When teaching kids to code, is it mandatory to start with Scratch?
My son is in the fourth grade and loves Nintendo games, so I bought him a book called "How to Make Games." Is it too early for him to start with Python? Everyone around me says he should start with Scratch to build fundamental logic first.
He loves gaming, but when it comes to building things, he's surprisingly patient. So if he can type Korean fast enough, would it be okay to let him try text-based coding? I'd be curious to hear from people with teaching experience.
4 answers
If you like games, the motivation is no joke lol. Try it right away.
When my child was in 4th grade, they loved Nintendo, so I bought them Python pygame and a book. Even without any Scratch experience, they were thrilled to have made something like a 'Snake game' on the very first day. Of course, I did help them fix grammar typos on the side. More than typing speed, what really matters is whether they're intimidated by English words... but 4th grade is definitely old enough to give it a try. Even if you don't teach Scratch, they'll pick it up on their own when they need it later.
The whole "you have to start with Scratch" thing sounds like something only education vendors would say.
I don't know what book it is, but if it's Pygame, a fourth grader might find it hard to even follow along with the code on their own. If you'll be there to work through it with them, then go for it. Otherwise, even just spending about a month on Scratch to get the block concepts down can make the switch to text easier. But it's not a must. Since you mentioned the kid is patient, first check whether they're willing to try again after failing.