No matter what a child wants to do in the future, coding can help build essential life skills. Skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, mathematics… All these are helpful in any career.
Apart from these skills, kids will learn how to make mistakes and how to correct them. They will not be afraid of failure because they know that each loss can become a learning experience to do better the next time. Coding teaches perseverance – something that a lot of adults today struggle with.
But that’s not the only thing that kids can learn from coding! Here are seven more reasons why a child should learn how to code.
Coding allows kids to explore their creativity.
Through coding, kids will get to use their imagination and develop creative ways of applying it. All ideas are encouraged in coding, and it is the teacher’s role to guide the kids while creating their codes.
Beginners usually start with block coding to create simple animations and games. Scratch coding is a popular interface used for teaching coding to kids. It involves a drag-and-drop system with labeled blocks for movement, sound, and appearance. The kids have the creative freedom to decide how their characters look, sound, and move.
Coding makes math learning fun.
Who knew that learning a difficult subject such as mathematics could be a fun experience? Thanks to coding that is exactly what it can be! Many people assume that to become a good programmer, you must have exceptional math skills. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
A lot of programmers develop their math skills through coding. Because coding uses some basic math applications, kids can enhance their math skills while having fun. For example, even building simple blocks when coding helps enhance kids’ knowledge of numbers, arithmetic, and geometry.
Coding helps kids develop problem-solving skills.
Learning how to code is straightforward, but it also comes with challenges. Sometimes, a code will not work in the way it is supposed to function. Other times, the program that was created will suddenly encounter bugs and errors while running. Often, these problems can be fixed by tweaking the original code or creating a new code to help run an error-free program.
Through this process, kids will learn how to solve problems that they encounter with their code. They will also begin to understand how problems can be solved as long as they keep investigating what went wrong and persevere through any challenges with the code that they may encounter.
Coding is a practical learning experience.
A lot of children learn by example. For example, they learn how to talk by imitating their speech patterns and how to walk by seeing adults walking around them. But the best way that kids learn is by doing these things themselves.
When learning how to code, kids will apply theoretical coding knowledge to practical projects. The advantage of practical learning is that kids can learn how to do things on their own and how to fix the mistakes they created.
Learning how to code comes with trial and error, especially for beginners. What’s important is that kids understand their mistakes and find ways to solve them. Teachers or adults who are tasked with supervising a child who is learning how to code must always be supportive and encouraging. Through coding, kids can understand that it is okay to make a mistake because that is a good way to learn.
Coding is future-proof.
Coding is the language of the digital world. Without it, no one will get to enjoy video games, websites, or social media platforms. Moreover, coding is widely recognized as a future-proof skill – something that will be around for decades, if not centuries. That is why many educational institutions are now incorporating coding into their curriculum.
In a lot of ways, coding is a gateway to an illustrious career in the tech industry. And even if these children prefer to go a different route when they get older, they will still have the valuable skills they have learned from coding.
Coding is fun!
One of the best things about coding? All the fun that kids will have! Imagine teaching a child a technical skill that can be used in the future while allowing them to have fun and enjoy each learning session. Sounds impressive, right?
Coding is one of the best educational activities that a child can enjoy. Kids can get creative and build things out of their imagination. They will learn how to fix the codes they created if their output isn’t as expected. With each successful project, kids get to enhance their coding skills and sharpen their problem-solving minds.
Coding is for all ages.
Last but not least, coding is for everyone! Regardless of how young (or how old) a person is, coding requires zero experience before beginning. The primary focus of coding is how to build simple programs from scratch.
Like most other things, previous experience with programming languages can help speed up simple tasks. But for beginners and young learners, coding can easily be learned without prior experience.
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