With so many booming industries these days – cbd hemp flower, technology, diet schemes, and more, it is best to teach your kids things they could use when they get older.
One creative activity that your kid may enjoy while learning is programming. The idea is to choose the processes suited for their age, such as playing with codes, website design, music programming, or creating games.
The common misconception about learning codes is that you must be good at math to learn it easily. You can learn it even when you are a kid with little knowledge about technology or even math. This makes programming easier to teach kids than adults – their young minds still don’t know how challenging it is to learn to code.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a pro or not. You can support your kid’s interest in programming by following these techniques:
1. Start with games
You can use books as references to demonstrate the coding concepts of basic game projects, such as Hangman and Tic Tac Toe. Do not give them complicated projects in the beginning. You wouldn’t want them to feel overwhelmed when they are only starting to grasp how coding works. And besides, putting together a complicated game will require many heads, including artists and developers. So let your kids learn through a simple project and guide them in finishing it before introducing a more complicated task.
2. One computer per kid
Coding must be a hands-on process. It will be easier for a child to practice what you are teaching if you allow them to use one PC without having anyone to share it with. A starter kit with bare-bones, such as the Raspberry Pi, will work well in this case. It only costs about $70, and you will only need to add a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. You need a computer system that can run Python smoothly. Using tablets, iPads, or Chromebooks for the task is not advisable.
3. Allow your kids to experience the process
No matter how good you are in programming, always remember that your role here is to teach. The kid won’t learn if you keep showing off your expertise or hog using the computer mouse or keyboard. Let them do things at their own pace. You can point to them what they need to click or tell them what to type but never jump in to do these tasks for them. You have to be patient even when they are taking slower to finish typing codes. They will get better faster if they have experienced the processes involved hands-on.
Final Thoughts
Aside from teaching coding to kids, your goal is to make them appreciate the process. You will find many free websites that help you to teach your kids how to code step-by-step. Do not go too fast in briefing them about the computer science behind the concept. Let them enjoy first and find their passion. Once they’ve become experts in the basics, they’d get more eager to explore the more difficult tasks involved in coding.