Animal Crossing Wii Game for Learning

Kaelyn playing on the Wii Animal Crossing game and learning.

There are controversial ways for children to get educated.  One of those ways is with technology.  Take, for example, the Nintendo Wii game console.  Video gaming is thought to produce obese children, but mine are not obese (as you can see from the picture above).  Before buying this console, we researched and found that the alternatives to this gaming console would offer violent games.

I trust the Nintendo family of gaming systems.  Many of their games are educational.  Nintendo was also the first to offer exercise alternatives for adults.  We had originally bought the Animal Crossing game for the GameCube.  Even I played it for a while because it helped the kids and me bond.

READING AND WRITING

The pull of Animal Crossing is multi-faceted.  It encourages reading in that you need to read what the animal villagers say to you and each other.  You also need to read the letters that are sent to you by the villager or your "fake" mom as my five year-old calls her.  Along with that, you are encouraged to write letters to the villagers.  You also get to create greetings for the villagers and read the town signs for upcoming events like fishing tourneys and birthdays.

MATH

For math, you pay with bells for merchandise like furniture at a store.  You learn how to make money by selling fruit, furniture, clothing, fish, insects, and sea shells.  You get to participate in flea market days.  You  pay a mortgage for your home and its upgrades.  You learn how to save money in the bank and use a debit card in the city if you need to withdraw money for a big purchase.

SCIENCE

For science, you catch fish and insects (and are provided with a dictionary) and find fossils.  You also take some of the animal life to the museum (where the curator, who is an owl, informs you of the specimen) to build up the collections.  You plant flowers to decorate the village and learn how to make new breeds of flowers (in Wii version of the game).  You learn how to balance the ratio of trees and flowers within your village.  You are also encouraged to participate in a yearly exercise special around the beginning of the traditional school year. 

ART

For art, there are paintings you buy and then donate to the museum.   You also get to decorate the inside of your house with the furniture you accumulate.  Some of the furniture is sold by themes which boost your points in your decorating skills.  You can design, wear, and display clothes (which the animal villagers might actually wear)  For music, you attend a concert given by the visiting dog who sings you a random song (or a special request) which you download into a radio inside your house; and you can create a town tune.

EXTRAS

You are responsible for watering plants or else they will die (in the more recent versions of the game).  You are introduced to grooming for your hair and shoes.  You learn about recycling.  You get to donate to the town fund.  You get to visit the city where you socialize with other animals.  You learn about emotions, while attending a theater.

I hope I have provided valid educational merit for the Animal Crossing game.  I think it's sad that some people are not willing to utilize technology.  I, for one, appreciate it.  I stand out as a home educator because at my university (where I was studying to be an elementary teacher), I was trained to analyze the usefulness of a piece of technology.  Since then, I have been a true believer in the merit of using games like Oregon Trail software with computers to interact with history.

Using technology to educate children may not be everyone's cup of tea.  I respect that.  I have realized, though, that our world has changed so much.  We have technology all around us--Smartphones, Laptops, Blue-ray Disc Players, MP3 Players, Apple ipods, and HD TVs.  We must somehow embrace the technological advances or get left behind.

How about you, my wonderful readers?  Do you allow the use of video games in your homes?  Do you use technology to teach the children in your life?  I hope you will consider it.  Some visual learners may benefit from it.

God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.