I’m often asked about coding with young learners. Is it appropriate? Is it too difficult? When done well, it is both appropriate and fun for young children to dive into the coding world.

Coding is a basic literacy in our digital age; and just like reading and writing, it is best to start early.  Our students are surrounded by digital devices, toys, and activities. Learning how they work not only enhances computational thinking, it strengthens other skills in reading and math, including spelling and sequencing. Additionally, coding requires students to think about thinking–these metacognitive processes really hone problem solving skills.

image from Pixabay.com

My kindergarten students loved working with Kodable on their iPad devices. You can read more about that here,  here, and here. I found that even students who gave up easily when confronted with a challenge, persevered when learning how to code. I saw a different kind of confidence in them and increased communication as they worked with other students to use logic to solve problems. Because there are so many variations to solving problems, creativity is also improved.

For students who can read, Apple has developed a comprehensive coding curriculum through Swift Playgrounds. Swift is easy to learn and students age 8 and up can quickly learn coding fundamentals. For younger students, ScratchJr, (ages 5-7) allows students to solve problems and design projects. Kodable has activities for ages 4-7 and another set of activities for ages 7-10. You can also check out CodeSpark Academy, (ages 5-9) and Code Monkey Jr  (ages PreK to K).

Lastly, check out the Hour of Code. It has a Pre-Reader Express activity that is great for young children to learn the basics of drag and drop and computer science. They are able to create a game or story at the end. There are also great submissions from others for the Hour of Code that are inspirational to see.

Just about every type of business today needs computer literate people. In addition to the many skills enhanced by coding, teaching children to code provides a competitive advantage in today’s digital society.