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. 

2015 has started brilliantly

For the past 2 years or so we've been pretty unstructured in our approach. It's been necessary with other things going on in our lives. During that time the children read a lot, played huge numbers of games, visited interesting places and learned in a very different way. 

As often happens when winter is upon us, we found ourselves needing to fill our days with meaningful activities. So, we set up a structured routine to our day. It has been a magnificent turning point. Each day the children are set pieces of work to complete. They almost always include reading, writing and numbers in their various forms. 

George 1 is following an online book club run by http://hilltuition.co.uk and is reading Animal farm by George Orwell. I'll hold my hands up and confess that I've never read it, despite always having had a deep rooted interest in Russian history. It's a fabulously simple, yet rich book that can be read on so many levels. So far George 1 has looked at the Russian Revolution, different types of political systems, and how allegories work. He's also learned how to write a synopsis, look at alternative story lines and how to discuss a book. He's written a diary account as though he was one of the characters. It's been a fabulous journey for him that has broadened his literary skills. He has always loved learning through reading and this course has developed his natural fascination for challenging texts. 

Both George 1 and 2 have also completed a Minecraft Homeschool class and are about to embark on their second. It's been great to focus their love of Mincraft on something new. They have developed their skills and knowledge base and have thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people. 

George 3 is slowing developing his interest in reading through the wonderful world of Reading Eggs. I have an understanding and belief that children learn to read when they're ready. I am exposing him constantly to the written word. We read stories and scriptures daily, we play word games like eye spy, we use online systems such as Reading Eggs and paper asked worksheet style resources. As he's exposed, he's learning to recognise how words take shape without the relentless monotony of reading using only phonics. It's a fabulous journey to go on with children and it's a privilege to witness this process first hand for a second time. 

We've also covered topics such as the upcoming General Election, a day's of the week project and aborigines. Next week I have a topic planned on the book Leonardo's Horse. 

We're continuing to investigate our new surroundings and find beautiful places to visit. We're starting to build a small garden in preparation for the spring. But most importantly, were pulling together again and were happier than we've been for a few years. We're all heading in the same direction, we're developing an appetite for learning and growing. We're excited for 2015 and all it will bring. It's started definitely as I mean it to go on. 

Church Ope Cove

We have been told time and time again to visit Church Ope Cove on Portland, so today we made the trip. Am I ever glad we did! What an incredibly beautiful place and well worth the climb back up. We can't wait to go back again with some warmer weather, swimming costumes and a picnic. 

Pizza Express

We had the opportunity to go on an educational visit to Pizza Express with a group of home educators. It was wonderful. After the initial confusion of why there were so many 'teachers' and none of the children were the same age, the staff really did a fantastic job. It was well pitched, very informative and at the end the children got their free pizza! There was history, geography and science all thrown in there. All in all, it was a fantastic visit. 

Making Friends

It's said that, new friends are silver but old friends are gold. I have always found it easy to make friends. I'm outgoing and chatty and I'd like to think friendly. I love talking to new people and getting to know about them. People are hugely inspiring! Some live such complex and fascinating lives, some live painful and challenging lives, some are busy, some are happy, some are sadly not. Knowing other people can inspire me to make changes within my own life, not to be like someone else, but instead to improve myself and to grow. I love hearing of people overcoming trials, or miraculously, overcoming themselves. 

I have had the enormous privilege of getting to know lots of new people since we moved house. I've walked into two ready made families really. Home ed and church and both have caused me to meet some fascinating, wonderful and inspiring people. I'm grateful for these two groups of people who I feel privileged to call friends, often before we've even met. 

I feel strongly that social media has changed the way we make and communicate with friends. Some of my newest and yet most treasured friends are people I have never met and yet I feel such a bond and kinship with it's as if we've known each other a lifetime. Social media has given me the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who share the same values, beliefs and trials with me. People who have offered support and wisdom in a way that friends I actually know in person may not have been able to do. 

It's a common misconception that home educated children don't have many friends or find it more difficult to make friends. It's true that they don't see their friends as regularly. They don't have those intense, personal relationships that schooled children have. George 1, like me, has made many friends online through the medium of Minecraft. One of his best friends lives in New York and our families have become connected via Skype. We attend camps, activities and group visits both locally and nationally. The children have friends in York, Dorset, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Wales (to name but a few). Good friends whom they are excited to spend time with each time we meet. I have also struck up some amazing relationships with the parents of these children. Friendships that will see us through the joys and challenges of home educating our children. 

I feel extremely blessed to have two of the most incredible women I know amongst my list of friends. I have never known a life without them as we have been friends since birth. We've grown up together, grown apart and grown close again. I rarely see either of them and yet I feel a bond of sisterhood with them that will continue into the eternities. 

I also incredibly lucky to have my best friend married to me for time and all eternity. A relationship that provides love, comfort, support, joy and deep deep friendship. At the centre of our marriage is an even greater friend, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

How grateful I am for all the wonderful people in my life that I have the privilege to call my friends. Many have been only for a season, some have stood the test of time, all have in some way influenced me for good, shared their wisdom, time and love with me and that's what it's all about. 

World War 1

This week we've done a spontaneous mini project on the First World War. We went on a visit to the Bovington Tank Museum which was absolutely brilliant. One of the best museums we've been to in a long time and well worth a visit if you're nearby. 

Then today we built a trench out of Plaster of Paris. It's been a fantastic experience to look at pictures of the trenches and how they were built and then build our own and play with the toy soldiers. George 2nd has been particularly interested in the topic, although all of them have enjoyed delving a little deeper into the war. 

Mould

We chose an experiment from a science kit that we got for Christmas. It's a mould growing test. The children chose a place each to swab then grew the bacteria in a gelatine solution. We've all learned something. The children need to wash their hands more and it would be better to keep food in the toilet than the fridge!