Vanessa

Not a question - just wanted to acknowledge my own AHA! out to the universe ......

( I have been reading about unschooling for almost 10 years - I have read & re-read the
following a million times - today these things finally sink in! Hurray!!)

1. Sitting on the floor sorting legos with my 8 year old is not a waste of my time (I used to
- meaning yesterday- spend that time reading about parenting (go figure!) or cleaning.....
I don't like building w/legos, in general - But I LOVE finding the people pieces!

2. The DVD is not a babysitter or an evil usurper of my children's minds - it is a shared
experience we can have together.

3. Much of the time, my 7 year old wants ME around more than he wants to play w/ the
neighbor kids - they are not 'babysitters' either................

4. I decided to 'hate' video games - I can undecide that, find some we all like and have a
blast - my kiddos LOVE video games ...........
I know zero about them!!! William just played 'Age of Mythology' at a friend's house -
loves the building up his world aspect - any recommendations for similar games will be
appreciated!! (I am a little reactionary against blood & guts & killing - so, the less of that,
the easier for me to integrate! Thanks!)


I have been way more up-tight and rule-ish than I thought ......... Now that I see that - I
can free up a bit.

Still on the road to unschooling! Getting alittle vertigo on the way!!

:)
Ness

Deb

> 4. I decided to 'hate' video games - I can undecide that, find
>some we all like and have a
> blast - my kiddos LOVE video games ...........
> I know zero about them!!! William just played 'Age of Mythology'
>at a friend's house -
> loves the building up his world aspect - any recommendations for
>similar games will be
> appreciated!! (I am a little reactionary against blood & guts &
>killing - so, the less of that,
> the easier for me to integrate! Thanks!)
>
What kinds of gaming systems do you have available? Computer?
PlayStation 2 or 3? Wii? GameCube? etc There are some games that are
available for multiple platforms but most of the time they are
specific to one or the other. For the computer, there's Age of
Empires (I think there are 4 in that series). For PS2, one favorite
that ties in with other things you noted, is Lego Star Wars 1 & 2.
Yes, there are light saber battles and blasters and all. However,
all the characters are Lego figures and they just fall into pieces
when shot or whatever - no blood involved (Legos don't have blood
lol). Also, look up brikwars.com - it's not a videogame, it's a Lego-
based battle/strategy game where you build the scenario and use dice
to battle with your opponent. It's really cool - you'd love it since
the little people are a big part of the game.

FWIW I still cannot play most videogames since I get dizzy/queasy
with a lot of the motion. However, I did just start playing Pokemon
Blue (really old, I know, I know) on DS' Gameboy (we now have 2 GBA
SP systems and 2 Nintendo DS systems so there's usually something I
can play on even though DH and DS are the main gamers in the house).
DS said that would probably be the easiest thing for me to play - I
can move fast or slow and it isn't dizzying speed or really fast
reaction times or anything involved. He was so proud of me (and I
was proud of me too) when I caught my first wild Pokemon (a Pidgey I
named Pudgey. My "main" Pokemon is a charmander named Charley).
Since I can't play many of the games DH and DS like, sometimes I
can't even be nearby because I catch the motion out of my peripheral
vision, I do try to keep up with what they like, what the
characters' names and abilities are, and so on and keep my eye out
for related stuff (like when we picked up a Pokedex book for DS just
for fun - he was head over heels and still keeps that thing handy)
or when I noticed that there were two new Pokemon games set to
release so we went and pre-ordered them. Don't necessarily have to
play all the games to at least be 'literate' about them and
interested in listening to and participating in discussion about
them.

--Deb

Vanessa

> >
> What kinds of gaming systems do you have available? Computer?
> PlayStation 2 or 3? Wii? GameCube?> --Deb

Wow!
Thanks, Deb .... I guess I just had no idea! Never thought about it much...!

I have an iBookG4 - I have heard about Katamari & some cool Kareoke games ... also, I've
always wanted to try Dance, Dance Revolution, but that requires a t.v. screen, I heard, &
we don't have one ............

Seems I've got a whole new area to research!!
:)
Ness

Debra Rossing

Uh, yup - a whole new world to explore. Most all of the major console
systems require a TV screen. Most (but probably not all) of the major
computer games are written for PC, not Mac (ibookG4 is in the Apple
family, correct?) Then there are the hand helds (I believe I spotted a
used version of Lego Star Wars for the Gameboy Advanced/Gameboy Advanced
SP at the game store the other day) - portable and no TV required,
possible to link up and play with/against another person or persons.
Then there are the online games and sites - NeoPets for instance, not
the same type of gaming as the computer and videogames like Lego Star
Wars though.

Deb

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kel9769

I've
> always wanted to try Dance, Dance Revolution, but that requires a
t.v. screen, I heard, &
> we don't have one ............
>
I just ordered a dance pad from Kraft that hooks up to a computer then
you can down load games for it. Only $6 for shipping.
http://www.kraftbrands.com/activegame/
Kelly
>