Class two 11.5.15 Teaching Python to kids adventure.

The second class went well. We got through basic flow control, comparison operators, boolean operators (and or not) operators.
I think the kids are more responsive with the hands on. Make them write a script I have written up on the board, debug it (if needed) then mess around with its attributes to learn more on how it works.
We wrote several short scripts, and changed the attributes in the strings and arguments to get different results. We have gone over the input command should do it again in another class.
I like the idea of them writing out a script. It is good practice so I will have several every class. More or less snippets so they can fall back on when writing their game project.

I am constantly mentioning the game. letting them kind of build the idea in their head and think how they can implement the new programming technique into their story design.

Like always I would love ideas on what children would want to learn. What you have seen them enjoy the most. Feedback is great.

Teaching Python to kids under 13.
Okay so my wife is big in the whole home school scene. We have 3 children and two of them are being home schooled by her the third being too small still. They are quite impressive when compared to other children going through public schools. Not only academically but also how they conduct themselves. I couldn't be happier with them.
So my wife asks if I wanted to teach a programming class for the kids and I say sure. Thinking it would just be a small class with mostly my daughters friends. But turns out that we had a very big interest in the idea.
I've taught a free 'trial' class (to test the response of children and parents) and two beginning classes. We are getting asked to start another beginning class on a separate day for a different lot of kids wanting to join.
I am glad to see it taking off and that so many young kids are wanting to learn.
The basics of python is very simple to pick up, but mostly it takes practice to master. Everything makes sense in theory, but when you sit down and start writing all the little snippets that you generally collect going through a programming is when it really starts to sink in. This is the important part of learning, the hands on.
I could stand and lecture to them all day about programming and they will most likely retain nothing but a few key words they remember hearing.

That is why I want to do this with a quick lecture the first third of the time I have. Lets say on else if statements. I would have them write a code with an else if statement on the second third. I will then walk through every step of what is happening in the back ground of the code they just wrote and we watch it work on the final third. Keeping this structure through out the month.

The struggles I see is their proficiency with the computer. Not the understanding of the code.


The first class we did was ideally getting python 3 installed, learning IDLE and the interpreter.
For now they need to understand the software and how to bring up the IDLE program and then the text editor associated with the IDLE program. We will learn the programming one step at a time.

At the end of the class we started on strings. Left them with a short script that they could alter and play around with. Kids are real quick at picking up technical stuff. Maybe I should have left them with a madlib sort of script.

This blog is going to help me mutate this teaching into something worth while for the children and also rewarding. I understand that kids don't see the same way I would as I think webscraping is rewarding. These kids don't have normal news sites they like to read, or weekly torrents to get. They don't need to automate daily tasks. Writing to a document and parsing test is fun for me but what about children?

I thought I could start with a text adventure as a goal. So I will teach everything we will need to know in order to complete this game easily.

I start my "other" class tonight.