I have a 7 years old son and I want to gear him up to codiing, he is doing stuff in "scratch" but I want him to be a good programmer someday. Please let me know what specific skills should I teach him and how will I further make him interested in coding.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
Top comments (3)
Scratch is one of the best places to start!
I have been teaching kids aged 7-12 programming for around three years now. I recommend sticking with primarily block-based programming for the next two years (until his literacy and computer skills improve). I would say the most important thing is to develop a sense of RESILIENCE - to work through tough problems - and a thirst for problem solving.
My most successful students are ones that are creative and independent thinkers with a willingness to try new things. Kids who are easily frustrated and are used to instant gratification have a rough start. They are learning a new way of thinking, after all.
Beyond these, being computer-literate is a must, and being a good algorithmic thinker - but these can be learned with time.
The Scratch community is amazing, and there are ample resources available! The best projects and experiences kids have had are ones where they've been able to freely express themselves (with some guidance).
Hey Kaloy,
It's great to hear that your son is interested in tech at such young age.
First and foremost I would say that it's important to lay a great foundation for him to build on. IMHO, there are three important supportive skills here: Basic computer knowledge, mathematics and English language. Math is a knowledge that every programmer requires and English purely because most of the online programming communities are English language. What comes to computer skills, understanding on basic level how computers operate, what are the parts and how they work together, how to troubleshoot problems and so on are crucial. I recommend Linux OS from beginning, as it provides superior environment for developers and good command of it will help him a lot in the future. However, if you're using MacBook, it's good for programming and development as well.
What comes in making him more interested in coding, I would say to start from HTML & CSS. While I know that most of the programmers don't consider these programming languages, immediate visual feedback can maybe provide more reward to a youngster than terminal output. For an actual programming language, Python is a great choice as it is one of the easiest to pick up with it's easy syntax, debugging and one of the biggest online communities. This provides some easy wins with less frustration and more motivation to continue.
If you can afford it, look into some relevant courses for children. Teachers there have a lot of experience how to keep young minds engaged. If you want to teach and guide him yourself, make sure to pick up some programming understanding yourself. He will be coming to you with many questions. Get to know how to stack overflow and similar online forums to find solutions for issues to assist him.
If this already seems like a lot, it's because it is, especially for someone his age. But get those key skills there and make a rewarding plan and Im sure he will grow to become a great programmer.
I am trying to get my nephew interested in programming. i am currently priming him with puzzles now 😆. He is so intelligent and really good with puzzles. So proud of my boy 😍.