Coding is one of the best creative activities for kids. There are many benefits of kids learning to code. Your child might not be a fan of maths yet, but he/she would enjoy creating games, music, or design a website.
If you are wondering how to teach kids about coding, you have come to the right place.
You do not need to be an IT Professional to teach your kids to code. In this blog post, I want to give you 7 tips for teaching kids to code at home or school.
7 Tips For Teaching Kids To Code
#1 Inspire kids to learn to code
For younger kids, use popular games and characters as examples to inspire kids to learn to code. Show them how they can interact with the characters with code.
For example, my 10-year-old is a huge fan of Minecraft, I started by encouraging him to create Minecraft characters at first, and now creating mini-games and setting up his Minecraft world.
For older kids examples to show them what they can achieve through coding. You can consider using automation projects or mobile apps development.
Always start small, stimulate their interest, and build confidence.
#2 Learn to code alongside kids
If you are technically trained, it is easy for you. All you need to do is to answer questions. But bear in mind that, give your kids the chance to figure out solutions by themselves.
If you know nothing about coding, that’s ok. In fact, it is a good chance for you to learn to code alongside your kid.
You need to be a week or a few days ahead of kids. Try to understand the lesson before them.
There are 2 basic concepts you need to understand: Loop and Conditionals. These are the two basic concepts of coding that often confused new coders.
Loop is continuously executing a command while a condition is valid.
Conditionals are if-then-else statements. It executes a command when a condition is met.
#3 Choose the right coding programs for your kids to get started with
Scratch
Scratch is a project by MIT. It is a free, web-based platform that you can program interactive stories, games, and animations.
Scratch features a blocked-based visual programming language, it is most suitable for younger kids up to 13 years old to learn to code.
The blocked-based programming language works particularly well for young kids. It helps to build children’s logical thinking and stimulates their creativity without worrying about syntax errors.
Besides, children can share their work with people from all over the world.
Python
For older kids who are ready to explore more than blocks or building more complicated programs, it is time to move on to a “real” programming language.
Python is my recommended coding language for a few reasons:
- Incredibly simple syntax (syntax is like English grammar). It is beginner-friendly for adults and kids alike.
- Python code is easy to read.
- There is a huge community of developers.
So if Scratch can’t satisfy the need of the growing coding, Python programming is the best next step.
#4 Introduce the actual code to them, not just the concept
Computer programming is a hands-on activity. You might have read books or watched 100s of video lessons, you can’t master the skill without the actual coding practice.
The best way for kids to learn coding is by writing the code. Ideally, parents would want to code alongside their kids. In reality, it is not always possible.
Fortunately, online coding platforms like Scratch, Pythonfiddle.com, Online Python Shell, or Code.org make source codes of the shared projects available to the public.
Encourage the young coders to make changes to the source code and verify the effect of their changes. This is one of the most effective ways to learn a new programming language.
#5 Games are the best coding projects for kids
Games are more than just fun, it could be a great educational tool.
Many young coders are inspired by video games. Games like Tic Tac Toe, Hangman, or mini-games on Minecraft are easy and fun to create.
Some of the kids’ favorite games are created by a team of professionals. They are not suitable for new coders to recreate.
Make sure to look for simple game ideas for kids to code. Small successes build inspired and creative coders.
One of the excellent examples is the Flappy Bird project by Code.org. The project allows kids to design and code the controls, reactions, and game flows. It is a great learning idea.
#6 Give your kids space and time to learn to code
How often do you take over the keyboard or mouse from a kid or student? Please stop. Even if it was for a second, please do not do that.
Coding is a hands-on and trial-and-error activity. It is important to give kids time to figure out any problems they encounter.
Offer them guidance and direction, but leave the action to them. By solving problems by themselves, children learn faster and are more confident in moving forward.
#7 Make sure each kid has his own device, or at least an allocated device time
This point is for families or classes with more than 1 kid. Ideally, each kid or student should have his/her own computer to learn to code.
Tablets and phones are adequate for younger kids to learn block-based programming, a computer is still the best choice to write code.
If sharing a computer is the only option available, make sure to set rules and allocate a fixed time for each kid.
7 tips for teaching kids to code – Closing Words
There are many benefits for kids to learn coding. Coding improves kids’ creativity, problem solve skills, and collaboration, etc.
Our aim is not to make them a software developer. We want them to enjoy the benefits of learning to code.
Regardless of the strategy you use to teach coding, make sure it is fun. What else is better than learning and having fun at the same time?
Are you looking for free coding lessons for your kids or students? Make sure to check out my blog post on Best Free Coding Lessons For Kids.