7 Resources to Teach Your Kid to Code {Guest Post}
Guest Post By Holly Clark
Teaching your kids coding is an excellent idea because it helps them discover the digital world from an early age. More importantly, they focus on the positive side of this modern technology instead of the negative and passive aspects of it. However, most parents are unfamiliar with coding, so they have to rely on various resources to teach their children coding. You also need to use materials that appeal to children even if you are familiar with coding.
Here are 7 resources to teach your kid to code.
- Daisy the Dinosaur
Hopscotch Technologies developed this application. They came up with another app known as Hopscotch that also focuses on helping people understand how to code. However, this one is suitable for use by kids. In fact, children as young as four years old can use it. It will teach them coding in a fun and exciting way.
For example, it has a drag and drop interface that the kids can use to animate the primary character in the app. Children can learn to grasp the objects, loops, events, and sequences to solve the challenges that the app has for them. It also has a downloadable kit that the children can use to create their game after completing this one.
- CodaKid
CodaKid is an online coding academy for kids. It teaches to create Minecraft mods, apps, and games using professional tools and programming languages. More specifically, children learn to use Unreal Blueprints, JavaScript, Lua, and Java. CodaKid is suitable for kids as young as seven years old. It started in 2016 in the United States. Today, CodaKid is available in 15 countries having taught coding to more than 10,000 students.
Don’t leave coding until high school. It should be taught early, as coding can be the key to today and tomorrow’s job markets. As well as this, there are cross-curricular links: to math, statistics, and data analysis, and coding will hone problem-solving skills. In short, according to David Dodge, the CEO of Codakid, learning coding early will facilitate a broader readiness for other subjects as diverse as geometry and trigonometry, and it will make you kids eminently more employable.
- Kids Ruby
The developers of this app made it so that they can teach children Rub Code. The kids can view their code, run it, and then see the output that it delivers. Currently, it is available in Swedish, Japanese, French, Spanish, and English. That makes it suitable for children who come from different cultural backgrounds or kids who aspire to learn different languages. This downloadable program is also ideal for you because you can create and submit lessons for your child.
- Made with Google
This application deals with gender disparity in the STEM industry. For instance, did you know that women constitute 43% of the US labor force in the STEM-related fields? Google made this app to appeal to young girls to ignite their interest in the STEM industry. You can opt for this application if you have a young girl living in your house. She might be the next Katherine Johnson. Johnson received the 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. This award was for her work as a mathematician, space scientist, and pioneering physicist.
- Raspberry Pi
This resource has an exciting name that appeals to children immediately. Fortunately, the features that it has would keep them interested in it. For example, your kids would use it through a small credit-card size computer. They plug a mouse and keyboard into it, and then they hook it to a TV monitor. Assembling this resource is exciting. The coding is entertaining as well. The Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity in the UK, created it so that kids can learn about coding in a fun way.
- Code.org
This application comes from a non-profit organization known as Code.org. The principal objective of this organization is to encourage female and minority children to participate in coding. It appeals to other kids as well because it provides incredible tools and tutorials for programming. Currently, Code.org provides a curriculum for K-12 computer science classes in the US. It also has an Hour of Code program that engages millions of students worldwide.
- Robot Turtles
This application helps children solve problems so that they can learn to code. For example, they can break problems into little ones. Then they can take several steps to address them. They have to think ahead and look for patterns. Another step is fixing bugs once they find these problems. This program is excellent for preschool learners. Even three-year-old children can enjoy this game. Ten-year-olds can use it as well.
Other resources that are useful for teaching kids coding include Hopscotch, Hackety Hack, and Sphero among others. Start with one of them and then change it if your child prefers another one. Only go with a resource that makes your kid comfortable so that your kid develops a love for coding.
