I thought people here might be interested in this project. It is a join effort by several communities: Math Future (connected with P2PU), Natural Math, and other math groups. We are building a Creative Commons book and support site for parents who want to enjoy math with their young kids. We need to raise $6200 in a week to launch the project, and we are doing it with the support of people like you, with the crowd-funding site http://tippingbucket.org/ The project, starting with the book, will build a community providing peer-to-peer support for parents in ways not currently available elsewhere.
From responses from our pilot tests with local math clubs and online parent classes, we expect users of Moebius Noodles to significantly change their approach to early education and their very definition of what mathematics means. We start with the existing parents’ needs and wishes which we have studied and analyzed. We address those, but take them to the next level of mathematical sophistication.
*Please contribute to the Moebius Noodles fundraising campaign, and spread the word on your blogs and sites about helping to create open and free materials for the youngest mathematicians! <http://tippingbucket.org/>* Why are we doing it and why do you care? 1. There are very few materials and no community support for smart math for babies and toddlers. Just try to find anything that is not about counting or simple shapes! Mathy parents create opportunities for their own kids, of course. But without support and resources, it’s very hard even for the rocket scientist mothers and fathers. We want to change that! 2. Peer-to-peer learning, research and development groups in mathematics education need a process for crowd-funding their projects. We are the trailblazers for other fabulous communities that want to make open and free math materials with the support of their members, such as the group developing materials for learning mathematics through music, the play math network, and the math circle problem-solving depository project. 3. We are creating OERs – Open Educational Materials. It means people can access, use, modify and share the materials for free. Imagine the project you support translated into any language in the world, and used freely to support young kids everywhere! 4. The activities are sustainable in many senses. You can use everyday household items and recycle materials for Moebius Noodles games. 5. If you are a parent or teacher who loves arts and crafts but is afraid of math, the book will help you teach your kids mathematics through your talents. If you are a math or science geek who envies other families always doing neat art projects, the arts-math bridge in the book goes both ways! *Secret Rewards (not shown on the site) * *Pledge $5 or more – Point.* You will be recognized as an official SUPPORTER on our site, PLUS you will receive a limited-edition hand-numbered Moebius Noodles thank-you card with your very own Fibonacci number. *Pledge $13 or more – Interval.* You will be recognized as an official MATH MAKER on our site, receive a Moebius Noodles card, PLUS a PDF copy of the book, PLUS participant access to our online support community. *Pledge $34 or more – Square.* All of the above, PLUS one souvenir page of notes taken down during our brainstorming and planning sessions, PLUS a printed copy of the book. *Pledge $89 or more – Cube. * All of the above, PLUS you can put a two-line dedication by one of the games or stories in the book, with your family name(s) and a brief message to the world. *Pledge $233 or more – Tesseract.* You will be recognized as an official PATRON OF MATH MAKERS on our site, PLUS receive one PDF copy and two printed copies of the book, PLUS a secret message with your or your child’s name will be an example in one of the games, PLUS you will get behind-the-scenes access to our work to observe, in detail, the process of making the book. * Pledge $610 or more – Infinite-Dimensional Space Master.* Everything included in the Tesseract level, PLUS you will have the power to influence the contents, look and feel of the book, PLUS the authors will design a custom math activity around your child’s interests, name it after your child and include it in the book. Cheers, Maria Droujkova 919-388-1721 http://www.naturalmath.com/blog/moebius-noodles-fundraiser/ Make math your own, to make your own math