5 Benefits of Video Game Design for Kids
Video games are a lot of fun, so much fun that kids pour hours into them every day. Games allow children to feel empowered, rewarding them when they succeed and guiding them toward solutions when they’re stuck. Unfortunately, the skills they learn in video games don’t usually benefit them once they return to real life. But there is an alternative that’s just as fun for kids, while offering a whole range of real-world benefits: designing their own video games!
Even little kids can design video games now using simple tools like Scratch programming. Using Scratch in {YEL!}’s Dragons and Unicorns game design class, they can make their own epic adventures. Along the way, video game design classes for kids teach skills that will stick with them throughout their lives, like problem-solving and persistence, all while having a great time!
The First Benefit of Video Game Design Classes for Kids: Problem Solving
One of the most important skills kids can learn is solving problems. In video game design classes for kids, the problems are fun, like deciding how the hero will defeat the villain! Young game designers in the Dragons and Unicorns class will have to contend with magical beasts and face the evil wizard Mordax.
Before they can do that, though, they’ll find out how to break each part of the game into parts. Then, they’ll use the graphical programming tools provided by Scratch to solve each part of the problem, step-by-step, with the guidance of the instructor. This approach, called computational thinking by educators and researchers, provides a framework for problem-solving that can be applied in many situations.
The term “computational thinking” is really just a fancy term for a few important problem-solving strategies, like:
- Using computers to help solve problems
- Organizing information
- Finding and trying different solutions
- Generalizing those skills to other situations
The last point may be the most important. Once kids learn how to find solutions to one problem, they’ll use those same ideas when faced with similar situations as they grow up. Solving problems becomes just another fun activity!
The Second Benefit of Video Game Design Classes for Kids: Creativity
Anyone who has spent time with young kids knows they are little bundles of creative energy. Their imaginations are unstoppable! Channeling that creative energy, on the other hand, can be a real challenge. Video game design classes for kids can show them how to turn their wild stories and crazy ideas into a finished product: a video game they can play and show their friends!
With the skills they learn in class, they can go on to create more games that draw on many creative pursuits like art, music, and storytelling. It’s one activity that acts as a gateway to many others, all of which offer paths to success in life. Getting kids started young, like with {YEL!}’s Dragons and Unicorns class, gives them the chance to learn skills that grow with them as they get older.
The Third Benefit of Video Game Design Classes forKids: Persistence
Even with the easy-to-use tools that come with Scratch, programming is challenging. It takes some patience and persistence to finish a project.
With video game design classes for kids, they’ll be motivated to complete their game, guided by an experienced teacher. Who wouldn’t want to see dragons and unicorns work together to defeat an evil wizard?
We all know how tricky evil wizards can be, so kids in {YEL!}’s Dragons and Unicorns class may sometimes get frustrated. But that’s okay! Their instructor will help them overcome that frustration so they can defeat the villain.
There is a growing opinion among educators that persistence, which you may have also heard called grit, is one of the most important skills for kids to develop. Every path to success includes some bumps along the road as challenges appear. Those challenges don’t have to be roadblocks, especially when kids have experienced how rewarding it can be to overcome them. One victory leads to many more, as kids learn the value of persistence.
The Fourth Benefit of Video Game Design Classes for Kids: Digital Literacy
Understanding and using computers only becomes more important with every passing year. Today’s young adults grew up with computers, but despite that, many of them don’t have the skills to get the most out of them. Digital literacy can’t be taken for granted! Video game design classes for kids help them learn the logic of programming, so they can understand the basics of how computers work, and be more confident using them.
In fact, educators think that game design classes are more effective for increasing digital literacy than simple programming courses. Basic programming classes often work through a few basic problems. As we’ve already mentioned, designing a game takes a lot more creativity. Kids get to decide what they want to do, and then figure out how to do it. That way, they learn how computers work in a way that just tapping on a tablet doesn’t teach.
Game design courses also help kids become more comfortable with computers. While they may not always know how to accomplish their goals, they are more likely to have faith in their ability to figure things out.
The Fifth Benefit of Video Game Design Classes for Kids: Communication Skills
Communicating is an incredibly important skill that many young kids struggle with. Every toddler has had a meltdown because that toddler couldn’t communicate an emotion or explain a problem. Video game design classes for kids help them learn how to express themselves in a fun way.
Communication can happen in lots of ways! In the Dragons and Unicorns class, your little game designer will give voice to all the characters in their games. Each growling monster and bold hero has a giggling child behind them.
Pretending isn’t just fun, it comes with a whole list of its own benefits. Among others, it lets your child walk a little bit in other people’s shoes, learning how to empathize with others. It can also help them expand their vocabulary and learn new ways of expressing themselves. The games they create connect kids to each other, as they share and explore each other’s games.
Game design offers a fantastic way for your student to experience the benefits we’ve discussed, as well as many more. With {YEL!}’s Dragons and Unicorns class, your young student can start learning the basics and live out their heroic fantasies at the same time. There’s no reason learning new things can’t be just as fun as playing a video game!
Are you tired of watching your kid zone out playing video games every day? Sign them up for video game design classes for kids with {YEL!}.
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