Coding is a fun multidisciplinary activity for kids, that actively stimulates the mind. Coding for kids is being included into curricula and extracurricular activity programs by educational institutions, governments, schools, and recreational centers worldwide. Why?
Because they are aware that learning to code is a valuable talent for children and that it will be indispensable in the job market in the future. Hence, coding is the language of the future.
Besides, our interactions with technology will grow as it becomes more integrated into our daily lives, which will raise the need for tech-savvy workers. Therefore, every endeavor has an impact on the fundamentals of contemporary education.
Parents today want their little kids to learn the basics of technology. Therefore, they opt for some computer or programming classes for their children after choosing the first ptogrmming language for them.
We’ve compiled a short list of the important aspects that cover the importance of coding for first graders:
1. Logical Thinking
Thinking logically is not an easy task. Decomposition, or breaking things down into their simplest parts so that we may grasp how they connect in much simpler terms, is the essential element of logical thinking. Every coding assignment necessitates breaking the work down into smaller components that are also helpful in developing leadership skills in kids.
For example, what must a robot accomplish to serve as an alarm? What needs to be scheduled? It must produce sound, preferably with some flashing lights, and it must do so for a predetermined amount of time, loudness, etc.
Thus, we must program each of these in a logical order. As a result, kids gradually understand that even straightforward orders and activities require many “clauses” and smaller tasks to be completed before proceeding. This holds true for almost all of life’s somewhat more difficult tasks, not just coding.
So, this perspective will help first graders easily solve any hardships if they encounter one in the future.
2. Creativity
Another way to describe creativity is the capacity to devise original answers for problems that are new to oneself. By alternating between the focused and diffuse modes, one can train this dimension. The ideal activity to train this is coding.
Kids can also explore their own creative hobbies through coding, including design, music, visual art, aural art, and more. After the youngsters finish their coding projects, they are still addicted to the wonderful sense of creating something original and new.
3. Structural Thinking
In structural thinking, one can create and construct something larger from smaller components. Or, on the other hand, recognizes patterns in larger items based on the components they are comprised of. It’s an essential ability for any engineering or creative career, and coding strongly promotes it.
Modular modeling, which is the process of creating larger objects out of smaller physical components like bricks, is frequently used in coding projects or exercises. This helps first graders easily understand the concept.
Thus, coding, whether it be text-based or completely visual, is all about figuring out what function each element can perform and what role it can play within the larger picture.
4. Math Skills
One of the other advantages of coding for children is math, which gives many students nightmares. Most of them also think that if they’re not good at arithmetic, it must be because they don’t have the necessary skills.
This is unfortunate because it’s more likely that they were never adequately taught the logical concepts at the foundation of mathematics and how they apply them to a larger range of situations in everyday life. As a result, arithmetic appears overly complex, unappealing, and occasionally even dull.
Young programmers don’t necessarily need to be math whizz kids to start coding; rather, they will pick up the arithmetic concepts as they go along, or perhaps more accurately, as they code.
Through coding, kids may engage with and see the abstract concepts that underpin math, such as decomposition, conditioning, sequencing, and equations, rather than just viewing them as strange, foreign numbers on a piece of paper.
5. Programming Games and Storytelling
Yes, writing programs is necessary for coding at a certain level. But ever wonder what code really is? It’s a language, and what is produced when language pieces are assembled logically and sequentially? A story.
In essence, coding is the process of narrating a tale using actual items and the technology that enables them. There must be an introduction, a plot twist, and a resolution.
At Khired Kids, our classes are frequently organized like games and fun-based activities through different programming courses for kids. Because these make sense to children at that age, instructing them over small functions not only makes teaching lessons easier for them, but it also helps them develop the ability to create and explore games of their own.
6. Practicing Core Soft Skills
Soft skills that coding improves include the following:
- Organization (figuring out what needs to be done and all that is required for it, setting up the sequence, assigning roles, etc.)
- Focus (not letting go until a gripping task is solved)
- Communication (discussing what one intends to do with either other kids, teacher, or parent; explaining a problem when it occurs, working at a common solution together, and presenting one’s creation once it’s done)
- Listening (when one’s own skills fail, input from others is required).
The importance of these abilities in daily life and other fields is evident. Furthermore, learning them is made easier when one is not even aware that they are being learned.
All they require is an older, more experienced person (like a parent) to mentor them through their initial steps and provide guidance as needed to learn new essential skills.
Final Thoughts
There are many advantages to teaching kids to code, and as we just proved, these benefits extend to you as parents as well, if you assist your children in exploring the world of code and programming. It would be proud to pass on creativity, pleasure, and interaction!
It is time to teach your children to code. Thus, enabling them to learn while having fun and encouraging them to use technology in novel ways.