Early mathematics education is a large tract of academe and practice in which teachers, and other professionals, organize and orchestrate activities and learning environments for young children with the aim of extending their understanding and growth of mathematics concepts and skills. This narrative inquiry study has explored the travails of early childhood mathematics teachers and digging deeper into the context. This was also gleaned from the theory of Cognitive Development in teaching math by Piaget’s (1936), and the Inefficient Learner model by Twomey (2020). A voice recorder was utilized during the interviews to ensure not missing anything, the study involved a total of ten (10) participants, which is considered an adequate number for qualitative research. The data collected from the participants were transcribed, after which data reduction was applied to organize and condense the information. This process facilitated the identification of emerging themes relevant to the study. The data collected were transcribed and data reduction is applied to identify the themes. Results revealed five (5) essential themes for the travails and struggles of the informants: Inability of learners to identify numbers, managing attention seeking learners, dealing with diverse personality, coping up with hyperactive learners, and considering the attention span of the learners. While 6 essential themes for the coping mechanism were elicited: Determine the level of competence, Collaboration with the parents, indulging engaging activities, Instructional materials must be well prepared, using information and communication Technology or ICT, and Teaching strategies to easily deliver the topic. Findings revealed that teaching early childhood mathematics is a challenging experience and series of coping mechanism can be applied to solve the travails encountered. Based on these results, teachers should have professional development, enough teaching materials, and support from their schools to help them deal with, and get over the problems that arise with teaching mathematics to early childhood learners.

Keywords: narrative inquiry, journey, Early Childhood Mathematics, difficult learners, teachers’ experiences, coping mechanisms