Lockdown and social distancing are already stressful to the common human being. But what about those with children? By the end of the day you’re exhausted from your remote work but parenting is a full time job as well. You have to come up with fun activities, new games and learn every Disney’s Frozen song, but wouldn’t it be cool if you could share your interests with your kids? If you’re a programmer, you can choose several coding activities to do with your little ones that besides being incredibly fun, are great to develop their creativity, problem solving skills and improve persistence!
Here’s how you can get started:
Start with a book
Hello Ruby stars a curious red headed girl named Ruby with a passion for technology, computing and coding. It all started with a book now published in over 22 languages but you can find the Ruby+ app and Curriculum available on their website as well!
Their main goal is to make STEM education accessible, more approachable and diverse thanks to exceptional educational content.
Make it cute: Binary bracelets
If your kids have a good sense of style, binary bracelets might be ideal for them to get started in the computer world. Binary bracelets are a simple and cute exercise to demonstrate how it’s possible to take something that we know and translate it to a series of on and offs, even with a simple bracelet. This might take a little bit of practice and some materials but you’ll end up with a kid that knows how to:
– Encode letters into binary;
– Decode binary back to letters;
– Relate the idea of storing initials on a bracelet to the idea of storing information in a computer, and most importantly;
– Create really fashionable jewellery!
You can’t go wrong with Legos!
We can’t deny how iconic Lego is. A simple toy that lets our imagination fly high and still humbles us every time we step on one barefoot.
Teaching your kid how to code with Legos is simpler than it looks and you can keep increasing the level of difficulty without requiring too much material. Legos are perfect to create and recognise patterns and super easy to assemble.
Invest on an Activity Bundle
Investing a couple of bucks on an activity bundle with already prepared activities will also save you some time. Educational platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers offer exercise bundles created by education professionals and include all the instructions and tips you need.
Quick & Easy: Install an App
Kids these days are born with the aptitude to play around with any type of electronic device. So, if you want to avoid a mess around the house, installing an app works just fine! Codespark Academy is one of the best rated educational apps to get kids started on code, featuring an intuitive interface for kids who don’t even know how to read yet and carefully designed to increase engagement in girls and close the gender gap in STEM!
Have fun with your little ones!
