Learning ‘programming’ has become the need of the hour. Humans have made unbreakable bonds with the machines and learning to communicate with them has become one of the basic survival skills. With appropriate means, the stigma attached to the so-called highly unattainable skill, ‘programming’, has been removed, even the young kids get the opportunity!
It’s no surprise that parents emphasize the idea of their kids learn programming, with a recent poll revealing, at least 90 % of parents in the United States prefer ‘coding for kids to be included in the school curricula.
Now, who says coding can be boring? Have you ever pondered over your kid’s ability to stack up tiny Lego pieces and build them into gorgeous-looking things? The patience and the focus they develop unknowingly are quite unimaginable. Likewise, ‘learning to code can be an enjoyable and productive activity for children when they seek answers in their ways and surprise you every single day.
We recommend some effective ways to kick-start the process if you have no idea where, to begin with!
1. Introduce Kids to Scratch
MIT’s ‘Scratch’ is a free programming tool that runs in any modern Web browser and is designed for kids up to ten years of age.
Scratch is a visual programming language focused on enhancing creativity and logical thinking. Scratch offers visually appealing interfaces that might interest any kid! They explore the extremely user-friendly programming blocks and the massive collection of sprites and backdrops that help them create their favorite graphical characters. Their imaginations become interesting stories and challenging games.
Code blocks that do not make computational sense will not fit together in Scratch, thereby making syntax errors practically impossible. It is great for young kids who are not yet familiar with the keyboard and helps them bypass complicated spelling and typing.
2. Games and App Development
Regardless of age, there’s something common in every kid. Even though, virtual games replacing outdoor fun have become a sad reality, kids spending some screen time to harness their potential can’t be completely blamed! Creating games and playing them, make learning stress-free.
There are countless coding apps available for both the iOS and Android platforms that are super fun as they use games and interactive graphics to teach children the basic coding constructs such as loops, recursion, structural thinking, and decision making.
Coding for kids certainly sounds more like fun now! A useful tip to the parents would be to reinforce the fact that coding is not a genius-level activity that makes your child sweat. For starters, always use a visual-based coding language to help kids make their coding journey enjoyable. It helps them to visualize the algorithm they are using.
3. Include STEM activities in the learning process
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths, each discipline needs careful analysis and proper understanding. STEM projects outline the fact that we have moved past the point where each of these disciplines worked on its own. Outstanding projects are made with the perfect STEM recipes.
It is important to understand the science behind an observation, develop the right reasoning and questioning skills and perform continuous experimentations and evaluations. Doing STEM-based activities, take knowledge acquisition to another different level.
4. Find a Mentor
Seeing a programmer code or share his or her passion is a great way to get students excited. Find a programmer- friend or a programmer-colleague to meet and talk with your child. Proper guidance and a healthy interaction can assist your kid as he/she moves into hard and advanced coding.
It is often hard for young minds to understand and relate coding to their little world. They need to know how the small challenges they face on a day-to-day basis, can be effectively solved using a simple program. So, go ahead and find the right mentor!!
Summary
– Digitization has made it an absolute necessity to learn and practice programming
– Learning programming at a young age helps in the overall growth of children
– Self-discipline and improving organizing capabilities in children
– Choose the right mentor and the right platform
Do you want your kid to start learning how to code? Gain full access to ItsMyBot’s comprehensive lesson plans and course structures, by enrolling in a free trial!