Mummy To Twins Plus One
My girls were studying deserts and sustainability at school. One part of their assignment was to create a model and do a speech about how people can live in the desert.
One kid created a model from clay with a LEGO car (we told the teacher it was electric), plus a cardboard windmill. She did the standard speech to class.
My other girl was given the option to create a Minecraft world for her model and to do a speech as a voice over. She recorded the video of her Minecraft world and put it on a USB to present it to class (Daddy was happy to help with this). This kid was super keen to take this option for her assignment, she loves building Minecraft worlds.
The teacher that gave my girl the Minecraft option loves teaching kids about STEM (Science, Engineering and Maths skills), he also helps kids learn about coding, and thinking outside of the box.
Both kids love playing Minecraft and I’ve noticed the following:
- Researching – If the kids wish to know how to do something in Minecraft, they are looking this up online. Yep, finding YouTube videos and watching how to guides to complete the task they want to.
- Coding – One kid looked up code to create a way to travel in her world. She watched guides on YouTube and found the right area in Minecraft to enter the code and tried it until she got it working.
- Inspired by others – Both kids get inspired by other people’s work on Minecraft (Watching a lady on YouTube called LDShadowLady to learn more), they are copying ideas for houses and worlds from others. The kids are changing things to suit their world and ideas.
Did you know that you can create rainbow coloured sheep? The kids found out about this from school and came home and gave it a go… and it worked!
Julia who took the Minecraft option for her assignment was the only kid in the class that did. Her teacher was super impressed and gave her a principal’s award, how cool is that!
Minecraft helps kids with the following:
- Maths
- Thinking for themselves
- Creativity
- STEM Skills
- Working in teams – You can play with friends to build worlds
It is great to see that teachers are embracing technology and online games that are engaging for kids.
Wouldn’t it be great if more teachers did this! Having engaged kids that are energised and happy to do work for school. Embracing children’s interests to teach is a wonderful way for kids to learn, and personally should happen more.
I’ve even purchased books about Minecraft characters, I’m working with their interests to encourage more reading.
As an incentive I’ve also purchased technical books that detail how to do things within Minecraft and added money to the kids Minecraft coins. I want to foster this skill and allow them to learn more online.
Have you been impressed with a teacher and what they are doing to get your child interested in learning?
Are your kids doing projects in Minecraft too? If so, what did your child create for a school project?
Note: All Minecraft images are from Julia’s Earthship Project.
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Tips for boosting your kids STEM skills these Summer holidays
How Messaging Apps are Changing the Game for First – Time Parents
