Minecraft

Have you played Minecraft yet?  I have to tell you, I've never been a computer game player...until now. Even I'm enjoying playing Minecraft.  We gave the game to CJ for his 6th birthday and it has become a family favorite.  We have 2 computers and can play together, wich adds tons of fun to it.  The game is basically a sandbox of bricks representing different elements (such as dirt, stone, coal, lava, water, etc.).  You can play the game on your own level wich means EMan runs around hitting stuff (that's how you "mine" it).  CJ and I make basic houses and try and explore some more interesting adventures.  Then there is Steve.  Mr. Steve as we refer to him with our homeschool group.  He's been playing computer games his whole life and has learned *already* to make circuts and a timed harvesting system for growing sugar cane and a way to make a portal to another world.  It's crazy!  The opportunities this game presents are amazing.  In fact, I've started thinking that I should get a job teaching at my kids Options program and teach a class based completely on Minecraft.  I'm sure it would be a hit.  I guess in order to really understand it though I'll have to play it much more....

Last night Steve and I wanted to play Ticket to Ride (a fantastic board game by the way).  We determined that the kids could watch a movie while we played.  Guess what their choice of movie was?  Seriously.  It kills me that people think kids have to be forced to learn.  Just find their interests people!  Still wondering what the boys wanted to watch for their movie night? The boys asked to watch Minecraft tutorials.  Yup.  An instructional video on how to play the game better.

And they couldn't hardly get close enough to the screen.  They were practically on the piano completely absorbed in the content.  It. Was. Awesome.  They also jumped and squeeled when the man leading the tutorial got attacked by a zombie.  Oh.  There are zombies in this game.  Rock on.

Learning to Type

Learning to type seems to be a very important task that kids start to do at a younger and younger age.  I used to be "pushing the envelope" when I started a typing club for my 2nd graders (7-8 year olds) just over 7 years ago.  Now my Kindergartner (a 4 year old) is using the same software and being just as successful as they were.  The software is old and will only work on an older computer but it is worth having that older computer hang around to be a kids computer.  The software is a CD-ROM called Disney's Adventures in Typing with Timon and Pumbaa.  If you have a computer to run it on it is SO worth it, but check the specks first.

My boys play this for hours.  The learn to sit up straight (oops, I'm severely slouching right now), keep their feet on the floor and their fingers on home row.  They practice a series of letters and spaces and then they get to play the "shooting bugs" game.  I've found it universally exciting for both boys and girls.  They learn to type letters first (in a specific sequence of home row first followed by keys that involve reaching).  After they've mastered the letters (it keeps track of accuracy and they can't move on until they get a certain percent correct) they get to move onto higher and higher levels, typing words and then even paragraphs.

I find it's an awesome game that CJ pulls up during his independent study time.  He's practicing the basics of reading and learning exciting new computer skills at the same time.