Minecrat Club

For the past few months I have had the pleasure of leading the new Minecraft Club here at SMLI. I will admit I was nervous at the beginning because with a game as popular as Minecraft it was hard to speculate on the levels of ability that the kids would have. I had no way of knowing if there would be children who had never played before in the same room with children who knew more than I did. And even though that is sort of what happened, I was pleasantly surprised at the cohesive nature that the group developed.

The time spent playing has a lot to do with setting up a small virtual community within the game. The boys work to develop their own little piece of the map, while working together to accomplish larger goals. Some days, they are issued a challenge or a project designed to expand their knowledge of the game in areas that they had never delved before. The prizes that they receive from participating always keep them trying their hardest, and give a healthy competitive push.

All-in-all, I’m immensely happy about the little group that has formed that gathers every Monday to play Minecraft. I’m a little sad that we are taking a break during the summer months, but I’m looking forward to September and all the things these guys will work on. It has been amazing to see the boys who came in knowing a lot, take leadership roles in the club. It has been equally gratifying to see the guys who, in the beginning, struggled to remember simple crafting recipes, now craft items like it is second nature.

Owen