Me, My Kids, and Minecraft
Headache! Mother of God.
That's how I feel about Minecraft. I'm not anti-Minecraft by any stretch (if that's a thing) but I am anti-headache. Nothing seems to bother my senses more than trying to stare into one of four tiny boxes on our television as we attempt to build a pirate ship, bridge or Lord knows what else. But this post isn't about my headache.
It's actually about what Minecraft has taught me about my children. As I've previously identified, we Homeschool, and as a Homeschooling family we have the opportunity to utilize some unorthodox methods to educate our children. My wife's favorite of these is to choose a topic that can be further explored off-site (out of the house) and to head to that location for the lesson - i.e. the beach, forest, park, river, etc. It's these days I think she feels she makes the biggest impact on their learning capacitors. Much like a flux capacitor needs speed to send you back in time - she needs to provide hands on learning to have quality time spent on a lesson.
Minecraft is something that we as a family have come to enjoy together - both for homeschooling purposes and for rainy days. As a parent I have discovered that specific choices made by your children can give you a small preview into what they may be like as an adult. Playing this unconventional game with my children has allowed me to spend some time in their minds eye and in turn visualize both how they see the world and what they want to do in their world.
My oldest son for instance is always building - he's never lollygagging about. He's a builder of all things. He likes to talk about how much stronger one type of building material is than another and he likes creative mode because he doesn't have to manufacture materials (he wants to hang the sheet rock not invent it). He's quite good, and it's almost annoying to come to the realization that he has a better interpretation on the possibilities of any given location and building material than I as a parent do.
My 9 year old is an inventor, and as such he is also a digger. He wants to search out his own ore, process it, and create his own goods. He is always frustrated to discover that he is the only one that wants to play in survival mode, and quite often will ask to play with just me or alone so that he can have some time to conquer the wild, and raw landscape of the game.
My 7 year old daughter is a designer. She will stop playing to explain to her brothers how they should lay out the inside of their home, castle or warehouse. Of course they grumble but they still put out the flowers, hang the art or install a fire place. She is almost as picky about what goes in her imaginary kitchen as she is about her comics (if you have not read my other posts feel free to delve into her world).
If you have not sat down and played this addictive game with your children I would recommend you give it a try - much like reading a book aloud or tackling a puzzle this game allows you the opportunity to bond in a way that is not the norm with a video game. Personally I believe it's because you are collaborating / cooperating with each other on a different level than you would in most video games. Weather you are creating something or surviving you band together to complete projects, make food or find assets. It's really quite inventive to the point of instability and annoyance because I find that I'm the one annoyed with the fact we have to turn it off (headache or no headache).
The bonus to this is that my wife utilizes the game to help explain basic principles, math, elements, industry the list goes on and on - and we've gone away from dioramas and now utilize this convenient non invasive easy to store video game to complete whole projects associated with recreating historical events.
So cheers to the designers, developers and creators of this unorthodox masterpiece. Kudos for getting it right - more so than I think even they thought they would. As for the rest of you - don't you have something to build with your kids?
**If you have a need for off site storage and transport feel free to visit our store, we have some great zippered carry all pouches and tote bags. The link is provided below - please subscribe, share and comment!
https://society6.com/sodium16
That's how I feel about Minecraft. I'm not anti-Minecraft by any stretch (if that's a thing) but I am anti-headache. Nothing seems to bother my senses more than trying to stare into one of four tiny boxes on our television as we attempt to build a pirate ship, bridge or Lord knows what else. But this post isn't about my headache.
It's actually about what Minecraft has taught me about my children. As I've previously identified, we Homeschool, and as a Homeschooling family we have the opportunity to utilize some unorthodox methods to educate our children. My wife's favorite of these is to choose a topic that can be further explored off-site (out of the house) and to head to that location for the lesson - i.e. the beach, forest, park, river, etc. It's these days I think she feels she makes the biggest impact on their learning capacitors. Much like a flux capacitor needs speed to send you back in time - she needs to provide hands on learning to have quality time spent on a lesson.
Minecraft is something that we as a family have come to enjoy together - both for homeschooling purposes and for rainy days. As a parent I have discovered that specific choices made by your children can give you a small preview into what they may be like as an adult. Playing this unconventional game with my children has allowed me to spend some time in their minds eye and in turn visualize both how they see the world and what they want to do in their world.
My oldest son for instance is always building - he's never lollygagging about. He's a builder of all things. He likes to talk about how much stronger one type of building material is than another and he likes creative mode because he doesn't have to manufacture materials (he wants to hang the sheet rock not invent it). He's quite good, and it's almost annoying to come to the realization that he has a better interpretation on the possibilities of any given location and building material than I as a parent do.
My 9 year old is an inventor, and as such he is also a digger. He wants to search out his own ore, process it, and create his own goods. He is always frustrated to discover that he is the only one that wants to play in survival mode, and quite often will ask to play with just me or alone so that he can have some time to conquer the wild, and raw landscape of the game.
My 7 year old daughter is a designer. She will stop playing to explain to her brothers how they should lay out the inside of their home, castle or warehouse. Of course they grumble but they still put out the flowers, hang the art or install a fire place. She is almost as picky about what goes in her imaginary kitchen as she is about her comics (if you have not read my other posts feel free to delve into her world).
If you have not sat down and played this addictive game with your children I would recommend you give it a try - much like reading a book aloud or tackling a puzzle this game allows you the opportunity to bond in a way that is not the norm with a video game. Personally I believe it's because you are collaborating / cooperating with each other on a different level than you would in most video games. Weather you are creating something or surviving you band together to complete projects, make food or find assets. It's really quite inventive to the point of instability and annoyance because I find that I'm the one annoyed with the fact we have to turn it off (headache or no headache).
The bonus to this is that my wife utilizes the game to help explain basic principles, math, elements, industry the list goes on and on - and we've gone away from dioramas and now utilize this convenient non invasive easy to store video game to complete whole projects associated with recreating historical events.
So cheers to the designers, developers and creators of this unorthodox masterpiece. Kudos for getting it right - more so than I think even they thought they would. As for the rest of you - don't you have something to build with your kids?
**If you have a need for off site storage and transport feel free to visit our store, we have some great zippered carry all pouches and tote bags. The link is provided below - please subscribe, share and comment!
https://society6.com/sodium16
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