So, what is
gameschooling? It is pretty simple. It is taking games and using them with
intentionality to teach your kids. That was quick and easy, wasn’t it? Now, we
can get into the why of gameschooling. There are many amazing reasons for
teaching in this way. They are all very linked together, but I will break them
up for you in bite sized portions.
Experiential
learning
Games give
you the opportunity to simulate a concept or topic in a way they couldn’t experience
otherwise. For example, you can learn about terraforming a planet, but you can’t
really do it. However, if you play Terraforming Mars, you can simulate the
experience.
Games give you the opportunity to simulate a concept or topic in a way they couldn’t experience otherwise. Click to Tweet
Abstract Concepts
into Concrete
Board games
can turn abstract concepts that they are learning into more concrete ideas. It
helps student to better understand material that would otherwise seem distant
or unrelatable.
Relation to
Material
Subjects from
other times and places can sometimes be hard to relate to. How do they affect
my life now? Games covering these topics bring those times and places to the
present and allows the players to experience them in a different way.
Drive to
Learn More
The game
brings interest to the kids and they may develop a desire to learn more. You
don’t have to push hard for continued learning, because they want to learn more
about what they have been experiencing first hand.
Knowledge Retention
Games
reinforce the learning that is taking place in your school day. Your kids read
a book, do a project, watch a documentary, and then pull it all together with a
game. You are reaching all those types of learning and the knowledge will
really stick.
Build
Problem Solving Skills
Getting
your kids to think out of the box while problem solving can be hard. Games
build creativity in problem solving. They must use trial and error to get the
best outcome and be successful in the game.
Learn from
Mistakes
When kids feel
like there is a possibility of failure, they can sometimes freeze up. Games
help them practice making mistakes in a positive way. The game is only so long,
and they can make loads of mistakes, without real life consequences. When it is
over, they can see what will work better next time. They get to practice
learning from mistakes instead of feeling disabled by them.
Student
Engagement
Some kids
fight the whole learning process. They don’t want to engage and are very
negative about it. Bringing out a game can help them to enjoy the process of
learning more. It may even spark that drive to learn more that I mentioned up
above.
There are
so many ways to gameschool! Some people use games as the curriculum itself and
some use games to supplement and reinforce their more structured school day. We
are somewhere in the middle. Do you use games for school? Leave a comment and
let us know your favorites and how you use them.
