Your reflections on the course and the Open Minds book draft

I, myself, am still learning about what all is offered at your site(s). :-)

I listened to an hour long Webinar with Maria D. and Julia, enjoyed it and wanted to make comments throughout. I am a former Montessori teacher that hopes for the growth of Montessori and Waldorf in the public schools. As I listened to some of the questions and heard Julia's answers I was often reminded about what I know of Montessori education. Authentic Montessori classrooms are built around a culture where children are not afraid to make mistakes. Grace and courtesy lessons are ongoing and help the children know how to take care of each other and their feelings. My answer to Michal's question about following an existing program would be "Montessori!" I feel discouraged when it seems that others want to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, when grease and polish are the only things needed. I say this, because, I believe sometimes Montessori (and Waldorf) philosophies of education might need some tweaking for improvement, but they represent the best in holistic education. (When more was needed in teacher training to help understand how best for adults to be with children we turned to current books by Jane Nelsen.) In the same way, I feel, that if there is more to know about teaching Math–where Montessori is the very sound basis–we can turn to Moebius Noodles and friends!!

Math and problem solving should be a part of a whole. And, once again, I am thinking of the full Montessori curriculum: Practical Life or Life Skills, Sensorial Exploration, Math, Language and Culture, including History and Timelines, Art and Music, and Sciences. When children learn to tie shoes, and clean up spilt milk, these skills along with an,"I can do!" attitude will extend to math and other problems to be solved.

I feel badly when I hear about those struggles when a child crys or has a tantrum. No amount of progress can be made in those situations. I recalled how often songs made "lessons" not seem like lessons at all. I'm thinking, now, specifically of counting and step-counting songs.

As you move forward with your crowd-funding and new book development, I would encourage you to help us all to know how your games and exercises correlate to math and all its various branches; you do do this in Moebius Noodles. I just wanted some more. Some of us, like me, know intuitively that math holds answers to untold questions, yet are hard pressed to explain things.

Again, I admire and appreciate what you do! Best! @MariaDroujkova and @Julia.