Coding - Should Kids Learn?

Sorry for the absence!  If you have been following my Facebook and / or Instagram, you probably would have known that June was jam packed with activities.  Both planned and unplanned.

Now that D is officially following the national school curriculum (terms and school breaks), June became the month of no-spelling-no-tests-no-exams-no-show-and-tell.  Like many, June suddenly meant fun!

And we started it right with a trial at First Code Academy.  Frankly, I have zero idea of coding, except maybe that vague impression of binary code which I studied previously.

I have since learnt more about coding.  So what is coding?  Simply put, it is telling the computers to perform certain tasks.  We see it the moment our hands touch the apps on the phone, while we scroll through the browser and using computer software.  

To me, learning coding is learning a skill.  Whatever we do these days, we cannot escape from coding.  Look at Facebook, or maybe that app on the iPad that helps with the ordering of your food.  Even that software the school uses to teach the students the subjects is built by codes.

Glad to meet Ms. Michelle Sun, CEO and cofounder of First Code Academy, an education startup that teaches coding to kids from 6 and above.  A very young lady, she received the BBC 30 Under 30 Women Entrepreneurs in 2015, apart from the many international and regional accolades.

Launched in 2013, First Code Academy conducts coding classes both in Hong Kong and Singapore and has since taught over 2500 students with projects-based, small group learning environments.

While we were there, we were shown the different types of things coding can do.  And one of them is definitely the Virtual Reality.

For D who is 7 years old, the kickstart program for learning coding is the ScratchJr.  Developed by Massachusetts Institue of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and Lifelong Kindergarten group, this very popular Scratch programming language appeals to young children.  

The many "instant gratification" these days often lead me to wonder how to ensure the boys do not have the mindset of "I-want-it-now" and I think learning coding might be one of the ways.

It sorts of teaches them patience, focus, and more importantly, the joy and satisfaction of achieving something after they complete their own app.  It also makes them think as it often involves logical thinking and problem solving.

A short clip of what D did with ScratchJr.  I quite like the fact that he thought about putting the animals near the musical instruments such that it looks as if the animals are playing the instruments (in this clip, it only shows his first attempt with one animal and one instrument).

Will I enrol D in a coding class?  Why not?  But I believe it has to be a long-term commitment and I feel that this is the type of enrichment we, as parents, of the very academically-driven society should look into.

If you are interested to know more about coding in First Code Academy, they are having a First Code Academy Info Session.  Register for the free session here!

Disclosure:  We were invited to a session at First Code Academy.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photographs, unless otherwise stated, and opinions are true to my own.

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