Despite suggestions for incorporating students' experiences into school math lessons, mathematics education seems to be the last bastion of formalism. This paper reports on a sociocultural study of the use of students' personal experiences in early childhood elementary mathematics lessons. This study documents the use of students' personal out-of-school experiences in classroom math and other subjects and investigates barriers that may prevent such linking. The following questions are addressed: (1) To what extent do teachers currently link school math and students' personal out-of-school experiences? and (2) What influences the use of such linking? The study included observations of lessons in mathematics, language arts, and social studies in public, private, and homeschool settings. Despite recommendations in the literature, results showed that teachers rarely link students' personal experiences to math concepts. Linking is more common in language arts and social studies than in mathematics lessons. This study found that the gap between school math and the life experiences of students is established early in elementary school. It is therefore suggested that any reforms need to be implemented in the early grades as well as higher grades. (PVD)