Yes!!! Coding is an incredible way to integrate science and math and making it INCREDIBLY fun! Computer science is something that I think a lot of us think is boring or only for a certain type of person. Well I hope I can change your mind! Children can start to learn about coding in preschool and have it be fun! In this post I will be putting up some website and show you ways to adapt coding to each personality. Please check these out, they are amazing!
There are three sites I put on this blog. Before seeing these, I want to outline some ways to help different personalities enjoy this.
Helpers: clear instructions, able to work with groups or partners, share what they've done, praise, they like creating things, being able to help others.
Players: create games or contests, breaks to move, exploring on their own, share their work, make exciting projects, bright colors and music in projects, build, construct, tinker, have time to process.
Feelers: discussion, using imagination, working in groups or partners, cooperative games or competitive against self, using pictures and stories, advocate or mentor to others, show uniqueness.
Thinkers: investigation, resources and time to work alone, choose project subject, time to process, use computers and technology, explore, hypotheticals and testing out theories, building, find out why's.
CARROTS ARE ORANGE
This first link is to a blog at Carrots Are Orange. This is a great post about how to teach kids how to code. It shows ways to teach even as young as preschool.
"The learning is about the process, design, asking the right questions, critical thinking, problem solving, making decisions, and making iterations until you find success (and sometimes that mean starting over!). Learning to code is great but, as with most things, the process is what really makes an impact on our budding engineers."
Check out some of these awesome games to help and other links from
Carrots Are Orange.
"I recently discovered Dash & Dot Robots by Wonder Workshop. I am so impressed with this product, I can’t wait to see my boys interact with it (using the iPad). The versatility of this product is extraordinary. A child can program the robot to do what he wants. In other words, the child can choose how and what to play based on her interests. Dash & Dot are hands on and based in reality. Children can program it to be a part of their environment. That’s pretty cool. Dash & Dot applies to a wide range of developmental stages. The capabilities will match those of the child. {$$$$}
Sphero is an App Controlled Robotic Ball. Yes, you read correctly. Kids program a ball robot. Sphere offers free lessons to learn code, too, which always comes in handy. Sphero uses one of 25+ apps in its gaming. Children can choose how they want to program the Sphero in a mixed reality setting, unleashing imaginations. Works with a number of mobile platforms and is an open API, which means new and creative apps and games will be coming from gamers. {$$$}
Robot Turtles is a board game that teaches kids programing. Makes sense, right? Young children learn bast by beginning with concrete, hands on materials. Playing a board game is a hands on and concrete as you get (except maybe to actually be the turtles yourself!). My five year old is obsessed with this game. The child acts as the programmer telling the adult (the computer) where to move the turtle. The turtles goal is to get to the gem. You can set up the game as complicated or straightforward as possible with various obstacles along the way. The creators even found a cute way to integrate “bugs” into the programming. {$}
Osmo is another favorite in our home. Both my four and five year old cannot get enough of it. The technology is ridiculously cool using reflection and your iPad. Osmo encourages creative thinking and social interaction. It comes with three “games” including tangrams, words, and Newton (a drawing game). {$$}
My five year old looks forward to his Tinker Crate every month. Tinker Crate is a subscription based product. There are a variety of options for sign up in terms of pricing and length of time. Typically projects include hands on building like the Trebuchet and circuit builder. My son was also able to get his hands dirty by mixing up a concoction to make slime and a bouncy ball. The science is exciting and relevant to kids. You won’t be disappointed. {$}"
For More Teaching Code Ideas:
- Books on Tinkering with Kids
- Engineering Books for Kids
- How to Tinker with Kids
- Teaching Kids Computer Science
- Teaching Kids Computer Programming
SCRATCH
Another great site is Scratch. This is a great place for older (elementary even up to middle school) to start learning about coding and creating working programs.
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