Minecraft’s Free Educational Worlds Are Just What My Kids and I Needed Right Now
It’s never been easier to make ‘Minecraft’ part of your homeschooling curriculum
When the news hit that I — like many parents — was suddenly starting a multi-week lockdown with my three daughters, I had a mix of emotions. Surprise, obviously. Mild panic, yes. But also, low-key excitement. After all, I’d finally get a chance to introduce them to all the topics I’d somehow never made time for, from home electronics to advanced JavaScript. And like it or not (mostly not), there would be no distractions like hiking, playdates, and road trips to interrupt the learning.
Roughly one-and-three-quarters days later, I realized my mistake. Yes, my kids were able to put their vast expanses of free time to good use and learn new things. But the time it took me to prepare material and guide them through it was overwhelming. So I was more than a little excited when the news hit that Microsoft was releasing free educational content wrapped up in every grade-school kid’s favorite video game, Minecraft. Here was the promised land — a way to have children learn without complete parent micromanagement. But could it live up to the hype?
