G is for GMod

I'm currently participating in 

an ABC's for homeschooling challenge.  

Since it falls on Tuesdays, 

I am adding a technological slant to the challenge.  

I hope you stay tuned and enjoy my entries.

GMod on Steam

GMod is a game created by Garry Newman.  It falls under the Sandbox category.  That means that there is no firm objective to the game.  Rather, it is a game that gives virtual tools and toys that one can play with.  There is no right or wrong way to play GMod.  Steam is a website that sells GMod and other games like Team Fortress 2.

Steam website

In order to use GMod, you must have one source engine game such as 

Team Fortress 2.

There are several ways that GMod can be used:


1. Physics--using scientific manipulation of how items move; use of seesaws, catapults, pulleys, and cranes;

2. Videos--using stop motion style; akin to claymation; multiple pictures taken and combined to make cartoons;

3. Games--hosting a server to have a multi-player platform for playing a customized game; for example, a game in which someone can build a floating boat;

4. Comics--posing ragdolls, meaning manipulating images of characters and objects from the source engine games, which can also be found at the Steam website.

My son even made the banner for his comic.

Comics are what my teenage son creates with GMod.  Here is the website where you can find his comic:

Adventures of the Heavy

Comic # 151

My son, Gabriel, loves The Heavy from Team Fortress 2.  Gabriel's main character in his comic is The Heavy.  The Heavy loves sandwiches, like my son.  The Heavy talks to the sandwiches.  The Heavy also gives his weapons names and talks to them.  

The Heavy thinks of himself as 

The Man, 

and he considers the other characters as 

Teeny Tiny Men.

As his mother, I'm proud of my son.  Gabriel has run with this idea of making the comic.  The comic is hilarious.  I encourage you all to visit the website for The Adventures of The Heavy.  Gabriel has a good following, which is well-deserved.

Well, thanks for reading this entry.  I hope I have provided information on how GMod can be used.  GMod can be a cool virtual toy for teens.

How about you, my readers?  Would you buy GMod and/or any other Steam game?  Would you allow your children unlimited play in a virtual sandbox?  Are you willing to let your kids develop a love for technology?  I encourage you to consider allowing your children to play GMod with a Steam game.  Using GMod can count as coursework.

I pray that God gives you all, my beloveds, His wisdom and peace.

This has been an entry for the Technology Tuesdays series.

For more information, you can visit Garry's Mod at Wikipedia.

Homeschool Reading Using Manga

My homeschooled daughter loves to read Manga.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go." - Dr. Seuss

One of the most important skills for a child to learn is reading. Reading requires the ability to look at words and make sense of them. Reading is necessary to learning new things in life. Reading is empowering. Reading can indeed take you to new places.

That is why I encourage reading of any kind, provided that it is age-appropriate. Take, for example, the Naruto series that my daughter is reading. The book above shows a Manga (comic) book. My daughter recently acquired a few more of these books to add to her library. I'm not a fan of that genre of reading, but my daughter has embraced it.

I'm just glad she is reading!

For one, it does have reading material and not just pictures. Second, it has vivid pictures. Third, it has complex story lines. Fourth, my daughter has created fan-fiction as a result of exposure to it. Finally, she has also been led to create her own pictures.

The more she has read, the more she now knows. The more that she has learned, the more places, in the creative spectrum she has gone. Not just that, reading lends itself to escapism. That is when you read about different places, customs, and peoples, and you are transported out of your own world and into another one. It is lovely that reading can cause you to visit elsewhere, even though you are sitting in your own bedroom.

To sum up, reading leads you to new worlds you never knew. You visit the new, unfamiliar. Who knows what it can lead to? A wonderful, daring career full of possibilities? How about a means to support yourself financially, while loving your job?

What about you, my readers? Do you love to read? Where does it take you? What about the children in your life? Do they love to read? If you and/or your children don't enjoy reading, I would suggest picking up some Manga. It can be very entertaining for all ages.

My beloveds, may God bless you all with His peace.

This entry has been part of Thorough Thursdays. I hope you enjoyed it.

Homeschooling Using a Netbook to Write

Daughter uses netbook to write for homeschooling.

Writing is an essential skill that must be taught to all children.  Homeschooled children are no exception.  It is challenging to find a way to motivate children to want to write.  Enter a rewards system!  When you present a technological toy in the mix, you can get wonderful results.

Take my daughter, Iris, for example.  She and her siblings saw the Astroboy movie that came out in 2009.    This caused my oldest son, Gabriel, to research in Wikipedia about Astroboy.  (You can see how the interest was born.)  This, in turn, led to him finding out that there was a whole cartoon series based on the Astroboy character.

My son found the cartoon episodes and pretty soon all four kids were seeing the episodes at all times of the day and night.  They have even found other comics from the creator of Astroboy.

This is all to say that my daughter, shown in the picture, has immersed herself in all things Manga and Anime.

Just to clarify things: Anime is the animation of the cartoon images; Manga is the still creations or artwork.  I know; the terms were confusing to me, too.  I had to look it up just now.  You see, Osamu Tezuka, a Japanese artist, created some comics (stills) or Manga, which eventually became Anime (the animated series).  I hope that clears it all up.

Anyway, so here is a snippet of one story that Iris created (and yes, I am sharing with her permission):

 I run across the soft field of grass, the morning dew tickling my bare feet.  The rising sun casts a warm, yellow glow across the green grass.  I look over my shoulder to see if my tormentor is still onto me.

I am surprised to see that no one is behind me.  I slow to a trot, my eyes darting from left to right...

I don't even think I could write that well.  

Iris is super at writing.  I've told her that, too.  She's a doubter, just like me.  I'm proud, though, of all the strides she's taken to become such a good writer.  Just think--this was the child who was afraid to write her name for fear that it wouldn't turn out perfectly.

That's why she got the Netbook she wanted.  I wanted for her to have a means to quickly put down her ideas.  I knew she had it in her to create brilliant stuff on paper.  Having the Netbook where she can create and store her story ideas is ideal for her.

Buying the Netbook has paid off.  Ever since we got it for her two years ago, Iris has been on it nonstop, visiting forums, watching more Anime, and writing bits of her stories.  She still has many ideas for stories just waiting to be said, in her own voice.

How about you, my readers?  Do you have a budding writer in your life?  Or are they interested in another type of art?  Whatever the craft is, please encourage them.  Provide them the tools they need to do their craft.  You never know if they might become famous and make lots of money (for you).

God bless you all with His peace.

This has been an entry for Technology Tuesdays.  I hope you liked it.

Why I Bought a Graphics Card for My Son's Computer

New graphics card for my son's computer tower.

 The Plan:

For this year before we actually received our income tax refund (which is often sizable but usually applied to outstanding bills), we sat at the dinner table after supper and drew up a plan for how to spend it wisely. My oldest son, Gabriel, wanted a new tower and graphics card for his computer. He had calculated that it would be cheaper to buy those two components and still keep the flat screen monitor. After we filed our tax return, he went into frantic cleaning mode to kill time. This he did without being asked.

The Teachable Moment:

We bought the tower, but he kept cleaning--even the toilets and grimy microwave. That's desperate! I decided to use this event as a teachable moment. I determined he should write a persuasive essay about why I should buy him the graphics card. It was awesome to see him create the sentences, paragraphs, and final draft for the essay.

Writing the essay meant sitting down with my son. I asked him to make a list of reasons--whatever he could come up with. I then sought for the three main reasons within his list and helped him convert the new sentences into paragraphs for the body of the essay. We used graphic organizers to create the paragraphs, dealing with the topic sentence and then the details. Towards the end, I helped him create the introduction and conclusion paragraphs, as well.

The End Result:

The end result was a dry final draft. This was our first real attempt at bringing a good essay together. I had to be content with leaving out transitional words. I was elated that he did the essay in the first place. We could do another better essay later.

I took the time to explain to him my purpose for having him create a persuasive essay.  You see, in real life, an individual will have to do a lot of persuading. Creating an essay can help to organize one's thoughts. It can also train you on how to persuade.  Being able to ask for something, in an articulate manner, will make all the difference in getting what you need and want out of life.

As you can see, he did get the graphics card for his computer. I must admit that I just needed convincing to spend the money for it. I did think he deserved it for many reasons. This is my dear child who was my little companion when he was a toddler. He is now my techie geek who has learned much more about computers than what I know.

My son could barely hold his excitement.

The investment into my child's interest is worth it. With his computer, he is practicing his own brand of artwork. He is creating his Gmod comics. He is practicing writing short skits. He is also practicing creative thinking, as well.

Those are all skills that a growing teenager needs. Am I spoiling him by buying him these bits of technology? Maybe. He does not, though, do drugs or disrespect me or the rest of the family. He is also very appreciative of what we have provided for him.

How about you, my readers? What ways do you use technology? Do you use it to reach and/or educate the children in your life? I hope you consider it. 

My beloveds, may God bless you all with His peace.