Results tagged “computer games” from Learn at Every Turn - Creative, Enriched Homeschooling

Chalk this post up to not seeing the forest for the trees.

I have a love/hate relationship with computer games. On the one hand, computer games are Jerry's great passion, and I think it is wonderful that he can share that passion with his sons. On the other hand, I really hate walking into Jerry's office to see my family holed up with three heads glued to their monitors for hours while a fourth head bobs around, trying to figure out how he can get in on the action.

Today, I realized I don't need to battle the pull these games have over my family. I need to turn it to my advantage!

I do not like teaching information that is best memorized. I'm much better at using the Socratic method to pull big ideas out of the boys' heads or doing a hands-on project. Memorization requires a consistency that is not my strong suit, and to be honest, I think it's boring. That said, there comes a point when the spelling of some words can only be memorized, and math becomes much faster if the basic facts are learned by rote.

It started simply enough this morning. A while ago, Cybermama over at Adventures in Cyberschooling posted about her success with SpellingCity.com. SpellingCity allows you to input a list of spelling words, which it then uses to create games that teach those words. Armed with the list of spelling words provided by Moving Beyond the Page, I set Landry up with games for 15 words. He played for a while, then took a test on the website and passed with a perfect score. He loved it and was asking for more! Better yet, this site provides a printable report for the charter and handwriting worksheets that give Landry the opportunity to use his spelling words to practice cursive. And, the basic version is free!

Given the momentum of the moment, I remembered another game recently recommended to me for teaching the multiplication tables called Timez Attack. I downloaded the basic version for free and set Landry loose. Now, this game is set in what appears to be a dungeon and requires that you answer questions correctly to continue down your path. It has that same dark and dreary look of many of Jerry's games. And it was a complete success. Landry was hooked instantly, and Kipp asked for a copy on his computer.
 
While I have no problem with Kipp learning his multiplication tables, I got to wondering if I could find an addition game that would reinforce those math facts. Lo and behold, Jerry found a very cute little game called Addition Attack where Kipp has to shoot down the right answer for the given problem. And again, it's free.

Now, I'm searching for a game that will test the boys' knowledge of the placement of musical notes on the scale. So far, I'm not finding anything that will catch the boys' attention like Timez Attack.

Still, I just walked into Jerry's office to find three heads glued to their computer screens and a fourth watching each screen intently in turn. This time, however, only one was playing the usual role-playing game. And I walked out without silently cringing.

Try as I might, posting at regular intervals seems to be a goal that is simply out of my reach. I inevitably fail.

Looking back over the past couple of weeks, two events undermined my success. First, hot weather arrived here in Northern California, making our irrigation system's inadequacy all too obvious. As a result, we've been reworking old drip lines and watering large parts of our yard and vegetable garden by hand in the evenings. Unfortunately, our vegetables and fruit and nut trees are not better for our efforts. I normally write posts at night, so watering has seriously cut into my blog time. Fortunately, we've hired someone to create an irrigation plan that matches our limited water supply to our large yard. With luck, watering will be easier next summer.

Second, we pulled the plug on the television and all computer games. I wrote that we intended to shut off our television several months ago, but our provider made Jerry an offer he couldn't refuse in the late spring when he called to cancel. Still, as this summer progressed, it became increasingly apparent that the boys merely tolerated every activity we attempted until they could get home and play games or watch TV. So, we canceled our service a few weeks ago and banned all computer game playing as an experiment.

So far, I like the results. Landry returned to reading voraciously again. Kipp is building more. And Galen has stopped demanding Magic School Bus reruns as if they were his God-given right. All have a renewed interest in board games.

The only downside (and I have a hard time terming it a downside) is that the boys seem to need me to help keep them busy. That, again, cuts into my blog-posting time. I wonder if this is a phase that will correct itself as the boys adjust to life without television and computer games? Either way, however, I like the result.

Last of all, we did get in one wonderful family trip to Tahoe. Because of our property and animals, it's hard for us to stay away longer than a night. However, we rented a cottage at Rustic Cottage Resort in Tahoe Vista. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. Of course, free homemade waffles and muffins with fresh orange juice and coffee each morning and fresh cookies and brownies with lemonade and coffee throughout the day generally gets my attention.

Once we set up a base camp at the cottage, we headed out for a several mile hike in the area around Mt. Rose. The fields of wildflowers were simply amazing. Later, we returned to the cottage and headed across the street to a surprisingly quiet public beach. The boys played in the lake, looking for fish and crawdads and building sand structures, while Jerry and I drank in the lovely views. The next day, we returned home in time for the night feeding.

So, that's where we've been for the last few weeks. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.