We hear all the time how American children are falling behind their global peers in various basic subjects, but particularly in math. Is it our fear of math that constrains us? Or our inability to understand maths place in relation to our everyday lives? How can we help our children better understand the basics of arithmetic if were not really sure we understand them ourselves? Here, G. Arnell Williams helps parents and teachers explore the world of math that their elementary school children are learning. Taking readers on a tour of the history of arithmetic, and its growth into the subject we know it to be today, Williams explores the beauty and relevance of mathematics by focusing on the great conceptual depth and genius already inherent in the elementary mathematics familiar to us all, and by connecting it to other well-known areas such as language and the conceptual aspects of everyday life.