
Ask HN: Best way(s) to teach 5-12 year olds how to code - davidwparker
Hello HN!<p>I&#x27;ve been tasked to help teach my nephews and niece with learning how to code.<p>So far, I&#x27;ve looked into www.code.org, https:&#x2F;&#x2F;kano.me&#x2F;, http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.robotturtles.com&#x2F;, and https:&#x2F;&#x2F;scratch.mit.edu&#x2F;.<p>What are some other good resources that I can use to work with the kids? I&#x27;m open to all suggestions- online, offline, free, OSS, paid, subscription, etc.<p>Thanks!
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taylodl
First question: do _they_ want to learn to code, because if they do then they
already have something in mind that they'd like to be able to do. That'll go a
long way in determining where to start. Not to mention that an approach useful
for a 5 year old may not be so great for a 12 year old.

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davidwparker
The 9-year-old definitely wants to learn. He's played with Scratch a good bit
so far, and really enjoys it.

The 6-year-old basically wants to do whatever the 9-year-old is doing.
However, his attention span isn't as large, so it has to be easier tasks.

As to the others, I'm not 100% certain.

I'll be sure to ask both what they'd like to make- but I'm pretty sure the
answer to both is "games".

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taylodl
If Scratch is going well and your 9-year-old is enjoying it, then I'd stick
with it. You've already won half the battle. I just searched for 'using
scratch for games' that returned a lot of interesting results. This is one of
the results that looks like kids would find interesting:
[http://www.programmingbasics.org/en/downloads/scratchgames/](http://www.programmingbasics.org/en/downloads/scratchgames/)

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davidwparker
Great, thanks @taylodl!

