student – Gamer Peak

TTRPGs with Kids – What to Expect

Before life became somewhat more isolated than usual, I often joined in with the D&D club at my school. I also DMed for the children of friends who heard their parents playing and wanted in. From ages 5-18, I’ve run tabletop games for close to a hundred kids.

One thing is for certain, its a very different experience than running a game for adults. If you are thinking of hosting for young people, either as a friend or a teacher, there are a few important things that will help you:

When Do Young Geeks Make You Feel Old?

I am still a decent distance away from considering myself ‘old’. I turned 32 last week, I don’t get confused by modern technology, I get very few eye-rolls when I reference popular culture around my students. My five month old daughter definitely makes me feel youthful, if a little tired sometimes.

Nevertheless, from time to time, I experience events that give me the sense that I am old, or at the very least getting noticeably older. This happens to us all in various ways. You might hear yourself saying things your parents exclaimed when you were little, or react to what you see on the TV with the disgruntled attitude of a person past their youth.

Continue reading “When Do Young Geeks Make You Feel Old?”

That One Workbook

There’s a strange phenomenon that occurs when I mark books: there is always one that goes unmarked. I’ve been teaching for 9 years, and each year I have at least half a dozen different sets of workbooks that I mark regularly throughout the year. Every single time, without fail, I hand the books out and one student raises there hand:

“Err, sir? You’ve not marked mine.”

Continue reading “That One Workbook”