Mathematics is behaviourally and neurologically very different from reading. Reading tends to be a bottom-up and top-down process, based in the linear acquisition of information. Mathematics requires much more divergent thinking, that is, thinking in the abstract, alternating with convergent, or focused, thinking. Mathematical reasoning is much more like artistic reasoning, musical reasoning in particular is a great cognitive parallel to thinking mathematically. The rules in music are indeed mathematically-based, but they are more similar in practical terms – they both require focus on the outcome as well as the process, and they both require precision in each small step leading to the conclusion.
Children with numerical difficulty have trouble for a variety of reasons and only sometimes is this a neurological concern (so-called dyscalculia where there is simply no teachable numeric literacy). Most often, children need a grounding in background skills, both cognitively and in spatial relations.
Resources: This area is under development. Coming soon is a series of perceptual exercises as well as core math exercises to assist in developing numeracy for a variety of ages.
MATH 30:
http://www.bmlc.ca/PureMath30.html