Ask HN: How can I get my children excited about programming?

Re:Ask HN: How can I get my children excited about programming? by HelloFellowDevs on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @11:59AM (#18016340)

Make programming simple and fun. Scratch is a great gateway for younger kids >10. It'll allow them to see the cause and effects of adding different 'blocks' of code. The Scratch website also offers opportunities to remix previously made games. After 10, possibly introduce 'proper' programming and maybe create a small project together. The older they get the more ideas they may want to pursue on their own. It's best to make programming rewarding but not taxing at an early age, so they don't get frustrated and quit.

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Re:Ask HN: How can I get my children excited about programming? by markdoubleyou on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @12:20PM (#18016567)

I just started my 6 year old on ScratchJr (simplified Scratch for Kindergarteners), using an old Android tablet. I was reluctant to give him more screen time, so we do it after dinner when we'd normally let him wind down and watch a TV show. We give him a choice between TV and ScratchJr every night, and he picks ScratchJr every time ("Scratch is better, I can control it").

We sit down together and do one or two structured activities from the "Offical ScratchJr Book", and then I let him go solo for a little while (he usually tweaks the scripts from the book to do silly things). It's a pretty limited environment compared to full-blown Scratch, but he's got a ways to go before he outgrows it--he's got the motion blocks down pat, but still hasn't absorbed the idea that scripts can send messages to each other to coordinate events.

https://www.amazon.com/Official-ScratchJr-Book-Help-Learn/dp...

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Re:Ask HN: How can I get my children excited about programming? by ronilan on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @12:32PM (#18016695)

> Make programming simple and fun.

Indeed.

And I second that Scratch, which is great on many levels, is especially good as a starting point.

I have three kids (12,11,8) who started at 6+- and still enjoy it extensively.

I made BlockLike.js (https://www.blocklike.org) to make them progress, and it worked pretty good.

> The older they get the more ideas they may want to pursue on their own.

Indeed again.

The older one played with BlockLike, and then went exploring on his own.

He gets ideas from YouTube and just try’s them out. Landed here on the top of the front page with some cellular automata a couple of weeks back.

He is off to trying Python now...

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Re:Ask HN: How can I get my children excited about programming? by nickjj on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @12:04PM (#18016381)

As an aside, Scratch is also really good for teaching adults how to program.

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Re:Ask HN: How can I get my children excited about programming? by hmahncke on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @12:15PM (#18016516)

Scratch is fantastic, and has an amazingly supportive community. My (middle-school) daughter has spent tons of time making Scratch programs with groups of people she's met on Scratch, and it's been a really positive experience.

She and I worked her way through: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1305075196/

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