This is the first of a blog series titled How to Be a Coder.
There is a conversation happening right now that we at Big Green Chair would like to be a part of. That conversation centers around the idea that teaching children to code should now be a part of the general curriculum. Some are even encouraging us to expand our definition of literacy to include at least a basic level of a programming language such as html.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfiw511eAB8
We have not in the past set programming into our official curriculum, but just because of the atmosphere in our home, especially with David being a programmer and sometimes working from home, our boys have taken a natural interest. As they have grown and matured, we have watched and studied them and how they interact with computers and we are now beginning to consider teaching them to code in a more systematic manner. If the video produced by code.org intrigued you, watch the full length version here. It’s worth it just to hear Mark Zuckerberg say the word humbling.
In upcoming posts we will be sharing more about resources we have used and ideas that we are exploring. As with much of the learning that happens in our homeschool, though, it all begins and ends with play. Our next post will share two resources that encourage code play – in toddlers!