The joy of video games....

Thanks to the folks at RUN for their topic of the month which prompted me to write about video games....
http://familyrun.ning.com/forum/topics/march-blog-carnival

Computers are a big part of our life--- Wes has a video production business, and I work part time mostly from home via my computer, so Kathrynn has always been around computers. Wes and I both like to game also. Wes plays a variety of different games, moving through them fairly fast. I choose MMRPGs and tend to linger with them for LONG periods of time. When I was pregnant with Kathrynn, I was playing Dark Ages of Camelot, but had to ease out of it due to pretty intense morning sickness, and the need to sleep more. I tried a few times after she was born, playing while she nursed or slept in my lap..... but it was pretty difficult so I stopped. Then when Kathrynn was a year old, I got World of Warcraft as a gift. I found myself playing this during nap time, and in the evenings.... Good stuff!

Occassionally Kathrynn would "play" with me. By the time she was 4 she had characters of her own- I think she leveled 4 characters to level 5, when it starts to get a bit difficult. ;) My facination with the game suddenly stopped, before her real interest of the game got going.... but maybe one day she'll find herself playing Wow. :)

Kathrynn's first interactions with the computer, other then Wow, was on Sesamestreet.com. It was simpler back then, and she loved to move the mouse around the screen, making noises and finding hidden things. She loved playing the simple games there, first with my help and then all on her own. Her interests ebbed and flowed, although Sesamestreet.com has always been a favorite. She then discovered different games like Ollo through our public library. I can't remember their names now, but she had so much fun exploring those different games!
We still check out a lot of games from the library- Dora, Animal Safari, Little Bill, ect.

In the last year her interests have extended to our xbox and wii..... She loves to sit next to Wes as he plays the "not scary" parts of his games. She got her first game for Solstice- Animal Crossing. Her interest in this game has taken a standstill.......
Lego Star Wars is THE game she is now interested in (except for some random PC games on occassion). Her interest in Star Wars has been gradual over the years, but really skyrocketed after the holidays as she got some Star Wars action figures for xmas. Here is the funny thing- she's never seen the movies, and is not interested in watching the movies yet (although they are reading the books) due to her sensitive nature regarding things that are *too* much for her. Not being ready to watch the movies limited how she could explore the story line.... But then Wes had the idea of buying the game! The game has proved to be a safe way for her to learn everything there is to know about Star Wars, which is so exciting for us to watch!

She wants to play LSW A LOT!!! I should clarrify that *she* is actually not playing, but my husband is. :) I think that this has been a dream come true for him- his 6 yo daughter knows practically everything there is to know about Star Wars! He *loves* her new interest.... although I know that at times it is too much for him.... She is litterally waiting by the door at the end of the day sometimes, so they can start gaming! After they are done gaming, he tells more stories about Star Wars chacacters to her. And while he is not available, she and I sometimes play charades or play with her action figures. I think its pretty cute. I think my husband *still* thinks its great, although I also think it is starting to drive him a tiny bit mad. Serious kudos to him for hanging in there..... <3

Most of her male friends think her love of Star Wars is very cool. :D She has always loved super heroes, so really this is a natural extension for her, and makes her quite cool in the eyes of certain friends. LOL. Her female friends also find her passion contagious.... I look into her room at times during play dates and see how she incorporates her newest passion into various games the girls come up with.

I'm sure that some of my friends think our family is crazy, for lack of a better word. But I'm used to that. :) All I know is that the amount of Joy and Creativity that comes out of gaming is awesome to watch and be a part of. Another reason why I just *love* our life. :)