moonlight Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 How do you incorporate your child's interests in their education. I have an 8 year old son that doesn't get excited about much, but he loves Pokemon and Minecraft.. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zillymom Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 There are some Minecraft-based classes at SKrafty. Maybe something like that? http://whenyouriseup.com/skrafty-homeschool-minecraft-classes/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I got a hold of a basic crafting recipe book for MineCraft and we did a bunch of fun math with it. The book (ours was from the library, though I think you can find them online) tells you how many of various this you need for say a diamond pick axe or to make a crafting table or whatever. I woukd ask him questions like if a wood block gives you six bundles of sticks, and you need three bundles of sticks for a crafting table, how many crafting tables coukd you make from five wood blocks? Sometimes it would be story scenarios like Stampy LongHead is going to have a competition for who can build the largest tower. Everyone gets 100 blocks. If the base of your tower has to be at least 4 blocks, how high is the biggest tower you can make? You can do similar math things with Pokeman involving defense and attack points. It can be used as a series in a pattern. One cards can attack for four and defend with two, and another can attack for three, but defend with one. If each character has ten hit points, which will the battle? How many turns will have gone through till the card wins if a turn counts as each card being able to attack once? How many hit points will the victor still have? We do a lo of fun math in such ways. It helps my son see learning everywhere and keeps it fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niranut Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 There is also a Pixelmon mod pack available through the ATLauncher, which combines Minecraft and Pokemon. You have to download and install the launcher first and then Pixelmon is one of several mod packs you can then setup with that particular launcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I am following this. We just had a big family discussion about Pokemon and how it's devolved into just wanting to buy new cards all the time. We have decided that they need to create their own pokemon (design, color, decide reasonable powers, etc) for each pack they buy. We have also offered to make it more of a social thing by going to the local club one or two Saturdays a month. Sadly, it's been a huge object lesson (for me, not them) in consumerism and it has edged out the creative play of Legos. :-( They have agreed to do more battles with each other in order to use some of the math stuff and strategy involved. I would love some kind of game to help them play and figure out math stuff... I'll have to see if I'm creative and motivated enough to do something myself like EndOfOrdinary. Props for that, I don't know if I'm woman enough! My older boy is interested in writing stories involving Pokemon, too. I'm thinking I need to allot some time to letting him dictate that for a while. Other than that, I'm tapped out and am leaning toward a strong resentment of those precious infernal cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 We've created some homemade logic puzzles (like these: http://www.criticalthinking.com/mind-benders.html) using Pokemon. We've also drawn Pokemon together. We have not ventured into Minecraft yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 zillymom, I have been looking over the self-paced skrafty classes and they look like a really great supplement for my very visual/spacial learners. And they love constructing things in Minecraft. Thank you for posting that link. :) OP, does your DS like audio books? Do you give him a chance to listen to audio books while he is doing other things? If not, you might let him listen to audio books while he plays Minecraft or builds with real materials or does art or whatever. That might expose him to things he would not normally gravitate towards and spark additional interests. Anything from fiction to biographies, etc. It would also expose him to more advanced vocabulary/concepts/grammar than he can currently read (without it being age inappropriate). For instance, DS LOVES listening to audio books while he does other things now (including playing Minecraft). He has learned a tremendous amount about Greek and Roman and Egyptian Mythology from the Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles books, which sparked an interest in Ancient History, which sparked an interest in History in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I am following this. We just had a big family discussion about Pokemon and how it's devolved into just wanting to buy new cards all the time. We have decided that they need to create their own pokemon (design, color, decide reasonable powers, etc) for each pack they buy. We have also offered to make it more of a social thing by going to the local club one or two Saturdays a month. Sadly, it's been a huge object lesson (for me, not them) in consumerism and it has edged out the creative play of Legos. :-( They have agreed to do more battles with each other in order to use some of the math stuff and strategy involved. I would love some kind of game to help them play and figure out math stuff... I'll have to see if I'm creative and motivated enough to do something myself like EndOfOrdinary. Props for that, I don't know if I'm woman enough! My older boy is interested in writing stories involving Pokemon, too. I'm thinking I need to allot some time to letting him dictate that for a while. Other than that, I'm tapped out and am leaning toward a strong resentment of those precious infernal cards. The year of 8 was the Year of MineCraft. The amount of actual schoolwork which got done that year was pitiful. My son was completely obsessed, rushing through lessons to merely play the game or watch the videos, only talking about MineCraft. It passes. It was hard and there were a few throw downs over that stupid game, but it does pass. You don't necessarily have to come up with your own game. You could just steal it :) http://mindfull.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/pokemon-math/ http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/04/pokemon-math-learning-school.html It can also get really complicated once you jump into probability and statistics. http://www.theaftermatter.com/2012/10/the-maths-of-pokemon.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosyne Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I was going to recommend Pixelmon as well. The actual Pokemon card game can incorporate quite a bit of math. I can see a lot of art possibilities in there too. Minecraft can teach math, geometry, and that type of thing as well. Maybe even history (have him recreate old buildings) or the basics of architecture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegs Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I play minecraft with my (just!) 5yo. The mathematics generally comes up fairly organically, as we both mine and craft for each other, and keep track of how much of something we have in our chest. For example, we don't craft armour unless we have enough of a material to be able to make the same piece for each of us. I might point out a patterns that I notice - "ok, so every time we want to restock our tools, we need however many pieces of whatever." Or I do my calculations out loud, to give him the language for the calculations he is doing in his head anyway. We also write signs for each other, and leave them up in our minecraft house, to surprise each other. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 FWIW, a friend of mine has a son in High School that used Minecraft to demonstrate something in his Geometry class. He got an A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I am following this. We just had a big family discussion about Pokemon and how it's devolved into just wanting to buy new cards all the time. We have decided that they need to create their own pokemon (design, color, decide reasonable powers, etc) for each pack they buy. We have also offered to make it more of a social thing by going to the local club one or two Saturdays a month. Sadly, it's been a huge object lesson (for me, not them) in consumerism and it has edged out the creative play of Legos. :-( They have agreed to do more battles with each other in order to use some of the math stuff and strategy involved. I would love some kind of game to help them play and figure out math stuff... I'll have to see if I'm creative and motivated enough to do something myself like EndOfOrdinary. Props for that, I don't know if I'm woman enough! My older boy is interested in writing stories involving Pokemon, too. I'm thinking I need to allot some time to letting him dictate that for a while. Other than that, I'm tapped out and am leaning toward a strong resentment of those precious infernal cards. I am so with you. Did you ever see the Chinpokomon episode on South Park? It is worth a watch if you have never seen it. (NSFW: Language) http://www.hulu.com/watch/249815 Age 2-3 was Lightning McQueen Age 4 was Angry Birds Age 5 was Minecraft and Pokemon My parents bought us a Wii U for Hanukkah; I am hoping to help orchestrate a new obsession in time for my son's 6th birthday in January. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Ooh, one of those links gave me an idea. It's easy enough even I will actually execute it (instead of just getting excited about it and then wandering off to put in a load of laundry, never to return). You could copy (we have a color copier) or print a Pokemon card onto a sheet of paper and have the kid write a description, their favorite things about it, when/where they got it, what a parent needs to know about it (my boys are at the age of LOVING to explain things to me), or if they're advanced then write a story. I could tell them to do that with a blank page, but they would be all excited about it if it had Giratina on it. I like the addition game one person did on that afterschooling blog. I might make it a multiplication game by finding images on the interwebs and printing a bunch: let's say 5 x a card with an HP of 120 and they have to multiply to get the answer. My boys would love the pretend-buying game. I think I could make a "making 10's" thing out of it. Put 15 or so cards on a sheet and price them all single digit prices. Then tell them they have spend exactly $10. Name a card and they have to find the match to make 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegs Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Age 2-3 was Lightning McQueen Age 4 was Angry Birds Age 5 was Minecraft and Pokemon Oh my goodness! *braces self for Pokemon* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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