The child needs to be able to do basic things: turn on the computer, run applications and programs, use the Internet and browsers, Microsoft Office and simple graphics programs like Paint. Possess a computer at an initial level. If you have it, you can learn to program, if not, you need to learn the basics.
It will be difficult to learn, it is better to understand it right away. Difficult, because explaining something to a child is harder than to an adult. A parent will need patience, perseverance and restraint.
The parent needs to determine in advance the goal: what should the child be able to do after learning this or that stage of programming? This will help you focus on the essentials and filter out unnecessary things. For example, you need your child to be able to use a computer at an advanced level. This means he needs to understand how the Web works and master Scratch, but he doesn't need programming languages like C ++.
If the goal is to captivate the child with the profession of a programmer, then a curriculum must be developed. To understand how to do it, you can watch educational videos on YouTube with large views, and give your child information in a similar way - clearly and simply. You can go to the websites of companies that teach adults and children and see how their materials are built. An example of a company is Khan Academy.
The child will need English to understand basic terms and read texts. Advanced knowledge of the language is not required, but if the child does not know anything at all, you will have to send him to the courses.
A good plan: first teach the child to build simple algorithms, then teach basic English concepts, then move on to programming.
Educational games
There are games that teach programming, and some of them even teach you how to write code. The game needs to be taken according to the age of the child: some are suitable for 6-year-olds and older, and some can be offered to children from 2 years of age.
- Kodable. This game is for the little ones. You do not need to read anything in it, all the tips are made graphically: the child goes through simple quests and learns the correct sequence of actions, which will then be useful to compose programs. The game is free.
- Lightbot is made for smartphones and tablets. The essence of the game: give the little robot the right commands so that it lights up the lights in the right places. To do this, the child needs to design the path of the robot, and the parent needs to explain what the pictures mean. The game teaches you to make simple algorithms, designed for children 4-6 years old. But there is a complicated version for those over 9 years old. Paid game: from 169 to 229 rubles.
- Robozzle is suitable for younger students and older children. The child will need to complete the task and make an algorithm for the movement of the arrow along the puzzle. This is an interesting puzzle game that is good for practice and repetition, not for learning new knowledge. The game is free.
- The Cargo-Bot is designed for preschoolers and older children. It is simple to learn, there is little text in it - for the first tasks it will be enough for the child to understand individual letters. In the game, you need to move boxes from place to place in the minimum number of moves. There are simple combinations, and there are complex ones that even adults will not be easy to solve.
- CodeMonkey. The game is structured clearly and simply: the child will control a monkey that needs to be brought to a banana. Each level tells about the possibilities of programming, and in order to move on to the next, you will have to actually apply the knowledge gained in the previous level. Commands here must be selected using icons, and the sequence of actions must be written using lines - almost like real code.
Tools and constructors
You don't need to start with programming languages. First, the child must understand what algorithms are used to create the program, and there are special tools for this:
- Scratch is a learning environment suitable for both very young and over 10 years old. Programs are made here using blocks describing actions. Using Scratch, a child can create an animation or a simple game, and he will see the result immediately. Scratch has two versions: for very small ones - Scratchjr, and for iOS.
- Alice is a free and open source learning environment. Here, the child will also be able to make animation, video, or develop simple programs. Alice helps you master the basic object-oriented programming.
- StarLogo TNG is software that can be used to create educational games to explain complex things in clear language. The result will be in simulator or model format. StarLogo TNG is more useful for a parent to build learning in an accessible way.
- Snap! - this is a more complex version of Scratch: here you can create blocks yourself. But it works and looks like Snap! more difficult, therefore it is not suitable for the smallest.
- Gamefroot is a block-based code editor, and you can build more complex algorithms with it than with Scratch. Suitable when the same Scratch child has already mastered it well.
- Code.org is a site for educational games. They are of different levels, but built so that the child learns to find the easiest and most profitable way to achieve the goal. The site's material is divided into age groups, there is both English and Russian content.
- "PiktoMir" is a Russian development that teaches children to program. There are no blocks in it, there are pictograms. The resource is cross-platform, which means that it is suitable for very old versions of iOS and Android.
Designers help to apply skills in practice, they can also interest the child in robotics. Suitable for training:
- Arduino - These toys teach a child to program microcircuits, and work with Scratch.
- The Raspberry PI is a small, single-board Linux computer: Arduino compatible and Python-ready, so your child will understand how adults program.
- Lego. With it, you can also program your constructor, like with Arduino. But kids over 6 may not be very interested because Lego is not compatible with either Arduino or Raspberry PI.
Programming languages
There are many programming languages, the child does not need to master everything, only the basic ones are useful: Java, Processing and Python. Children's programming language, Scratch, he should already know.
The book by Yakov Fine "Programming for Children, Parents, Grandparents" will help you to learn Java. The book of 2011, the author, Yakov Fine, is a Java Champion programmer. The book is written for absolute beginners in programming, its format is a practical textbook, the topics are presented in a lightweight manner. Suitable for children from 11 years old.
You need to start with Java, because this language is less error-prone than the same C ++, has graphics support by default, is suitable for all platforms, and is popular in web programming. Again, Java teaches discipline.
Processing is a Java-based and compatible language. Lightweight and fast, it is designed for programming interfaces, animations and images. It is used by designers, artists, students. Processing is designed to teach you the basics of programming in a visual context.
Python is a more complex language and is used to build applications, games, and websites. Its code consists of English words and symbols, and programs in it can be very different.
Practice
In order for the child to better remember the knowledge gained, it is necessary that he more often apply it in practice. And the practice is like this:
- Write more codes. The more a child writes them, the more his general skill will grow, even if at first he will make a lot of mistakes.
- Read articles, websites and books on programming, study other people's codes. So the child learns the tricks, which he himself would have reached for years.
- Improve what is. When a child comes across a good program, it will be great if he thinks about what techniques and ideas he can take for himself. There is nothing wrong with that: even the best programmers do it. True, they also improve other people's ideas.
- Teach others. If a child starts teaching a friend, explains how this or that code works, he will check his knowledge and possibly come up with something new.
