A challenge in teaching kids is to find a motivating story * and to use a programming language which is appropriate for the age of the kids.
Especially for lower grade kids, debugging is a huge problem and needs to be supported.
Eventually a starting phase with 'scratch', see scratch.mit.edu could be an idea. Avoids the challenges of text based languages and gives a quick win-feeling. They have also a huge community with zillions of examples. And put some effort into keeping content appropriate for kids.
And kids learn best with other kids. Look for weekend events or holiday events like 'programming for kids' in your town.
* Side story: some year ago we had a family day in the company where parents brought in their kids and showed what mom/dad are doing all day long. I had prepared a small scratch sample on my desk for kids. Which was medium interesting till the kids found out that the hidden buttons below the table move the table up and down. Which was the highlight of the day from that moment on.
Especially for lower grade kids, debugging is a huge problem and needs to be supported.
Eventually a starting phase with 'scratch', see scratch.mit.edu could be an idea. Avoids the challenges of text based languages and gives a quick win-feeling. They have also a huge community with zillions of examples. And put some effort into keeping content appropriate for kids.
And kids learn best with other kids. Look for weekend events or holiday events like 'programming for kids' in your town.
* Side story: some year ago we had a family day in the company where parents brought in their kids and showed what mom/dad are doing all day long. I had prepared a small scratch sample on my desk for kids. Which was medium interesting till the kids found out that the hidden buttons below the table move the table up and down. Which was the highlight of the day from that moment on.
Statistics: Posted by ghp — Fri Jul 26, 2024 2:44 pm