Educational Benefits of Minecraft You Never Realized
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Minecraft is a favorite techie homeschool tool for our family. When my kids started playing, I searched for a safe environment and was thrilled when I discovered SKrafty, a free Minecraft server for homeschoolers. SKrafty is run by the Syx Family from Alabama, a fellow homeschooling family that loves to play Minecraft. In this guest post, Holly and Brian Syx share the benefits of Minecraft for homeschooling.
You may have heard other homeschoolers mention something about using Minecraft in their homeschool. It has become really popular over the past few years and does not seem to be going away anytime soon. That's just fine with me as there are so many benefits to using this fabulous game. It reminds me of virtual LEGO, but better! Sure, it is a video game but it's not JUST a video game! Minecraft has so many parts and pieces which used separately or combined together can make for some really FUN and effective learning!
Benefits of Minecraft for Homeschool Education
Here are some of the things about Minecraft which make it so very educational.
Complexity of the Basics
One benefit is the complex survival portion of the game. Players enter with almost nothing and they must gather their supplies, build their shelter, etc all while escaping spiders, creepers and other hostile mobs. It is very challenging in that respect.
Redstone
Students can learn about circuitry and how it works as well as create their own amazing contraptions using redstone.
… RELATED POST …
How to Use Minecraft for Homeschooling
Music
Yes, Minecraft has music which plays in the background, but that's not what I'm referring to here. There are items called Noteblocks which students can use to create their OWN music in game. It's very cool!
Reading, Writing, Spelling
One of the biggest benefits I have personally seen is in students who are just learning how to read & spell or students who struggle with those things. The transformations have been absolutely amazing just by allowing them to play in Minecraft. This works best if they are playing on a server like SKrafty with others. They are able to type into chat in a family friendly atmosphere with new friends, and in doing so their spelling, writing, and reading WILL improve. BONUS: Did I mention typing skills? Yes, that will totally improve as well!
Testimonials of Real-Life Educational Minecraft Game Play
Check out what some parents who use Minecraft for their Homeschool have to say about it and how their students have benefitted:
“Minecraft has been very beneficial in many ways. Educational, social, fun…” – Sheryl
“It has helped motivate my son to get a lot more school work done, and helped me to have another tool that I didn't always have to do so much just myself.” – Jess
“I love the collaboration skills my kids use with Minecraft. Just like I enjoy seeing them sit on the floor building with Legos together, I love observing them on the couch, each with a laptop, building on Minecraft. The advantage is they don’t run out of or argue over pieces (like with Legos)
?. The collaboration skills they are developing are ones they will use in a future job.” – Beth N.
“My daughter learned to type from playing on the servers. Her desire to chat with others motivated her to learn.” – Cynthia
“My sons learned to read on their own by playing Minecraft, well before I started Kindergarten with each of them. It is our gateway to learning anything” – Zuni
“My son's reading level went up after he was introduced to Minecraft.” – Beth Ann
“He loves playing Minecraft, and it has allowed him to explore electronics, music (through noteblocks), physics, architecture and a whole host of other learning activities.” – Faith
A Dedicated Minecraft Server for Homeschoolers
You can easily tap into the educational benefits of Minecraft by signing up for SKrafty, a Minecraft server dedicated to serving homeschool families. Students can build and play on their multi-player server with SKrafty parents helping out to moderate and coach children daily. Skrafty's automated filters make SKrafty the most heavily moderated Homeschool Minecraft Server in the world. CLICK HERE to sign up to play Minecraft on SKrafty.
SKrafty also offers self-paced and live classes for homeschoolers with a paid subscription. The classes are broken down by weekly lessons and include automatically graded quizzes. There is a Minecraft Adventure Build for each lesson to further enrich the learning experience. Students earn badges as they progress through the weeks and also earn in-game rewards.
A Skrafty EDU Subscription gives you,,,,
- Unlimited access to entire library of ALL SKrafty classes
Note: Some courses may include a fee to reserve spots in classes which are limited. - Includes current and new classes added
- Includes live and self paced classes
- View student’s quiz results
- Certificate of Completion for each class
- 24/7 Access to our class and game server
- Moderated chat
- New classes added frequently.
- Pick and choose your classes
- End of course PRINTABLE portfolio for each class which includes screenshots of projects and report card. A portfolio will be sent via email.
- BONUS: 50% off SKrafty Minecraft Birthday Party for subscribers
- New Courses
- IEW For $50 (non-refundable deposit)
>>> CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT SKRAFTY <<<
Minecraft Books for Kids
Unofficial Minecraft Lab for Kids: Family-Friendly Projects for Exploring and Teaching Math, Science, History, and Culture Through Creative Building (Hands-On Family)The Ultimate Unofficial Encyclopedia for Minecrafters: An A – Z Book of Tips and Tricks the Official Guides Don't Teach You
Coloring Book For Minecrafters: Math Coloring Book: Calculate and Color Squares (Unofficial Minecraft Coloring Book) (Volume 1)Minecraft: Guide to Creative
Minecraft: Essential Handbook (Updated Edition): An Official Mojang Book
Minecraft: Blockopedia
How about you? How have you used Minecraft for homeschooling?
If you'd like a printable planner to use to map out your Minecraft unit study, head on over to Blessed Homeschool and grab this one for FREE!
You’ll get a list of Minecraft-related topic ideas, planning pages, note taking templates, and more to help you easily create a Minecraft unit study your kids will love.
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About the Author
Just a geeky homeschooling mom inspiring digital learning and healthy tech habits for families.
I’ve been hoping that my daughter can learn JavaScript so that she can learn to do more on Minecraft and go beyond that in her future. The original book that we have is aimed at adults and she wasn’t interested in the book that we bought her for Python and Scratch (“Too childish” in her eyes). We don’t have much in funds so we’re hoping to get this for her through your promotion. Thank you for this chance!
minecraft is best game ever. everyone want to play free this game.
I agree, Minecraft has many educational benefits…however…nobody ever mentions how Minecraft teaches Geology!! After all it is what the entire game is based on.
Geology is a very important subject that every child and adult alike should learn about because everything that surrounds us in our daily lives such as our houses, cars, food, electronics, clothing, etc…all comes from what’s above and below the Earth’s crust. Rocks, minerals and gemstones along with vegetation are implemented into the material things we use everyday. The Periodic Table may seem boring or too complicated for kids. Minecraft uses all of the Element of the Periotic Table to craft. One of the BEST tools you can craft is made of diamond…like the diamond blade sword, pick axe and more. Diamonds are not easy to find in Minecraft just as in real life.
I just feel its important that children actually know what natural materials they dig up are actually inside the game console, controller or computer they are using to play Minecraft and without the precious metals it would not be possible. I MEAN OUR KIDS ARE MINING AND CRAFTING… Try taking a day trip to the river and do some rockhounding..its a lot of fun and quite addictive! We LOVE it!!
I appreciate that you said that students can learn about how to create their own circuit. My children want to learn to play Minecraft, and I think they should. I need to do some more research to find the best options.