March 18 to 20, 2011
Beginning Friday at 4 p.m. and ending at noon on Sunday
with Henrike Holdrege and Rebecca Soloway at The Nature Institute

The Nature Institute is offering a new program in the field of mathematics for educators and parents. The focus for this first workshop is geometry and, in the evenings, astronomy.

We will choose topics from the general curriculum of middle school geometry. The participants will be involved in hands-on explorations rather than listening to lectures. A main aim of the course is to help educators enter actively into the process of doing mathematics and gain greater confidence in their own abilities. This is what enables mathematics teaching to come alive, because the teacher is working out of a living inner experience. There will be time for collegial exchange and discussions.

Henrike Holdrege has taught in the adult education programs at The Nature Institute since 2002. She was a Waldorf and public school teacher and holds masters degrees in mathematics and biology from the University of Muenster, Germany. Her interest is to share the contemplative inner work in geometry and mathematics with others, also those people who at first might not be mathematically inclined, and to explore the deeper aspects of mathematics as it supports the developing human being.

Rebecca Soloway has been a teacher at the Waldorf School of Garden City for twenty-one years, thirteen as a class teacher and eight years as a math specialist in the middle school and high school. She earned a M.Ed. from Boston University and a B.Sc. in mathematics from Minnesota State University and holds a certification in Special Education (Boston University). Her interest is in helping teachers experience and build a picture of the weaving threads of the math curriculum as it meets the needs of the growing child.

The development of this program has been supported in part by Waldorf Schools Fund.

Registration: To register, send your registration form to The Nature Institute or contact us at info@natureinstitute.org or 518-672-0116.

Registration Deadline: March 1, 2011.

Tuition: $150 - $225 (sliding-scale)

Lodging and Meals: We can refer participants to local homes with guestrooms ($30 to $50) or visit our list of local motels and B&Bs. We will serve morning and afternoon snacks, otherwise participants will be responsible for their own meals. The Hawthorne Valley Farm Store has extensive organic food and deli selections and Banjo Mountain Cafe offers drinks, snacks, breakfast and lunch options. Both are within walking distance of The Nature Institute.

For a registration form, click here.