Week 1 Task 1: Introduction and preparation

Hi! I'm Ali and I'm explorer of new possibilities for learning mathematics. I followed this forum posts. I could not schedule math circle for this course. But I have a math circle and I follow these topics. Thank you all!

Hi, I'm Tiffany and I'm homeschooling my 9-year-old for the first time this year. He used to love math, but last year decided math was boring...I'm hoping we can reignite his interest again.

Hi, I am Andrey; I am very happy to join this group of math enthusiasts. I have been involved in math circles for a number of years but I am still learning new and exciting math every day. I am sure this forum will be a great place to exchange ideas.

Hi, My name is Kam and I have 2 daughters - 8 and 11 years old. I want to show them that solving problems can be fun.

Hi, My name is Marta and I have 2 boys: 5 years and 2,5. I plan to homeschool my children and I'm looking for ideas of how to teach math.

Hi,

I am Michal, Mother of two. Graphic Designer and educator. I believe that math is an art, not just science.

When I was a child, I was very lucky to have a great math teacher, who taught me to think my way and to keep an open mind about any possibilities, to imagine solutions and how they will work, and so many other things I use today in all areas of my life.

Today I homeschool my 13-year-old, and my second child (6) is in public school.

As a parent, I am constantly straggling between my own understanding of learning/my ways of thinking and my children's talents, desires, and inspirations. Since we all are very different, it is not easy for me to support them in the way they need, and find a way to help them learn without forcing them to learn my way.

My 13-year-old is a very concrete thinker, and it wasn't easy for us to find the right ways to explain some algebraic topics when we tried to learn them following a public school curriculum.

This is why I am very much interested in this course. I hope to learn new methodology, and tools to help my children and I to cooperate in a better way.

Hi, guys! I'm Sheryl. I'm a former Montessori teacher who follows the growth of holistic education into the public sector. I love all things Montessori (and Waldorf) but wonder what Maria Montessori would be focusing on were she still with us. She, herself, "was an eclectic borrower" when it came to educational methods and I look to this site and the participants for inspiration. I'm intrigued with numbers and patterns and how math concepts can become part of the intellect while simply living or "playing."

The intro above invites us to "link your sites, blogs, and other online places." Thanks! This is very generous of the coordinators. My links follow:

https://www.facebook.com/SNAPScaffoldingforNumericalSynapses

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1480269778

Hello everyone and nice to meet you!

My name is Nadya and I am a mum of 2 kids - 6 y.o. girl and 1.5 y.o. boy.

When I had my daughter, I decided to learn more about children education and psychology. I've attended Montessori courses in London, and found that children are the most fascinating phenomena in the world:) I am glad I have two of mine to discover this complete new Universe of life:)

Being theoretical physicist by training I am happy to support children's natural ability and wish to do math in whatever form it comes. My own scientific path laid through the USSR comprehensive school's strict teachers who were good in science but quite bad in teaching. All I remember was fear I've made something wrong up to certain age. But I am lucky enough to have my parents who always encouraged me to be curious about things and our family motto is (still) " no single day without a discovery"

'Math' for me in this course == science, natural phenomena exploration, overall thinking process, invoking curiosity and joy of new discoveries made by the child him/her self. I really hope to be able to involve more children after I am sure I can actually deal with all this!

So here I am, full-time Sr SW engineer with a tiny bit of free time which I really want to spend with my children in the most efficient and useful way:)

Looking forward to talking to all of you soon.

Hi, I am Irina. I design interactive exhibitions and create workshops for STEM subjects. I am also a mom of three kids. Two are in the right age group for this course (6 and 3). I am looking forward to try out new math activities with my family.

I'm Denise (http://letsplaymath.net/) and currently have a math group of high schoolers (with one upper-elementary outlier) and a group of preschool-2nd graders. Neither group is scheduled to meet next week, so I'm hoping to draw together some new kids from the local homeschool community. We'll see how that goes, in this busy season...

What I hope to get from this course: more ideas for working with young kids. My previous math groups (before working with Moebius Noodles) have been middle school and above, so I've been learning a lot from the projects with younger ones.

My name is Julie, I signed up for this class with a few other moms in a homeschool group I belong to. I don't know anything about math circles, but I hope to learn some things I can use.

Mom of 2, soon to be 3! My boys are age 7 and 4 and are very motivated learners. We homeschool, but have recently moved and are playing around with options in our curriculum. There are so many approaches to math and I am on a journey to expose and guide the boys in any way I can. Math is not a particular hobby of mine, but when I came across this program, it seemed like something I definitely wanted to learn more about. So here I am, listening and learning from you math educator experts!

Hello. My name is Chris and I teach a 3rd / 4th grade classroom at a private school. I am looking for ways to introduce more complex mathematical ideas to complement our current math program.

Hi! My name is Dana and I'm a homeschooling mother of 3 boys aged 16, 14, and 9. As a student, I liked math up to the point where the teacher said "You'll never use this for anything." I've tried to make math fun and relevant for my own kids so they don't stop learning, and I hope this class will give me some good ideas to try. Math is my 9 year old son's favorite subject. He's currently using Beast Academy and belongs to a homeschool math team. All the parents help coach the math team so I'm also hoping to pick up some strategies for working with the kids.

Hi folks, I'm Donna, Mum to an 8yr old and 5 yr old twins. My kids are in public school but we don't do set homeworks and tend to do our thing to supplement what I consider a narrow curriculum. My 8 yr old detests Maths but all his school experience is endless rote learning of addition, subtraction and pages and pages of sums. Hoping to do other activities to convince him Maths is exciting and everywhere and not just the narrow experience he has in school. And that it has a real purpose! We want to blow a hole in his mental block re all things Maths

Hello! My name is Pam. We have a 9 year old who attends private school. He is starting pre-algebra and tends to get stuck with problem solving. This is a new experience for him. I want to find better ways to support and preserve his love of learning and minimize his frustrations when he finds himself stuck on a problem.

I am Anna, and my goal is to learn how mathematics is taught at the elementary school level in various methodologies. Currently, I am thrilled to learn more about Waldorf approach, and some of the Montessori games as well. I founded an educational playgroup IGRA (Interractive Group for Russian-speakers in America) in Washington DC, which is a venue for parents and children to be together in a semi-structured way. We learn about math, art and theater.

I'm a homeschooling mom. I love the idea of playing more with math and am eager to work mathematical thinking into more activities throughout our day. So excited to learn with and from you in these upcoming weeks.

Greetings! I'm Stephanie, a homeschooling mom of two girls, 8 and recently turned 11. Both my children enjoy math, especially mathematical concepts, but often get so tangled up in anxiety that their worries become a barrier to learning and enjoyment. Their anxiety becomes particularly problematic whenever they approach anything resembling a test, an issue since they both want to participate in math contests. I'm hoping to learn some different approaches that will help them and other kids on their math team as well as share what we've learned so far.

Thanks for hosting this class!

Greetings! I'm Jen, home learning, SelfDesigning mom to my 13 and 11 year old girls. We've been home learners all the way, experimenting with everything from "school at home" to unschooling. I'm a Learning Consultant for SelfDesign Global (www.selfdesign.com), working with home learners all around the world (SO COOL!) and I facilitate a cooperative, student-designed/led, interest-driven program for home learners twice a week through a local charter school. I LOVE math and am looking for more supports for my small group work, especially in the areas of deep problem solving.