Children’s intellectual growth is dependent on their ability to play games. The child’s environment and activities should foster additional cognitive and language development as they get older.
If your child is growing fast and you’re stuck there thinking what indoor games you can probably give your child, this is the sign. Coding games are the best to introduce your kids to computer programming.
Coding game is one of the examples of Game-Based Learning. Game-based learning, especially with computer games, is a fantastic method to incorporate the joy of play into learning.
You might be thinking, “why would I use coding games to teach my child computer programming where in reality, it’s not all fun and games?’’
Let’s answer that. Here are the 4 reasons why we think coding games is the best way to teach kids computer programming:
1. Coding games are encouraging and captivating for kids
Learning is both fun and challenging. With that said, it is important to always feel that you love what you are doing. Coding games are the best way to teach your kids computer programming because it provides a way to capture your child’s interest to open them to learn in the world of programming. Compared to starting with “Hello, world!” – coding games have visual blocks and graphics every child would be encouraged to learn to.
2. Coding games are beginner friendly
As most coding games don’t require having a formal coding background, this makes it beginner-friendly. In Ballin Technology, we teach kids to learn coding by simply dragging and dropping puzzle blocks to represent complex programming constructs and commands. Kids could build interactive animations and mini-games without writing a single line of code thanks to this method, which lowered the threshold for experimenting with programmatic thinking. This simple approach eliminated the need to learn the syntax of a formal programming language, allowing younger students and teachers to understand the fundamentals of computer science.
Watch our One-Hour Code here and tell us your thoughts – Ballin Technology Frozen Coding Class with Niesha Butler
3. Coding games help build confidence
Another reason why coding games are the best way to teach your kids computer programming is because coding games allows them to create their own game by trial and error. In coding, you are the master and you control what the code does. This involves a problem-solution process. Coding lets you use your critical thinking skills, creativity skills, and decision-making skills. This makes the child feel motivated and helps him build his confidence and make games according to his vision.
4. Coding games foster complete independence and actual autonomy
Although coding games can be teacher-led, it can also be a student-centered one. In coding games, a mentor or a teacher starts with introducing the basics and then moves on to harder little by little to achieve the targeted goal. This is somehow like Lev Vygotsky’s concept of “Proximal development” where a child is guided with a “More Knowledgeable Other” until such time that the child can do it without help and gained actual autonomy. When the child reaches his independence, he will then explore things on his logical thoughts making decisions like constructing a game considering its background, characters to use, rules to set, and other things.