Education with Minecraft

There are so many blog posts about the wonder that is Minecraft, so I thought I'd add to them with my own thoughts and insights about what it has taught us as a family. 

I equally love and hate Minecraft. To make this post simple to read and slightly less emotional than it could possibly become, I'm going to list my loves and hates below. 

Hates

1) It takes up such an extraordinary amount of space in my children's heads

2) It's all I hear about in the car, at meal times and during late night chats

3) They're always "just doing something"

Loves

1) George 1 can spell - a feat that no amount of me doing spelling tests could accomplish

2) George 2 is learning to spell

3) learning the formation of rocks and minerals

4) Learning what a biome is

5) Learning about survival and food production

6) Learning money management

7) Making friends all around the world

8) Learning about environmental issues

9) Maths skills galore

10) Team work

11) Supporting each other and encouraging each other to constantly improve

12) Developing artistic skills

13) Creating yoga poses based on Minecraft characters

I guess I've just proved myself wrong there and my loves and hates are not at all equal. On reflection, I can see what a positive thing Minecraft can be, as long as it is used in balance with the rest of our lives.