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I've got a 5 yo (and a 3 yo)... These resources seem to be for older children. Any recommendation for young kids? I've had good success with constructing things

I've got a 5 yo (and a 3 yo)... These resources seem to be for older children. Any recommendation for young kids? I've had good success with constructing things (legos etc).

blowski 5y ago
Cubetto from https://www.primotoys.com/ https://www.primotoys.com/ was really good for us because there’s no screen.
gman83 5y ago
https://arcade.makecode.com/ https://arcade.makecode.com/
dashwehacct 5y ago
Two options that I’ve come across are codemonkey and mit’s scratch. They don’t go too far into the complexities of coding but do appear to bring things down to a level practical for young children.
marttt 5y ago
Turtle Logo in Forth: http://mathscitech.org/articles/turtle-logo-forth http://mathscitech.org/articles/turtle-logo-forth
Mezzie 5y ago
Since they like Lego, could you get them into Roblox or Minecraft? MC you can teach them some basic comp sci/computer/tech things using red stone, and there's a peaceful option if you/your kids aren't into fighting in the game. I haven't used Roblox personally. Another option is if you play games at all, introduce your kids to mods. At that age, I played video games with my dad/watched him and doing things like silly graphics mod replacements (turn Mario's sprite into the poop emoji!) help instill the concept that tech is built out of systems and components that you can change to get the results you want. It's just that since they're 3 and 5, what they want is likely to be quite silly.
adrianomartins 5y ago
Wow, awesome suggestions in this subthread. Yes, definitely Lego (imho) is a sure way to get your kids to deepen the thought process involved in playing. I remembered many times as a kid when I had to get creative because I wanted to build something different or simply just because I was missing a specific kind of part. Awesome times.
PebblesRox 5y ago
While I've done a bit of Scratch with the 5yo on my lap providing creative input, at this age I mostly prefer screen-free activities that teach programming/computing concepts. A few things we've done are Exploding Dots Machines [0] and stories about functions and boolean logic. [1] Peter Rowlett tweeted about a little sorting algorithm activity he did with his 6yo, which I've been meaning to try. [2] Another idea I want to do sometime is a "Robot Mommy" game where the kids give me instructions and I interpret them super-literally (kind of like those "how to make a PBJ" games). I can see this one going in a lot of different directions, but I'm thinking to start by being a human Logo turtle and let them control my steps and turns. I'm always on the look-out for more of this kind of thing, if anyone has any suggestions or recommendation! [0] https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/07/14/exploding-dots-machine-binary-for-preschoolers/ https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/07/14/exploding-d... [1] https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/05/08/pickle-and-the-boolean-logic-baby-gate/ https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/05/08/pickle-and-... [2] https://twitter.com/peterrowlett/status/1479857933202739209 https://twitter.com/peterrowlett/status/1479857933202739209
ree-san 5y ago
Scratch jr on the iPad is ok for a 5 year old and the 3 year old may enjoy watching on - perhaps watch a really short tutorial together (or to see what to do yourself, then show them)

I've got a 5 yo (and a 3 yo)... These resources seem to be for older children. Any recommendation for young kids? I've had good success with constructing things (legos etc).

blowski 5y ago

Cubetto from https://www.primotoys.com/ https://www.primotoys.com/ was really good for us because there’s no screen.

gman83 5y ago

https://arcade.makecode.com/ https://arcade.makecode.com/

dashwehacct 5y ago

Two options that I’ve come across are codemonkey and mit’s scratch. They don’t go too far into the complexities of coding but do appear to bring things down to a level practical for young children.

marttt 5y ago

Turtle Logo in Forth: http://mathscitech.org/articles/turtle-logo-forth http://mathscitech.org/articles/turtle-logo-forth

Mezzie 5y ago

Since they like Lego, could you get them into Roblox or Minecraft? MC you can teach them some basic comp sci/computer/tech things using red stone, and there's a peaceful option if you/your kids aren't into fighting in the game. I haven't used Roblox personally. Another option is if you play games at all, introduce your kids to mods. At that age, I played video games with my dad/watched him and doing things like silly graphics mod replacements (turn Mario's sprite into the poop emoji!) help instill the concept that tech is built out of systems and components that you can change to get the results you want. It's just that since they're 3 and 5, what they want is likely to be quite silly.

adrianomartins 5y ago

Wow, awesome suggestions in this subthread. Yes, definitely Lego (imho) is a sure way to get your kids to deepen the thought process involved in playing. I remembered many times as a kid when I had to get creative because I wanted to build something different or simply just because I was missing a specific kind of part. Awesome times.

PebblesRox 5y ago

While I've done a bit of Scratch with the 5yo on my lap providing creative input, at this age I mostly prefer screen-free activities that teach programming/computing concepts. A few things we've done are Exploding Dots Machines [0] and stories about functions and boolean logic. [1] Peter Rowlett tweeted about a little sorting algorithm activity he did with his 6yo, which I've been meaning to try. [2] Another idea I want to do sometime is a "Robot Mommy" game where the kids give me instructions and I interpret them super-literally (kind of like those "how to make a PBJ" games). I can see this one going in a lot of different directions, but I'm thinking to start by being a human Logo turtle and let them control my steps and turns. I'm always on the look-out for more of this kind of thing, if anyone has any suggestions or recommendation! [0] https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/07/14/exploding-dots-machine-binary-for-preschoolers/ https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/07/14/exploding-d... [1] https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/05/08/pickle-and-the-boolean-logic-baby-gate/ https://bancosparenting.wordpress.com/2021/05/08/pickle-and-... [2] https://twitter.com/peterrowlett/status/1479857933202739209 https://twitter.com/peterrowlett/status/1479857933202739209

ree-san 5y ago

Scratch jr on the iPad is ok for a 5 year old and the 3 year old may enjoy watching on - perhaps watch a really short tutorial together (or to see what to do yourself, then show them)