By Guest Blogger Andrea
Rennick My kids have been gamers since as long as they can
remember. Computer use was early in our house, and games were a staple. I am of
the opinion that if it is a good game with loads of play value, then it is also
an educational game.
Buried in a drawer somewhere is a picture of our
oldest daughter, Sarah. She is child number two out of four. In the faded
photograph she can be seen standing on a chair and reaching to the side of an
older computer to turn it on. This was back in the days before Windows, when DOS
ruled and you actually had to type in commands. I made a quick batch file that
started up her favorite game whenever she typed in her name. The game was a
simple keyboard basher kind, where a large letter was shown on the screen, and
when the correct letter was pressed on the keyboard, the screen would animate,
music would play, and it would show the next letter.
In the picture, my daughter can be seen wearing a
diaper. She was not even two.
These days, the same daughter can be seen involved
in a couple of large websites as an administrator, has a scary typing speed, lightening-fast logic and some awesome graphic design skills. I can't say computer gaming
has harmed her any.
Our oldest, and only son, has been gaming long
enough that his eventual college track led him to become a computer programmer.
Just like dear old Dad. He did consider game design, but eventually went for
general programming, as you can build your own games plus a whole lot more.
Speaking of the Dad in the house, Ron has been a
computer programmer for years, which probably explains a lot. He also did a
stretch of instructing programming courses at the college level in – what else? -
a game design program.
Our involvement in a game usually lasts three
months. Three months in which one, or more, member of the family is obsessed with
a particular game, until they know it inside and out. The logic has been figured
out, the puzzles mastered and the play enjoyed until the last drop has been
squeezed out of it.
We're partial to games on the PC, with two PC's in
use at any time. But we also have two other gaming systems with plans to upgrade
to newer ones soon.
Where else can one immerse themselves in historic
battles (Civilization), or test the laws of physics with immediate results
(Roller Coaster Tycoon), or explore hidden secrets in tomb and mythology (Tomb
Raider)? I'm sure there's some lessons in the Sims, too, but we're currently too
busy playing and enjoying it to dissect it at the moment. And if it wasn't for Age
of Empires, I don't think we'd have as much Carthaginian love as we do now.
Recently, we re-discovered some old DOS game
hiding within the depths of an extra drive. Games that our older children cut
their teeth on – sometimes literally – that our youngest is now enjoying all
over again. There was something comforting about the VGA graphics and
side-scrolling action. A return to real gaming and not graphic masterpieces ,
that while pretty, didn't do much more than point and shoot. Those rarely hold
our interest. Excellent game design and great game-play has held up through
changing technology.
Games are also good to introduce a subject or
topic of learning in a more palatable format for some of my kids. Once they were
hooked, they often then turned to books or documentaries to learn even more.
Of course, there is always balance. While my kids
had their noses pressed to screens and their fingers pressing buttons, they were
alternately outside gardening, hauling wood and feeding chickens. The reaction
time they got from gaming really helped with catching those chickens.
It hasn't just been reading and math skills that
my kids have learned or expanded on. It's also been logic, history, geography,
languages, mythology, ancient civilizations, algebra, physics, chemistry,
biology, creative writing, career guidance, grammar, interior design, budgeting,
and more. Much of that list has even been all in one game.
The overriding thing that I like is that gaming
has provided a safe and non-messy place for my kids to explore “what happens
when I press this button?” Some of our most fun gaming experiences are when we've
all deliberately tried to stretch the boundaries – the rules, if you will – of
the game itself. How fast can we run out of money in a Tycoon game? How extreme
can a roller coaster be before none of the guest will ride it? All in a safe
space to explore the consequences of bad decisions.
When I was younger, I was involved in the
burgeoning home computers movement. We were the first family on the block to
have one. So it's been really exciting for me personally to see how far this has
gone. Things I dreamed about as a child – “Wouldn't it be cool if...?” have come
true. I feel pretty lucky to have exposed my kids to all that computers and
gaming have to offer, and to help them become involved behind the scenes as
well.
There has been criticism about too much gaming for
kids, and it's been all theory. I have four kids – an almost seven year old,
two teenagers and one adult – who have shown to me that it leads to a more
enriched and varied life.
Andrea Rennick is a Homeschooling Mom to four kids and is a much-published writer. She is also a woman with a whip-smart sense of humor and an unnatural interest in making homemade laundry soap. Many thanks to Andrea for letting us look into her family's life and experiences and how they relate to gaming. You can follow Andrea on her various websites:
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