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My daughter (who just turned 4) seemed like she might like programming, so I started out having her "program" a stuffed walrus, by telling it whether to go forw

My daughter (who just turned 4) seemed like she might like programming, so I started out having her "program" a stuffed walrus, by telling it whether to go forward, backward, left, or right to get to a piece of food. Her natural inclination was to point to where it should go, so I first taught her that the walrus doesn't understand pointing or the word "here", just the directions. Then we started "programming each other" by telling each other where to go, and I introduced doing multiple steps at once (like "step forward 5 times"). My goal wasn't literally to teach her to program, but just to introduce that way of thinking, which is pretty different from how we normally think in day-to-day life. She was excited about it, so I got her the Osmo programming kit for iPad. You program a little monster walking around, using physical, scratch-style code blocks. She's been excited about programming the monster every day, and is able to (sometimes) do some short programs of a couple blocks. If she learns a bit more, my plan is to show her how to program a simple lego robot with scratch, like one that spins a flag when it sees something pink. I love that idea because with 2 lines of code you can make something really happen in the world, plus she'll be able to come up with new ideas for the robot on her own, and learn about the constraints, sensors, and eventually more basic programming logic.

lmilcin 6y ago
I bought this for my 4yo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlnP-8SczF0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlnP-8SczF0 Sorry the vid is in Polish but I think you can get the idea. It is a talking robot that does "missions" where you have to program it to go forward, backward or turn, take objects from the map, etc.
- rahimnathwani 6y ago
  You reminded me of a robot I had as a kid in the early eighties. It had some rubber keys on the top (similar texture to the rubber buttons on a Sinclair Spectrum, but smaller). You could program it with a sequence of moves (IIRC forward, turn right, turn left, pause). The robot you linked looks great, with the addition of the missions. But I'm not sure whether it's available in the US, so I ordered this one instead: https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Code-n-Learn-Kinderbot/dp/B07MFRD29W https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Code-n-Learn-Kinderbot/d...
sharadov 6y ago
The Osmo is cool, it's playful and feedback is great.
mathnmusic 6y ago
For my daughter (she's now 7), I followed this sequence: - Exact instructions challenge (from YouTube) - LightBot app on Android - Scratch with Harvey Mudd College's course on edX Snap! has some nice features but the community aspects of Scratch are so much better that she's happy building games there. Same as you, our goal was not to "learn programming", but just to have fun making things move with your ideas. Just creating rather than passively consuming something. Because this "coding for kids" mania seems to have gone overboard, I collected links to all the resources I used in the form of a "syllabus" here: https://learnawesome.org/items/1c96e03a-ffff-4579-b69a-0387b968b7c6-syllabus-scratch-programming-for-kids https://learnawesome.org/items/1c96e03a-ffff-4579-b69a-0387b...
- rahimnathwani 6y ago
  Is this the YouTube video you mention above? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDA3_5982h8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDA3_5982h8
  - mathnmusic 6y ago
    Yes. This is basically teaching how to give instructions to a robot that does exactly what you tell it to - nothing more and nothing less! Recipes are nothing but simple algorithms including branches and loops, may be even procedures.
eitland 6y ago
Somewhat related: At one point I introduced my kids to what I called the number-machine-game. It goes like this: I ask my kids to say a number, and then I do something to that number and tell them the answer. Their job is to figure out the calculation I do. Examples: - I add a number: they say 3, I say 8. They say 11, I say 16 - I multiply a number. - I multiply by something and add something else. - etc If you want to drive them nuts you can count the letters of the number, i.e. four = f o u r = 4, five = f i v e = also 4, ten = t e n = 3 etc :-D (I might have gotten the idea from HN, but the above is how I taught it.)
- rahimnathwani 6y ago
  I remember one day in primary school a teacher had us play a game where we had to propose things to take on vacation. People would call out a suggestion, and the teacher would say yes or no. The aim of the game was to figure out the rule. She said no to 'novel' and 'money', but yes to 'book' and 'currency'.
  - overlordalex 6y ago
    Spoiler: Is it the number of letters? That is, only an even-length string is permitted?
- overlordalex 6y ago
  I've used the same before, I believe also inspired by a similar HN comment. I was delighted to find that it's actually been developed into a complete game as well[1] However to add my 2c to the conversation how I introduced programming to my cousins and niblings was through baking! A recipe is just a program for a delicious outcome which helps a bit with motivation while also learning a related skill. [1] https://www.cinqmarsmedia.com/devilscalculator/ https://www.cinqmarsmedia.com/devilscalculator/
kfarr 6y ago
Love the idea! I'll try that with my 4yo daughter this week, I think she'd love to tell me what to do :P
koonsolo 6y ago
If you want the non-digital game for this: RoboRally https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18/roborally https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18/roborally It's actually pretty fun, even for grown-up coders ;)

lmilcin 6y ago

I bought this for my 4yo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlnP-8SczF0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlnP-8SczF0 Sorry the vid is in Polish but I think you can get the idea. It is a talking robot that does "missions" where you have to program it to go forward, backward or turn, take objects from the map, etc.

rahimnathwani 6y ago
You reminded me of a robot I had as a kid in the early eighties. It had some rubber keys on the top (similar texture to the rubber buttons on a Sinclair Spectrum, but smaller). You could program it with a sequence of moves (IIRC forward, turn right, turn left, pause). The robot you linked looks great, with the addition of the missions. But I'm not sure whether it's available in the US, so I ordered this one instead: https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Code-n-Learn-Kinderbot/dp/B07MFRD29W https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Code-n-Learn-Kinderbot/d...

sharadov 6y ago

The Osmo is cool, it's playful and feedback is great.

mathnmusic 6y ago

For my daughter (she's now 7), I followed this sequence: - Exact instructions challenge (from YouTube) - LightBot app on Android - Scratch with Harvey Mudd College's course on edX Snap! has some nice features but the community aspects of Scratch are so much better that she's happy building games there. Same as you, our goal was not to "learn programming", but just to have fun making things move with your ideas. Just creating rather than passively consuming something. Because this "coding for kids" mania seems to have gone overboard, I collected links to all the resources I used in the form of a "syllabus" here: https://learnawesome.org/items/1c96e03a-ffff-4579-b69a-0387b968b7c6-syllabus-scratch-programming-for-kids https://learnawesome.org/items/1c96e03a-ffff-4579-b69a-0387b...

rahimnathwani 6y ago
Is this the YouTube video you mention above? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDA3_5982h8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDA3_5982h8
- mathnmusic 6y ago
  Yes. This is basically teaching how to give instructions to a robot that does exactly what you tell it to - nothing more and nothing less! Recipes are nothing but simple algorithms including branches and loops, may be even procedures.

eitland 6y ago

Somewhat related: At one point I introduced my kids to what I called the number-machine-game. It goes like this: I ask my kids to say a number, and then I do something to that number and tell them the answer. Their job is to figure out the calculation I do. Examples: - I add a number: they say 3, I say 8. They say 11, I say 16 - I multiply a number. - I multiply by something and add something else. - etc If you want to drive them nuts you can count the letters of the number, i.e. four = f o u r = 4, five = f i v e = also 4, ten = t e n = 3 etc :-D (I might have gotten the idea from HN, but the above is how I taught it.)

rahimnathwani 6y ago
I remember one day in primary school a teacher had us play a game where we had to propose things to take on vacation. People would call out a suggestion, and the teacher would say yes or no. The aim of the game was to figure out the rule. She said no to 'novel' and 'money', but yes to 'book' and 'currency'.
- overlordalex 6y ago
  Spoiler: Is it the number of letters? That is, only an even-length string is permitted?
overlordalex 6y ago
I've used the same before, I believe also inspired by a similar HN comment. I was delighted to find that it's actually been developed into a complete game as well[1] However to add my 2c to the conversation how I introduced programming to my cousins and niblings was through baking! A recipe is just a program for a delicious outcome which helps a bit with motivation while also learning a related skill. [1] https://www.cinqmarsmedia.com/devilscalculator/ https://www.cinqmarsmedia.com/devilscalculator/

kfarr 6y ago

Love the idea! I'll try that with my 4yo daughter this week, I think she'd love to tell me what to do :P

koonsolo 6y ago

If you want the non-digital game for this: RoboRally https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18/roborally https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18/roborally It's actually pretty fun, even for grown-up coders ;)