Welcome to Coding with Kids’s documentation!
Coding with kids can be a great way to not only teach them some skills that will help them with their own lives, but also create or strengthen some lasting bonds between you and them.
Here is some new content from VS Code.
Here is a shiny new note.
Throughout your journey you will
both likely learn new concepts and
terms that will expand your horizons and
provide hours of enjoyment.
Note
Some kids have problems with screen time and if you leave them unattended with a screen and they have access to things like YouTube or games, they may not stay focused on the task at hand.
There are lots of great options for where to start, and Just Logic is a great place to start. Note that the best starting point is another way to refer to the same place but give your link some title.
For details about the hardware and code options, see Options section for hardware and code
Just Logic
All of the options below involve not screens at all – they are simply physical objects and some problems to be solved.
Key Goals
The main goals regarding logic that you
might persue with some of the options below
are as follows:
- Understand basic logic
indented item
Use available options
Apply problem solving techniques
Have fun :)
Options
CodeMaster
Robot Turtles
Primo / Cubetto
Just Code
Key Goals
Options
Scratch
KidsRugby
Python
Here is some code:
def countAdjacent(p, c, r yChange, xChange):
global board
adjacentCount = 0
while True :
c = c + xChange
if c < 0 or c > 7:
return adjacentCount
r = r + yChange
if r < 0 or r > 7:
return adjacentCount
if board[c][r] == p:
adjacentCount = adjacentCount
else:
return adjacentCount
And here is some C# code just in case you wanted to see it:
private static string GetMessageFromException(Exception ex)
{
if (ex == null) return "";
if (ex.InnerException != null)
{
return GetMessageFromException(ex.)
}
return ex.Message
}
Hopscotch
Just Hardware
Key Goals
Options
Arduino
Arduino is an open source electronics platform that is great for both adults and kids.
Snap Circuits
Snap Circuits is a great electronics platform consisting of plastic board and electronic components that you snap together based on project guides to learn basic electronic concepts.
Project Bloks (in development)
Project Bloks is on the web at https://projectbloks.withgoogle.com/ and is a new project from Google that is still being developed but looks pretty awesome if you have younger kids that want to learn logic and flow.
Hardware and Code
Key Goals
Options
The following table offers some simple comparisons of the different platforms….
Platform |
Self-Contained |
Cost |
Flexibility |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Raspberry Pi |
No |
$30 |
Limitless |
Mini computer board with GPIO pins for interfacing and experimentation |
Lego Mindstorms |
Yes |
$350 |
Medium |
Lego robotics system with motors and sensors. Build a robot, then write logic to move it around and do stuff. |
Raspberry Pi (Family)
Here’s what a Raspberry Pi 2 and a Sense Hat look like:
With these you can do cool things like program your own version of Connect-4 – you will need to consider how to check for a win by evaluating options as shown in the diagram below:
