4 Reasons Why Coding is Important for Children

Today’s youth will be tomorrow’s problem-solvers, innovators, and decision-makers. At MPL, we believe that all children should have the opportunity to learn code. Coding is a fundamental literacy in today’s world that will benefit children in any career path they may choose.

Here are 4 reasons why coding is important for young minds:

CODING FOSTERS COLLABORATION
Classrooms and other in-person environments, like the Library, bring kids together for face-to-face collaboration. Children learning coding online can also grow by virtually meeting to collaborate with all kinds of peers, all joined by a common interest in technology, to solve problems and create coding projects together. 

CODING DEEPENS PROBLEM SOLVING AND CRITICAL THINKING
Learning to code teaches children how to think outside the box. When children code, they take complex problems and break them down into smaller parts. They learn what it’s like to approach a problem the way a software engineer does, with logical, computational thinking. 

CODING EXPANDS CREATIVITY
Computer coding empowers children to not only consume digital media and technology, but to create it. It not only gives them room to flex their creativity but also equips them with the tools to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems in innovative ways. 

CODING BUILDS CONFIDENCE
When a child gets their code to work there is no greater feeling of accomplishment. Children gain confidence in themselves, which in turn motivates them to want to continue coding and to work harder to succeed throughout all aspects of their lives.

Here are some coding resources to help get your child coding today!

Younger Kids

Think & Learn Code-a-pillar 3+

Help Code-a-pillar™ meander through obstacles to reach his target by creating a path for him to follow using the included drag and drop command segments. 

Daisy the Dinosaur 4+

This free, fun app has an easy drag & drop interface that kids of all ages can use to animate Daisy while learning the coding basics of objects, sequencing, loops and events.

LEGO Bits & Bricks 4+

Introduces children to block coding as they code Bit, an adventurous LEGO robot, through various mazes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMdx3ozvUT4

OzoTown 5+

Lets children build Basic-to-Master OzoBlockly programming skills (following lines, intersections, and more)–all with a virtual Ozobot.

The Foos: Hour of Code 5+ 

Story-based coding game has kids play through increasingly challenging levels.

Tynker: Hour of Code 5+

Use either the website or app to let your kids learn coding logic through games.

Kodable: Hour of Code 6+

Solid beginner game that introduces coding concepts and has lots of parent resources.

ScratchJr. 6+

Kids drag and drop blocks of code, snap them together, and watch them work.

Older Kids

Scratch 8+

After creating scripts through coding blocks, kids can share their creations online.

Hopscotch 10+

Appealing interface draws in older kids who can share creations with an online community.

Lightbot: Hour of Code 10+

By meeting programming goals, kids unlock new levels and learn more advanced concepts.

Vidcode 10+

Learners can upload photos, illustrations, videos and audio - and manipulate them with code to connect computer programming to the media they interact with every day.

Apple Swift Playgrounds 12+

Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps.