What is coding? You might have heard the word coding and thought of it as something needed to design a particular software or instructions that a computer follows.
Essentially, coding is a precise language (or code) used to perform a certain task. It requires attention to detail, as one mistake in a code can create a completely different outcome.
Follow this activity to learn some basic beginning coding that allows your child to track and pay close attention to detail. Read more to learn how it works, and the benefits it could bring to your child!
Benefits:
Promotes problem solving, tracking, focus, and mathematical thinking
Materials:
Paper, markers/crayons, plastic sheet protector, dry erase marker, printer (optional)
Instructions:
- Draw circles onto paper in even rows and columns, fill them in with different colors. Fill in another paper to look the same (or use a printer to make a copy of the sheet, if you have access to one).
- Place the colored circle sheets into sheet protectors. Use your dry erase marker to draw a line, connecting the dots, in any order, on one paper.
- Give your child the other paper and allow them to copy the same line, connecting the same circles, using the other paper.
Age/Difficulty Variations:
- For younger children (Ages 1-4), Try using a smaller paper and fewer circles. To make it less complex, use four circles, two on the top, two on the bottom, then create one line.
- For older children (Ages 5-Elementary) use more circles and a more complex graphing sequence. To add some fun, label the sheet as a type of dance move. For example, orange connected to purple then green could mean the robot dance. On another sheet, orange connected to purple then brown could be the sprinkler dance!
Let us know how this activity turns out! We hope you enjoyed your day 6 out of the 15 Days of Winter Break Activities series! Show us what you created by tagging us on social media!
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