Several schools and learning centers for very young children in Lindale Texas will be getting grants for Wii-based initiatives, thanks to the Lindale Independent School District Education Foundation. A total of $13,802.36 in grants were awarded to 23 teachers involved with six projects. One project, called “Wii Can Do It!” by teachers Cookie Hartley and June Wright at the Early Childhood Center, will use the Wii as a “therapy and instructional tool” for disabled preschool students. Another project, called “Wii Fit, Wii Moving, and Wii Happy” by Cynthia Peters and Bobbie Williams at the Lindale Primary School, is designed to experience technology at a young age but in a creative way as they work on coordination, balance, and motor skills.
It’s good to see more games finding a place in schools beyond the usual DDR in P.E. class. I remember my 6th grade Life Skills teacher managed to incorporate a class project where we all just played the original SimCity in the computer lab each day for two weeks. Maybe he thought we’d all be mayor of a city one day, I don’t know. He gave $20 to the student with the highest population across all his classes… I came in a close second place because the kid who won paid off one of our friends to constantly bug and distract me on the last day.
As for these new Texas programs, I would hope some of those new programs are taking advantage of Wii Music, since it seems to built primarily as an educational tool.
