
I Am Teaching My First Grader to Code and You Should Too - wenzihn
https://medium.com/institutional-diversity/i-am-teaching-my-first-grader-to-code-and-you-should-too-eabab251de5#.pabo79jw6
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knz
There are board games that teach similar concepts.

I've played Robot Turtles
([http://www.robotturtles.com/](http://www.robotturtles.com/)) with my 5 year
old at a friends place and they all appeared to enjoy it. I'm not sold on
whether it's teaching "programming" any more than any sequence toy/game
does...

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colorincorrect
imo at this age, computational thinking is more important learning how to
code. computational thinking can be trained in a non-coding context (like
math)

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erroneousfunk
Exactly. And there are lots of things that are more important than learning
how to code at ages 6, and before (and, heck, after). How about exposure to
different (human) languages? Appreciating and creating art. The scientific
process, and evaluating hypotheses. Reading. Cooking. Fire safety. So many
things!

I've used Scratch, through volunteering in the engineering department at my
local science museum. It's okay, although I'm not convinced it will turn 6
year olds into brilliant programmers later in life, any more than "creating
things" in any other context would.

I don't know. I'm divided. Sentiments like "I'm teaching my <very young child>
to code and you should too" leave a bad taste in my mouth, though.

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dozzie
Why should I teach _your_ first grader programming?

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vishalzone2002
+1 :)

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acedinlowball
I have a 4 year old son that I have started teaching how to code. He is
picking up on it very quick. My wife and I are very proud. :)

