Xavier’s interest in Dungeons and Dragons was sparked a few years ago…
(From March 2009)
He found Simon’s old Monster Manual and started looking at it and memorizing all of the monsters and creatures. We bought him the new edition and we started to realize that he could read when he could name all of the monsters and tell us details about them that he could only know through reading. It was D&D that led him to reading at the level he can read now , playing D&D based games on the computer and reading the Monster Manuals and other related books. (to those who don’t understand how unschooling can work and how kids can learn to read by themselves… this is a prime example)
His interest soon went into the original role playing game (RPG) and both boys along with Simon started on their adventure.
(June 2009)
Last month Khéna joined in the adventure and to our surprise, his attention span can at times can outlast that of his brothers…
If you know how D&D works, it is not a fast paced game. Each move is calculated and thought out. There is adventure, imagination, strategy a need for patience.
Simon has been journaling their adventure here on a Blog called Kaleth’s Journal
This blog, in the form of a character journal, is a quickly-written summary of the D&D 4e campaign (in a customized version of the Forgotten Realms) I started with my two sons in 2009, and which my 3rd son joined in 2011. It’s compiled for their future enjoyment. Simon (35 years old) is the DM and plays a level 3 human wizard; Xavier (8 years old) plays a level 3 dragonborn fighter; Colin (6 years old) plays a level 3 eladrin ranger; Khéna (4 years old) plays a level 1 eladrin swordmage.
With the family growing and time with Simon is somewhat limited, Playing D&D is a great way for the boys to connect and I love hearing their adventures as they play…
Anyone else a D&D fan?
We have not played d&d yet, but my son learned to read by playing video games.
Unschooling ftw!
My husband and grown son play D&D online, it gives them a chance to run a quest, visit via mic and enjoy kick back time from our respective homes.
A ‘kid’ style game, similar to D&D is what our littles play. It’s called Wizards 101 and it has been an immense help with our youngest’s reading struggle! It is high interest reading material, along with a variety of visual cues and supports, without the need to hold the book and follow words on a white page *she has visual tracking issues*.
So we are huge D&D fans, both for the game itself, the comradely opportunities it provides and the boost in reading skills!
Tez… I will have to check out Wizards 101… it might be interesting for the younger boys 🙂 Thanks!
I really need to figure out D&D, I think my son would love it! If I could get a grasp of it, then I could inform him….
My partner and I play D&D once a month with friends and we would love to introduce our little one to the game when she will be old enough! Anyway, that picture of the 3 boys playing with their dad is beautiful 🙂