What is a good programming language to start my Grade 1 son learning?

Question

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How to get kids into programming
Suggestions on starting a child programming.

Is there a really simple programming language that I can use to teach my 6 year old son concepts of programming, syntax and logic?

Answer 1

SmallTalk. It was created for educational use.

I have to agree that six years old sounds a bit young though... if they don't want to learn, don't try to force them.

Answer 2

Yes, there is Plain English Programming Language

Answer 3

Well, Python has very English like syntax that makes it relatively easy to pick up. Python IDLE works in a read-eval-loop mode, so you don't have to go through compiling or anything. You can type code in line-by-line and get instant feedback. It also has an interactive help mode. If he needed to know what some function does, and you weren't there to help him, he could just type help(someFunction)

There was a comment about how it can become confusing when you mix tabs and spaces in Python. In response to that comment, most editors have an option to automatically replace tabs with X spaces. In IDLE, it's as simple as Format->Toggle Tabs to make it so whenever you press the tab key, it inserts 8 spaces instead of a tab.

Labview is completely visual. It's mainly used to program robots. It's extremely logic oriented. However, there's quite a big price tag on it.

Answer 4

I think the framework is important too. Your kid should be able to create a game without too much ado. Python + pygame springs to mind.

Answer 5

I suggest python via Snake Wrangling for Kids:

“Snake Wrangling for Kids” is a printable electronic book, for children 8 years and older, who would like to learn computer programming. It covers the very basics of programming, and uses the Python 3 programming language to teach the concepts.

Answer 6

Take a look at Small Basic from Microsoft.

By providing a small and easy to learn programming language in a friendly and inviting development environment, Small Basic makes programming a breeze. Ideal for kids and adults alike, Small Basic helps beginners take the first step into the wonderful world of programming.

I think the quote sums it up, really! :)

Answer 7

Try Scratch.

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)

Answer 9

Logo. Designed specifically by Seymour Papert to teach children how to program how to deal with recursion etc. etc. all without using those words to put people of. Particularly when linked to turtle graphics to give a readily available and recognisable output and feedback.

Because it was designed to cover all the fundamentals in programming it does not necessarily major in anything, but the ides is to give the children all the core fundamentals.

Answer 10

Check out www.pythonturtle.com

Answer 11

I'm probably the only one here with this opinion, but I think 6 is too young to start a child on programming. Those years are critical for development of a whole host of skills including social skills that are not computer-related (that, indeed, may be antithetical to computer use) and intellectual ones that actually will contributed to computing skills later on (I'm talking about math and problem solving skills).

I've started introducing my kids to programming at the ages of 8 and 10, but I don't expect them to take a serious interest in it until their middle school years (starting at age 11/12). In general my kids spend much, much less time in front of a computer than their classmates. They both lead their classes academically and are well socially adjusted.

Answer 12

Personally I think Tcl is perfect as a beginning language, especially for young people. It has an interactive console for instant gratification, and tk is by far one of the easiest GUI toolkits on the planet. One or two lines of code to see a window on a screen. Just a couple lines of code to create a canvas and draw rudimentary shapes, etc.

I know many people don't like Tcl, but I think that's more out of ignorance than anything else. And I mean that in a good way -- if you don't understand Tcl but know more traditional languages, it's hard to see the beauty in such a simple yet powerful language. The whole definition of the language fits in a single man page, so it's easy to grasp the fundamentals.

Finally, as a teaching tool it lets you recreate just about any language construct you wish. You can not only show them for and while loops, you can create repeat/until loops, or anything other types of looping to emulate other languages.

Answer 13

I started learning programming in the hey-day of Pascal, a language which many would say is designed for learning. Here's a quote from Wikipedia:

Criticism

While very popular (although more so in the 1980s and early 1990s than now), implementations of Pascal which closely followed Wirth's initial definition of the language were widely criticized for being unsuitable for use outside of teaching.

Take that for what you will =)

Answer 14

turbo pascal? :) gwbasic? and nextly python :)

Answer 15

Guido van Robot is a logo like application that uses Python.