Learning coding at an early age is not uncommon these days. Many parents are considering smart moves for their children from an early age. Apart from that, some of the best CBSE schools are working towards helping their students develop better computational skills.
Though coding is a critical process, the journey of making children smart starts from the preschool stages. Because having strong analytical and problem-solving skills is required for anyone to become a good programmer. If you do not invest in this at an early stage, your kid will be left behind in the race.
On the other hand, if you follow the proper process of making them smart through the usage of technology, and introducing them to useful learning applications, they will definitely grow into smart individuals.
In the 21st century, the world is changing rapidly. This era is going through a technological revolution. From gaming to AI to Blockchain, technology is standing tall in all sectors of industry and all segments of life. Being born in this era, no one can avoid technology.
And how can you become the creator or inventor in this tech-motivated world? By learning how to code. This is something that is getting increasingly popular among young talents. Coding is everywhere! With the advancement of technology, we see some amazing utilization of computer algorithms.
Basics You Should Know Before Learning Coding
Before diving into the world of coding, one must understand the basics. Programming is a complex field of computer education that requires patience, hard work, and a strong foundation in terms of the fundamentals.
It is a skill that is becoming increasingly popular among young talents, and it is crucial to have a thorough understanding of the basics before starting.
Why is pre-programming important for students?
The young generation can dive into coding easily, but it is not an easy task to follow throughout.
Well, don't worry!
You are not alone in this mess. Many parents want their children to grow smart and learn coding. However, they do not understand that some preparation goes into making a kid ready to learn and understand the world of programming. A preschool student can not start learning core coding and become an efficient programmer. This is not possible!
However, they can understand the basics of coding, logical problem-solving, conditional logic, etc.
Here, we will delve into the basics that a child should know before learning coding and how to lay the foundation for success in this field.
1. Build a Strong Foundation
A computer or Laptop should be the best friend of the kid. While using a computer is important the kid should also build an understanding of the various hardware components that together form the computer system.
Also, the child should be introduced to the concept of the operating system, how a computer is just hardware that we access through an operating system. The operating system defines the rules and foundation of more software to be built on top of it.
Let your kid play games on a computer but make him/her think about how programmers and game developers write code to make that game. So that your child starts thinking about that.
2. Familiarize them with the Internet
Talk to your child about the websites and the different mobile applications they use were built from scratch all by writing code.
How the internet works, and how the home modem/router transmits wifi signals that your computer uses to connect to the Internet. And on the Internet how different websites are available.
3. Logical Thinking
To be a good coder, one has to have good logical thinking developed through practice. For a kid, you can help them pick simple problems so that they can work on their logical thinking.
You can also indulge them in board games or computer games to help them solve logical problems.
4. Play Coding Games
There are so many interesting mobile games that can help your child start learning coding by solving simple visual problems and understanding how writing logical algorithms can solve problems.
Visual problem-solving is a great way to engage young kids and make them learn new things too. Games with drag-and-drop interface to learn programming concepts in a playful manner.
5. Problem Solving
Make your child solve simple problems. It can be mathematical problems, science questions, or any other general analytical problem. Make them solve it so that they develop a basic problem-solving attitude.
They should learn how to break down big problems into small problems because that is what you do in programming.
6. Robotics and Toys
There are so many toys available these days that can introduce your kid to robotics. There are many toolkit-based games where a kid has to connect everything and make it work. Such games not only push the child's thinking ability but also develop patience, etc.
There are some games where children can even program the robot to make it work.
7. Mentor and parental guidance
Proper guidance is very important because while getting introduced to all this, a child can be confused and may have a lot of questions, hence you must be there to explain everything and help them learn about this new concept.
Some schools are also taking all these initiatives, so you can also get your child into such a school. You should look for the right school admission for your child and give them a great start and access to technology.
8. Creative Projects
At last, make them do some creative projects so that they develop the ability to think creatively. The project can be anything, writing a simple story or a poem, making a digital painting, or writing logical steps to solve a simple problem, etc.
Conclusion
Follow all the steps but don't force them on the child. The process has to be a natural progression, where the child enjoys whatever they are learning and investing their time in. All the best!