Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Minecraft with Homeschool
One of the nice things with homeschooling is the chance to be creative in how subjects get accomplished. This can also be the most stressful thing to a homeschool parent. Although homeschooling is very popular now, there are still many people who are either completely opposed to it or just don't know a lot about it.
We have homeschooled our son from the beginning and is now in 11th grade. We have tried many different approaches to learning throughout the years. Most recently, was adding in Minecraft. I have to admit, I was one of those parents who thought minecraft was just another addicting video game and put limits on it. After hearing about so many people incorporating it into school, I decided to check it out in more detail.
What I found, is there are many ways you can use it to learn about a wide variety of subjects. It allows the child creativity in learning and a way to put a personal touch on thinking. Right now he is trying it out for a couple subjects. He has been studying Business Math, so I am having him create a city with buildings, roads, all types of stores that would be in a typical city, and set up a money system and learn/show how that will work. He is also using Minecraft as part of Language Arts. For a child who hates to write (like mine) this is great. We are just starting so it's not very informative yet, but I can see ahead to great things. I had him choose a favorite book and recreate it. He chose to recreate the land of Eragon. He's reading the book again to find details to make things as close to the book as possible. He decided to focus on the major areas first which are most needed in the story. After he designs an area, he is taking a picture and writing about it on a blog he created. I'm hoping he will be comfortable writing about something like this and become more confident in his writing. To me, that makes it worth doing whatever it takes.
If you want to check out what he's doing, you can find his blog at My Adventures in Minecraft. I'm sure he'd love to see what you think!
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i 'member that game when i was a kid!!
ReplyDeleteYou know I had no idea that Mindcraft had that side to it - I thought it was yet another game. x
ReplyDeleteI know very little about Minecraft but it sounds like a great tool for homeschooling.
ReplyDeleteI actually do not know anything about this game, but it seems like this is popular.
ReplyDeleteI homeschooled my kids on their pre-school years but they went to school since kindergarten. I dunno minecraft but my daughter knows because they play with it in their computer class.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great way to use the game. You always hear about how video games cause so many horrible things - obesity, violence, it is nice to hear them used for something good.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are awesome! That's great that you found a nice tool for your son to like writing in homeschooling!
ReplyDeleteMy six year old twins really enjoy minecraft. I like all they are learning with it about design and planning.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool! I never would've thought to incorporate it into education. I'm going to check his blog out, thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt's very creative to incorporate something widely favored by youngsters to schooling.
ReplyDeleteI don't play Minecraft but heard about it. I never knew it can be used to teaching. That's very clever!
I would love for my son to be in homeschool so he will be able to concentrate more about education, but it won't work if the other partner is not as open as you are.
ReplyDeleteThat's when you know you have a great teacher. Someone who can take a childs interest and turn it into a learning experience is a genius!!
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful that you can use minecraft as a tool for learning. Nothing like keeping kids motivated by incorporating their interests into an educational experience.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people who play that game.:)
ReplyDeleteI just heard about this Minecraft too, but that's great to know that you can incorporate this in homeschooling. I homeschool my children prior they enter kindergarten.
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