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.
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...