Homeschooling Times

This is becoming a nightmare. I spent a big chunk of the day trying to find the right glue to fix this drum set for my kids PlayStation video game, Rock Band. My four year old was playing yesterday ( he plays on expert!) and the green drum head snapped off. You can see pic of what it looks like in my original post about fixing broken Rock Band drum set.

I a not sure if what have done will work. I did buy a new hot glue gum0 one that melts at high temps. I have not used it yet, I spent a LONG time in Canadian Tire looking at glues. Most of the glues stated they would work on MOST plastics or rigid plastics. I was tempted to buy Gorilla Glue but it said “most” plastics. Also at epoxies. I was a but confused by quick set and regular epoxy. One glue set in 5 minutes and the other in 60. Which one was strongest?

Anyway0- I ended up asking a young kids who knew more than I thought he would. He recommended a silicone based glue and I bought LePage PL Premium. ( it comes in giant tube that looks like caulking) and cost 4.99.

I tried to fix the Rock Band drums set when I got home and hand some major stumbling blocks. I had no clamps. I used the glue- which I am not convinced is the right one and then had to use tape to hold together. An hour later 4 year old wandered in and I explained to him not to touch the drum set he seemed to understand and then promptly lifted the set up and apart.

ARGH.

I decided the tape was a bad idea and went back out to Canadian Tire to get some clamps that would work . Came home and redid and clamps worked perfectly. The “old” glue that hadn’t dried was still there and did my best to get off. I don’t know how well this will work- the glue did not seem like ti would harden at all. Concerned that the old glue will affect new stuff from setting.

So far spent about 15.00 on this attempt to save 40.00-80.00 on a new set of drums.

My almost 5 year ls son has a bit of a screen addiction. Since her was quite small he has always loved movies, TV and now video games, When he was three he carried around a little DVD player so a movie was always close at hand.

I lean toward unschooling and try not to get bent out of shape over it. The last couple of weeks I will admit i have been mildly concerned. I do not restrict the time the kids spend on TV, computer or video games and have no intention of doing so. I will however re-direct or engage with them if I think its because of boredom. They will almost always say yes to the park, a swim or a hike.
I don’t think the concept of unschooling is to disengage with your kids an leave them on their own ( at least when they are small) to flounder. You need to expose then to stuff- even if it means put out some paints and paper on the table and hang back.
Anyway- I digress- would be too difficult to put all my thoughts about unschooling and children into one post.

I was starting to get a bit worried about the amount of time my son is spending playing video games. When I get doubts like these it helps to read information by othre unschoolers. I particularily like Joyfully Rejoycing ( Joce Fetteroll) who writes a an article, My son plays Nintendo all dayabout just this dilemma.

The article is very long and worth reading even if video games are not an issue here are a few quotes:

A guess would be that games make him feel powerful and competent. The world is not a friendly place for wee little kids. They want to do so much and rules and society and even their 4 yo bodies prevent them from doing what they want to do. But games they can do. They can beat the bad guy. Or get the car around the track faster than anyone. Or collect hundreds of gold coins.

Some kids have desires that are in keeping with what they can do physically and socially. Some kids don’t. For instance some kids are perfectly fine accepting the pace at which they learn to ride a bike. Some kids want to be able to ride well before they have the mental and physical development to be able to do it. And it’s frustrating to them.

Isn’t Joyce great?

One of the most anticipated video games this year- Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii is finally released this week. I am one of those homeschoolers that think video games can be a in important learning tool for their kids It entourages reading, logical thinking and fair play. Video games can stimulate a bored mind or calm a restless one and have as much value as a book or paint and easel. If you “ban” or limit your video games- think of the reason why- really examine the why’s and see if they make sense.

This is one of the first online multiplayer games for Wii video game system- you have the ability to share game replays, screenshots, and custom levels with friends.

Video of Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii


More info: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Walkthroughs and Guides for Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii

Walkthroughs

Following the style of its predecessors, the game uses a battle system different from that of typical fighting games. Choosing from a variety of characters, one to four players fight on various stages, trying to knock their opponents off the screen. Instead of using health bars like those used in most fighting games, percentage displays are employed. These start at 0%, and increase as the characters take damage up to 999%. As a character’s percentage goes up, the character flies farther back when hit. When a character is knocked beyond a stage’s boundary and disappears from the screen, the character loses either a life or a point depending on the mode of play.[10] The game can be played using the Wii Remote on its side, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk together, the Classic Controller, or the Game Cube controller, for a total of four possible control styles. Players can create profiles with personalized button configurations for each control method along with their chosen user name.

Walkthrough for Playing Professor Layton’s Curious Village

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
CONTENTS
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1. Version History
2. Introduction
3. Walkthrough
4. Layton’s Challenges
5. Hint Coins
6. Strange Gizmos
7. Furniture
8. Painting Scraps
9. Unlockables
10. Ending

[Read more →]

This list is updated regularly. My kids are WAY into video games as are most of their homeschooling friends. I am a big believer in video games being a part of learning- as much a reading or crafts or math, etc. I am as happy for my kids to read a book as I am when they are playing together on their Wii.

The latest and hottest Nintendo DS Games

New Release NDS Games

Luxor: Pharaoh’s Challenge

Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2008

Left Brain, Right Brain

Master of Illusion

Pocket Pets (Dogs, Cats, Hamsters more)

American Girl: Julie Finds a Way

Strawberry Shortcake II for Nintendo DS

Boogie

The Golden Compass

Coming Soon:
Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command

Wow- Talk about time beeing sucked into a black hole! I discovered this site earlier in the week, www.stardoll.com. it is basically “virtual” paper dolls. There are dolls of Dylan and Zack Sprouse, Rhianna, The Olsen twins, etc. And they have a closet of clothes you can dress them up in. They have quite a few free ones and then you can pay for others.
My kids have been playing this for HOURS each week..

This site has put together a list of best wii games for girls. With brief description of games and best age the Wii game is suited for

Massively-multiplayer online role-playing game = MMORPG

Silk Road - is a free MMORPG. The game is based on the historical Silk Road and involves commerce and strategy. Silk Road reproduces the Silk Road in China and combines realism with fantasy. Silkroad Online a neat premise that throws you in the middle of the time in history that revolved around trading on the Silk Route.

Toontown Online ( Disney) : Very kid friendly and kids can play from around 6 years old.

Runescape The Grand-daddy of free online MMORPGs. Still HUGELY popular- and free

City of Heroes

Renaissance Kingdoms : Free web-based MMO, Renaissance Kingdoms takes place in a realistic environment: Western Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. The player starts as a tramp that has to get rich, famous in his community, in order to take power and lead the destinies of thousands of players. But he can also prefer to become a monk and enters a cloister or a travel through the many cities of the Kingdoms to sell products on the markets, as a merchant.