{"id":12101,"date":"2021-12-23T08:18:53","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T08:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/?p=12101"},"modified":"2022-10-13T20:49:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-13T20:49:49","slug":"how-to-explain-coding-to-your-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/how-to-explain-coding-to-your-child\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Explain Coding to Your Child"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Explain Coding to Your Child<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fundamentals of coding aren\u2019t complex no matter how intimidating they seem. Coding can easily be interpreted to teach kids about computer science and software development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start simple when you&#8217;re talking to your child about the world of coding. Explain to them that coding is a way of laying out instructions for a computer in a language that the computer can understand. Just like how people communicate to one another using a common language, coders have learned how to communicate information and specific directions to a computer to make things happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many ways to introduce your child to coding using toys, tutorials, or in-person and online coding courses, but no matter what you choose, remember that it&#8217;s always best to start with the most basic <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/most-common-computer-languages\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">programming languages<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and concepts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Should Kids Learn Coding?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding how computers work is a foundational building block for many career paths in life. When kids are introduced to it from a young age, awareness of how coding works can empower them to learn and adapt to new technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even students who don\u2019t pursue a software development or computer programming career in their adult life can benefit from the transferable skills one learns through coding activities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kids who code can:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Develop strong problem-solving skills<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Develop logical thinking skills<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engage creativity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explore imaginative free play<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excel in STEM studies<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Can My Child Learn Coding?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coding resources are abundant. Many schools offer programs for kids as early as kindergarten, and there are countless coding camps for kids in grade 2 and up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enrollment in courses and camps makes it easier for kids to experience challenging coding activities in a structured environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your child has the opportunity to explore coding at school, they may be interested in taking what they learn to the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What can kids learn to code?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/camps\/games\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coding games<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for kids make it possible to learn the basics in visual programming, video game design, website development, robotics, and more. There are even activities that help kids learn programming in order to build their own computer!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once they get the hang of coding and understand what they can do, kids love to share their games and animations with others on social media and in online communities. These communities can help coders see what\u2019s possible and spark creativity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Online tutorials and immersive camps make it possible to explore a wide range of opportunities. Start by introducing your kid to the fundamentals of coding, and allow them to learn different levels of coding and script-writing that suit their interests.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Is the Best Way for My Child to Learn Coding?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many resources available to help kids learn about the basics of coding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For toddlers and elementary students, there are many hands-on toys and coding apps that introduce computer science concepts. Activities like Code-a-pillar, Miko 3, and Sphero Sprk make it possible to integrate coding concepts into ordinary play, and promise to make learning fun.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coding classes for children as young as age five introduce code blocks and related variables, loops, conditionals, and if\/then logic needed to program games and activities. Courses and activities vary with age and experience, but whether your child would benefit from one-on-one instruction or a group setting to be with peers, there are many ways to help them foster the critical thinking skills needed for advanced coding challenges.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some popular camps cover:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Scratch: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A visual, entry-level coding language that primes kids for more challenging languages such as Python, C++, and Java. This is a good place to start if your child is interested in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/camps\/games\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">video game development<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or app creation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Minecraft:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This popular coding platform gives young learners and older kids a glimpse into a virtual world, and allows them the opportunity to learn and code in a social and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/camps\/minecraft\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">collaborative environment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Robotics:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Students can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/camps\/robocode\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">build their own robots<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and adapt custom code to make their robots work. Many programs even conclude with a competition to allow students to show off their coding skills!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Different Coding Languages for Children<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are over 700 different coding languages used by computer programmers and software developers around the world. Different languages serve different purposes and are used for a wide range of applications, but all exist to provide instructions to a computer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beginners, including children, are encouraged to start with drag-and-drop visual block programming options like Tynker and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/scratch-coding-for-kids\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scratch<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This approach teaches fundamental concepts that demonstrate how a coder can control cause-and-effect with simple changes without even typing or applying complex syntax. Block programming makes it easier to understand the significance of programming loops and sequences, and debugging. It\u2019s a great starting point!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From there, young programmers might express interest in coding for different purposes. Maybe they\u2019re interested in making an app for their smartphone, or want to take <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/video-game-coding-for-kids\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">video game coding classes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in an immersive environment. Coding challenges can flex to satisfy many curiosities, so once your child understands the basics, you can easily encourage them to continue applying what they know through other coding languages including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/teaching-javascript-to-kids\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JavaScript<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/camps\/python\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Python<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HTML<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CSS<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With experience brings competency and confidence in learning new languages and algorithms. If you teach kids the fundamental skills at a young age, they can continue to build on that knowledge and apply coding to new and different applications as their interests grow.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find a Coding Class Near You<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TheCoderSchool makes it easy for school-aged kids of all skill levels to learn about coding. With locations across the United States and flexible courses, including virtual learning, in-person classes, or private one-on-one lessons, we work hard to provide foundational coding skills and challenge kids as they grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/locations\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find a class near you<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and get in touch with us today to learn more about our camps and programs.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Explain Coding to Your Child The fundamentals of coding aren\u2019t complex no matter how intimidating they seem. Coding can easily be interpreted to teach kids about computer science and software development.\u00a0 Start simple when you&#8217;re talking to your child about the world of coding. Explain to them that coding is a way of &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/how-to-explain-coding-to-your-child\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to Explain Coding to Your Child&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[68,61],"class_list":["post-12101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coder-blog","tag-advice-for-parents","tag-education","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12101"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12103,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions\/12103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecoderschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}