20+ Ways to Use Minecraft When Homeschooling
When you tie video games like Minecraft to your lesson plans, students will be eager to learn! Enter Minecraft homeschooling!
Minecraft Homeschooling Lessons
You don’t have to be a Minecraft expert to try Minecraft homeschooling.
Minecraft’s brick-and-block style lends itself well to math exploration.
Its creative world with natural elements helps students explore the natural sciences.
Because more than one player can navigate a world, you and your student (and any siblings or friends) can learn together.
Check out these Minecraft homeschooling lesson ideas!
This article contains affiliate links to things that you might like.
20+ Minecraft Homeschooling Ideas
Check out this list of homeschooling lessons that involve Minecraft.
3-D Geometry
Using blocks to create geometric shapes and structures.
You can build rectangular prisms and cubes and even learn how to calculate volume (length x width x height).
You can also calculate the volume of irregular shapes (by adding the individual cubes).
History Lessons
Recreating historical events or civilizations in Minecraft.
Minecraft Education has a series of history lessons such as exploring Ancient Egypt and World War I.
Science Experiments
You can simulate your own scientific experiments within the game.
For example, you can experiment with gravity and acceleration.
Be like Galileo Galilei (who dropped a hammer and a feather off the Leaning Tower of Pisa) and drop a heavy and light object off a tall structure.
Will they hit the ground at the same time? Can you replicate Galileo’s Pisa experiment?
Coding Practice
You can introduce coding concepts through Minecraft mods and scripts.
Minecraft allows players to learn Python through hour-long coding lessons (from beginner to advanced).
Creative Writing
You’ve heard of picture writing prompts. Why not Minecraft writing prompts?
Students create elaborate Minecraft worlds, which can inspire original stories.
Make these worlds come alive by writing the characters’ narratives as they journey through their environment.
Environmental Studies
Minecraft is all about conserving resources and humans interacting with the environment.
It’s essentially all environmental studies!
For example, you can learn about biodiversity and extinct species.
Or you can build your self-sustaining farm.
Exploring Ecosystems
Minecraft is home to various biomes.
You could research and explore the desert, grassland, tundra, rainforest, or taiga.
Math Challenges
Creating math puzzles and problems within the game environment.
You can build arrays, depict fractional word problems, and learn about area and perimeter.
Art Appreciation
You can replicate famous pieces of artwork or create original pieces in Minecraft.
You can also check out these galleries by Minecraft Education of artists like Mondrian, Michaelangelo, and Monet.
Here’s another Minecraft homeschooling idea: Build a museum and display your custom masterpieces!
Cultural Studies
You can travel the world through Minecraft.
Minecraft Education has cities you can explore, like Rome, Baghdad, and Chang-an (the Chinese capital during the Tang dynasty).
You can also build replicas of famous landmarks like the ziggurats of Mesopotamia.
Teamwork and Collaboration Challenges
When completing Minecraft homeschooling, consider fostering skills like teamwork and collaboration.
Assign a collaborative project to siblings or a group of students.
Virtual Field Trips
Explore virtual worlds within Minecraft to supplement learning.
Consider some of these offerings through Minecraft Education: the Washington State Museum and the Pacific Science Center.
You can also tour Chinatown in San Francisco via Minecraft!
Language Learning
Would you like to quiz your student on their vocabulary?
You can practice vocabulary and language skills through in-game communication.
Physics Simulations
You can demonstrate physics concepts through in-game mechanics.
For example, you can build inclined planes, pulleys, and other simple machines inside the game.
Or you can explore bridge construction and compare different designs’ durability.
Architecture Studies
Study architectural styles and principles by building structures in Minecraft.
Check out these lessons related to architecture (and its ties to math, history, and art).
Social Studies Projects
Creating historical timelines or cultural presentations within Minecraft.
Imagine it as an interactive and three-dimensional PowerPoint (with graphics you can make and walk toward!).
Character Development
You can teach social-emotional learning through the role-playing opportunities in the game.
As another activity, you can build structures to represent your emotions.
This is a way to get your children to express their feelings (a social-emotional check-in).
Health Education
You can promote healthy habits and lifestyle choices through Minecraft activities.
What will your player eat? (He can start his own farm and learn about plants and animals.)
How much does your player sleep? (Build a bed.)
Geography Lessons
Learn about maps, coordinates, and geographical features through Minecraft exploration.
You can explore the existing biomes to identify geographic features like mountains, mesas, grasslands, peninsulas, bays, etc.
Music Appreciation
Create musical compositions using note blocks in the game.
Or you can find CDs to discover new melodies (try to play them in real life on your own instruments!).
Problem-Based Learning
Present real-world problems for students to solve within the game.
Entrepreneurship Skills
Run virtual businesses or economies within the game.
You can also seek out individuals with whom to trade (and get emeralds, a.k.a. Minecraft currency), or you can play with others to make and sell items.
Minecraft Homeschooling Lessons
Unlike other games, Minecraft is a video game with many educational applications.
Try some of these Minecraft homeschooling lesson ideas to pique your child’s interest.
He’ll be eager to do his schoolwork!
