Wien, Carol AnneFine, Esther2016-09-132016-09-132013-01http://hdl.handle.net/10315/31897"This thesis researches the mathematics learning of young children. In a school seriously invested in the Reggio Emilia experience for ten years, grade-one learning is project based. I pose the question is it possible to enrich numeracy expectations in the Ontario mathematics curriculum for grade one, while engaging in a Reggio-inspired emergent curriculum? As a teacher/researcher I observed and listened carefully to the students' interactions. I facilitated discussions, problem solving and directions for the project, while remaining open to the children's mathematical theories. I paid close attention to their hypotheses about proportion as well as their exploration into perimeters, and I supported their math manipulatives ""factory."" Pedagogical documentation in the form of graphic novels demonstrates how emergent curriculum weaves play-based inquiry with sophisticated mathematical thinking. I argue that emergent curriculum and provincial expectations can co-exist in a grade one classroom to infuse complex mathematical thinking with joy and beauty."Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.Electronic Thesis or Dissertationmathematicsgrade onelearningReggio Emiliacurriculumyoung childrenOntario