Teachers are on the front line in any educational controversy. Increasingly, some bloggers, newspaper articles, and other media have criticized the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) as being inappropriate for children in kindergarten and first grade. However, both research and expert practice reveal that children are capable of achieving these goals. In this article, the authors describe the results of their analysis of these criticisms in light of research, and they provide research-based guidelines for appropriate, effective, and joyful teaching and learning. They also include some comments about developmentally appropriate teaching for preschoolers so that they are not hindered from preparing adequately for kindergarten.