“Junior, it’s time to go play Nintendo.”
“Aw, mom, do I really have to? You just made me play yesterday…”
“Yes, honey, trust me, it’s good for you. If you don’t play Nintendo while you’re young, you’ll never get into college once you graduate from high school. And if you don’t go to college, you’ll have to work in a fast food restaurant and live here with me and daddy until you’re 35. Now, run along and play…”
Much has been written about video games for learning. Since kids like playing them, with proper monitoring and supervision, parents and educators seem to agree that the benefits outweigh the harms. (I have written about this topic before – read THIS ARTICLE for some of the pros and cons.)
Although I was kidding about the earlier dialogue, just imagine incorporating video games into your daily schooling routine. For math, for instance, there are several Nintendo DS games that can really help to reinforce math facts, if played on a semi-regular basis.
For instance, this one, which is all about math:
These, which are all about brain training but contain a good amount of math facts review, plus other training drills that help with math anyway:
And this one, which may appeal more to younger learners:
Parents who worry about allowing electronic devices and games into their homes can be reassured that other families do it, too. Children really can learn while having fun. Plus, as long as you don’t go overboard with the amount of time they spend hunched over staring at the screen, it can be a nice break from the other materials used in your home education program.
Use the comment area to share how you use electronic or computer games in your homeschool…do you?
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