succeed in math through everyday activities.