Welcome to the Children's Mathematics Network -       

        Founded by Dr. Maulfry Worthington and Dr. Elizabeth Carruthers, the Children's Mathematics Network began in 2003. It is an international, not-for-profit organisation for teachers, practitioners, students, researchers and teacher-educators working in the birth to 8-year age range. It is a grassroots network, with children, teachers and practitioners at its heart.

      We advocate a spirit of freedom and creativity for teachers and freedom for children to explore their meanings in their own chosen ways. Our aim is to hear the voice of the child and to support effective pedagogy for this significant aspect of early childhood mathematics.

      Our work is based on over 30 years of extensive evidence-based research with children, teachers and practitioners and families within the contexts of homes, nursery schools and primary schools.

      The Network focuses on Children's Mathematical Graphics and the meaning children make. You can explore and share 'written' mathematics within the context of visual representations including children's early drawings; early (emergent) writing; their early maps; multimodality and pretend play. 

     Much research and writings about children and mathematics has been adult-centric, and the field is open and in need of research and publications that uncover aspects of children’s own mathematical thinking and communications, including their own graphical representations, their free play in which they often explore aspects of mathematics in meaningful contexts – and the pedagogy that supports children’s own mathematics. This is open to much wider research and we welcome research, writings and examples of Children’s Mathematical Graphics that focus on any aspect of children’s own mathematics.

    Dr. Elizabeth Carruthers and Dr. Maulfry Worthington are also the originators of the term Children’s Mathematical Graphics and its associated pedagogy. Interest in our research and publications over the past 30 years has been acknowledged extensively in the UK and internationally. We would like to welcome you to this website which we hope will be of interest and use to everybody who is interested in children's mathematics.

Are you new to Children's Mathematics, and Children's

Mathematical Graphics?

     If you are new to the concept of children's own mathematics and their mathematical graphics then this website will be extremely helpful. Perhaps you have seen children's own mathematics or perhaps you would like to start to support children in their own mathematical thinking. If you look at the the galleries drop-down menu, it can help you see what children's mathematical graphics look like.