Adventures in Pokemon Hunting (with my children)

Pokemon Go hit New Zealand just prior to the winter school holiday break of 2016. The weather was surprisingly good and all of a sudden parents found that children were actually KEEN to GO OUTDOORS! Hubby and I were away in Australia with our three daughters, and found our phones suddenly turn into Pokemon Go hunting devices.

We didn’t really mind, as it was actually a nice change to not have the temptation to check our phones for Facebook and Instagram updates. We weren’t even able to take photos and videos, but had to look at everything through our actual eyes (unless we begged our children to take a photo). We found ourselves holding hands as we walked along looking at the view (as well as minding that our children didn’t walk in front of anyone, into anything or across a road without looking!).

Since returning to New Zealand I’ve been busy home educating my youngest, aged 6 (and having my ten year old pretty much at home permanently, as anxiety has made school attendance seem like climbing Everest). My oldest daughter is happy at school, but happier still when a Pokemon is hiding out in one of her classrooms!

The youngest has quickly learned how to read large numbers, she talks in thousands, hundreds, tens and units like a maths pro. She talks of ‘evolving’ species (of Pokemon) and knows the geographic layout of Wellington so well she would make a great taxi driver (if she was old enough to drive). She walks up and down hills like a mountaineer (she doesn’t think to ask for a drink or stop to mention her legs are tired, or that she’s hungry, when there’s Pokemon Go hunting to do).

I haven’t really a clue what all this Pokemon hunting is about – though I’ve met people of ALL ages doing it. It’s more of a spontaneous conversation opener than walking with a dog! My children spout off CP values and the names of various Pokemon. They tell me when there’s a rare one nearby and ask me to ‘Pull over Mum!’ when there’s a Pokemon stop or a ‘Gym’ they want to ‘take down’ (see how quickly I’m grasping this new lingo!).

I’m becoming accustomed to anyone of my three daughters, at anytime, saying, ‘Can we go for  walk?’. My 13 year old, normally catching up on sleep on a Saturday morning, was up like a bird and asking if I’d like to take the dog for a walk with her… because she was close to hatching an egg, she just had to walk a couple of kilometres! So, on a beautiful Saturday morning we took a stroll around the block and captured this beauty hanging over Lyall Bay.

When her egg did hatch she wasn’t very impressed with the character she got, but at least she earned some ‘Pokemon candy’ to help evolve her existing Pokemon (but, as Miss 10 informs me, you have to have the right candy for the relevant Pokemon).

I’m simply happy that my children are more enthusiastic than usual to get out and enjoy the beautiful scenery that I adore so much!

But I shouldn’t really be surprised that Pokemon is getting everyone moving, as this article reveals; ‘Pokemon Go is Secretly the Best Exercise App Out There‘!

I’ve had to buy a battery pack to charge my phone on the go (as having Pokemon Go open burns down the battery on my phone fast). I have friends that message me only when they are ‘on Wifi’ as their children have used up all their available data on their phones. My children are happy when we are nose to tail in traffic going through central Wellington, as it means we are driving under 20 km per hour – so they can hatch eggs!

I have to admit, I’m getting quite into this latest fad – even if I’m simply the walking companion and phone owner (sorry, Pokemon Go hunting device owner, aka PGHD). If my 10 or 13 year old happen to read this post they’ll no doubt cringe with embarrassment!

How about you, have you had a go? ‘Gotta catch ’em all!’ … (and yes, we’ve been watching all the episodes on Netflix… favs are ‘Pokemon: Indigo League’ (preferred by Miss 10 and 13) and ‘Pokemon: XY’ (Miss 6). My 10 year old informs me they are great for learning about different elements and how they react to one another (science learning, tick!). In fact, a quick Google search, ‘How Pokemon can teach kids about science‘ comes up with some great resources!

Science Learning Links:

How to make a Pokemon Catapult – This fun Pokemon catapult is a great way for children to learn about the effect of angle and force on how a projectile flies through the air. They are super easy and quick to make with lots of opportunities for further investigation.

Pokemon Go – Lesson ideas for the science classroom – by Fizzics Education

Art Learning Links:

How to draw Pokemon characters, step by step by Dragoart

Design and print your own pokemon card

Other links:

The Official Pokemon Website

Related articles across the web

• New Zealand’s Pokemon populations revealed in Statistics New Zealand study
• This is New Zealand’s Pokemon capital
• Pokemon Go: Full list of Pokemon available to catch, including region-exclusives and details on Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres

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