Teach kids to code!
Many moms and dads desire their children to learn to code. Technology leaders and teachers are moving schools to add more computer-science classes, and families frequently see programming as an important ability for future years.But as opposed to reading to your children or educating them to count, planning kids to code can feel complicated and unpleasant. Quite a few parents believe they can’t help simply because they don’t know mathematics or programming on their own.
More and more, though, parents who haven't ever created a line of code are discovering ways to teach their children fundamental programming skills. Some tap websites, gaming apps or online puzzles using visual programming languages created for children. Others consider teaching the kind of thinking that coding needs. For example, even young kids can discover ways to break work into steps and complete them in order—a programming idea called sequencing—or to repeat a number of steps until a job is done, a concept known as loops.
Services That Help Kids Learn to Code
Some preferred websites, games and apps parents are applying to teach their kids coding concepts
"Hello Ruby"
Book, ages 5-7
A picture and activity book that introduces programming basics.
Code Monkey Island
Board game, ages 9 and up
Players guide monkeys around an island to reach
a banana grove, applying programming concepts to avoid hazards and
reach their goal.
PBSKids ScratchJr
App, ages 5-8
Kids use the ScratchJr visual programming language to make up stories and games featuring characters in PBS children's shows.
Lightbot
Online game, app, versions for ages 4-8 and 9+
Kids use icons to solve puzzles, directing a robot to light all the tiles in various mazes.
Move the Turtle
App, ages 5+
Kids program a colorful game starring a turtle.
The majority of the websites for the kids make coding simple enough for everyone. Although I’ve by no means created a line of code, Not long ago I took a free “Hour of Code” tutorial on Code.org and discover the concepts very easy to understand. Once I requested a video-game-loving family friend, 11-year-old Sebastian Richardson, to test it, he raced through the Hour of Code in 35 minutes. Within a short while of completing the lesson, he was having a good time programming his own basic games. By Sue Shellenbarger
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