Rocks & Minerals--but he doesn't call it Science

In his free time, Spencer studies
the properties of various rocks and minerals
to create iron and other metals
on Minecraft.

It was 10am, and the boys had completed very little homeschool.   

I was just about to get grumpy with Spencer.  Why was he sitting there reading that little Rocks & Minerals book when he had so much work to do?

Then he said, "Oh, Mom! I figured out how to make steel to create a protective barrier for my Redstone machine on Minecraft. You heat iron and coal to make pig iron and then follow some more steps to purify and make steel.  And I also learned how to make sulfur using a brine.  And then you skim it off the top.  That's going to be handy."

We talked about his discoveries and how amazing it is that people have learned to create so many different metals.  The time and experimentation necessary to make these discoveries was amazing. We laughed and shouted, "Whoo!  Go People!"


The curriculum for me was another lesson in the series entitled: People do not always need to be taught.  We learn well on our own when we're encouraged to follow our interests.  Whoo!  Go People!

When this is what Spencer spends time studying
for Minecraft, how can I possibly call it
"just playing" or meaningless "screentime"?