Learning through gaming! The Pokemon card game

Tomorrow is another Pokemon free play at Boba's Coffee. We are usually there from 3 to 6pm when we go, and the kids have a blast. The owners are weirdo freaks like us! They have 6 kids under the age of 13, and they homeschool. They unschooled for quite a while, then gave in to the pressure of "what if they aren't getting what they need to learn?" with their older kids, and started using Ohdela. Now, Christie (the mom) is realizing that it's not what she wanted after all, and is heavily considering unschooling again.
Anyway, back to the subject matter. There are a few kids in the "Boba" family (that's not actually their real name), who like to play the Pokemon card game. There's an 11 year old girl, and a 10 year old boy. I'm not sure if there's another 9 year old girl or not. But that's the extent of people my kids' ages that actually play the game. The other people are in their late teens to early twenties. There are about 5 regulars who come on Wednesdays to the free play, and one of them was 3rd best in the state of Ohio a few years ago! They are all very polite people who enjoy getting newbies into the game, and will patiently play for hours on end with my kids.
All the while, my youngest two get to play with Christie's youngest two girls who are 4 and 6 approximately.
Savannah, my 6 year old, Travis my 8 year old, and Jesse my 10 year old all play the actual tournament rules. They know them in varying degrees according to their ages.
Their are quite a few things that I think are useful that my kids get out of playing this card game:
1. They have FUN!
2. They socialize (participate in a social event) with ages 4 to 31 (including their dad).
3.They improve their reading skills. Savannah, who just got out of Grandma Schooling's kindergarten, has greatly improved her reading through these cards. She is learning the meanings of, and how to read all sorts of bigger words like: Defending, Poisoned, Paralyzed, Supporter, Switch, Benched, Opponent, Attached, Active, Damaged, Recycle, Intimidating, Luring, Agility, etc, etc..
4.They improve their math skills. They have to do Subtraction, Addition, and Multiplication in their heads. Some examples are: 70 minus 40, 40 times 2, 40 plus 20, 10 times almost any number, 50 minus 20, etc., etc....
5.They spend quality time with their dad playing this game.
6.They spend quality time with each other! I feel this is just as important as spending time with their Dad and I. The other morning, I woke up, and all 4 of my older kids, ages, 4, 6, 8, and 10 were playing Pokemon on their bedroom floor. They are learning to treat their younger siblings with respect, as well as learning patience with others through teaching their younger siblings this game.
The life lesson benefits that they learn from this game are actually much more important to me than the "educational ones" of math and reading. Learning to treat others with respect and patience regardless of their age is something I highly regard. Spending time having fun with their dad, and each other is also something I regard highly.
7.Meeting new people is good for them too, and this is one of the many side benefits of playing this game.
8.Besides all that, I get to spend some time in conversation with another mom who has similar values to myself!
I used to think that Pokemon was just another mind numbing TV show/game. Seeing my kids participate in it has changed that view drastically! Learning through living.... I'm lovin' it!






Meeting and interacting with people of all ages. Practising Math and reading.... even at 4 and 6 years old.