I've four children ages 7-15 with varying degrees of interest in tech as a career. Our focus with tech has been to use it as an enabler. We love learning, discovery and adventure, so we have spent countless hours sharing good stories, news of cultures around the world, and explorations in nature and science at all levels. I use the Web as a reference tool, with several emailed newsletters that provide links to interesting stories. The computers are always in a shared space, and computer time is limited (typically 30min a day for play, another 30min for "something that meets Mom & Dad's criteria of educational").
On the topic of play, we have found great success with the simulation-based games. SimCity (in almost all of its incarnations), SimSafari, SimPark and so forth have been very much enjoyed. Likewise some of the RTS games like Civilization, Age of Empires and related have provided a lot of fun. At the same time, our children have learned much about cities, cultures, economics, politics, and yes, military history. Their play has been quite social (often 2-4 are gathered to share the play) and I happier to see them using what they've learned from these experiences rather than imitating first-person shooters.
Additionally, our entire family enjoys spending time together exploring the world's of Myst and its imitators. The adventure games have continued to mature in plot-lines, beauty of presentation, and sense of wonder.
To wrap up a long comment... keep the focus on what you care about, use the tech selectively to share your interests, your excitement and share their discovery of the world. Many basic skills are better taught personally rather than in weakly-done computer-based programs, while some skills are nicely re-inforce through carefully selected software tools. Also, some basic familiarity with tech skills is worth investment. All of our children have periodic assignments with Mavis Beacon for keyboard skills, and all learn to use the basic word-processing functions for their writing assignments.
Finally, congratulations on your family. Thank you for taking the time and investing of yourselves into the lives of your children. The world is better for the intentional love you give your children.
Cheers.
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I've four children ages 7-15 with varying degrees of interest in tech as a career. Our focus with tech has been to use it as an enabler. We love learning, discovery and adventure, so we have spent countless hours sharing good stories, news of cultures around the world, and explorations in nature and science at all levels. I use the Web as a reference tool, with several emailed newsletters that provide links to interesting stories. The computers are always in a shared space, and computer time is limited (typically 30min a day for play, another 30min for "something that meets Mom & Dad's criteria of educational"). On the topic of play, we have found great success with the simulation-based games. SimCity (in almost all of its incarnations), SimSafari, SimPark and so forth have been very much enjoyed. Likewise some of the RTS games like Civilization, Age of Empires and related have provided a lot of fun. At the same time, our children have learned much about cities, cultures, economics, politics, and yes, military history. Their play has been quite social (often 2-4 are gathered to share the play) and I happier to see them using what they've learned from these experiences rather than imitating first-person shooters. Additionally, our entire family enjoys spending time together exploring the world's of Myst and its imitators. The adventure games have continued to mature in plot-lines, beauty of presentation, and sense of wonder. To wrap up a long comment... keep the focus on what you care about, use the tech selectively to share your interests, your excitement and share their discovery of the world. Many basic skills are better taught personally rather than in weakly-done computer-based programs, while some skills are nicely re-inforce through carefully selected software tools. Also, some basic familiarity with tech skills is worth investment. All of our children have periodic assignments with Mavis Beacon for keyboard skills, and all learn to use the basic word-processing functions for their writing assignments. Finally, congratulations on your family. Thank you for taking the time and investing of yourselves into the lives of your children. The world is better for the intentional love you give your children. Cheers.