Learn Coding without Computers

National Coding Week begins Sept. 14, so it’s a great time to teach your kids a little bit about coding. Of course there are all sorts of online resources to learn how to code, but it’s also fun, especially when kids are first starting to learn the concepts of coding, to work without a computer.

Concepts like pattern recognition and following step by step directions are essential in understanding the logic behind coding, and those things are easy to teach without a screen.

Carly and Adam has a good post about the first activities to introduce coding without a screen, including directional coding, retelling a story in sequence, and coding their own stories.

Little Bins for Little Hands has lots of great resources on coding for kids, including printable secret code worksheets that have kids follow instructions to make a drawing on a grid, and a collection of printable coding worksheets and other activities. Coding your name in binary is a classic.

Teach Your Kids Code is another great place to learn about coding for different ages of kids. A couple of fun examples are coding with a deck of cards and with magnet tiles. (Check out more activities using magnetic tiles.)

Speaking of common household items you can use to teach coding, another great option is to use Legos or other blocks to build mazes that help teach the basics of coding.

Team Cartwright has a great post on coding with Legos starting with the most basic skills (sorting into components and repeating patterns) and building on those basic skills to follow a code or write your own code.

Research Parent has a great activity for building a Lego maze with code, which includes printable base mazes to build as well as blank mazes so they can build their own. There are also printable coding phrases so you or your kids can write a code for going through the maze and see if it works. Older kids could write the code and then try to build a maze from those instructions.

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Teach the Teacher Activities and Lesson Plans That…

Last month I shared some tips for teaching the alphabet to kids and why going in alphabetical order isn’t the best way to do it. Honestly a lot of learning at this age has to do with play, so let’s look at some fun alphabet activities that kids can do that will help them learn the alphabet.

Activities that get kids moving and learning at the same time are ideal for preschool, and Forward with Fun has a few great ideas, like this fly swatter letter recognition game (which you could also use for numbers, words, all sorts of things you’re learning) and a beginning sound stomping game.

Another fun alphabet game you can do at home or adapt for wherever you are is this printable alphabet scavenger hunt from Play Party Plan. They’ve got a list of items to find and also a blank printable you can write your own list on, or let kids write down what they find for each letter.

Or do a literal letter scavenger hunt like this one from Happily Ever Mom. This one uses the letters from an alphabet puzzle but you could also use magnet letters or just cut out shapes of letters. It also adds the fun of doing it in the dark and hunting with a flashlight, but you can also do it with the lights on if you want.

This alphabet sensory bottle from Parenting Chaos is made with a set of alphabet beads and would be fun to keep in the classroom or have in the car or for quiet times.

Use what you have to make an alphabet learning activity, like this one made with Duplo blocks from Playtivities. You can stick letters to the sides of blocks (or write them on) and just play with them, use them for letter recognition and talking about sounds, and eventually spelling and reading, too.

Turn letter learning into craft time by making a big letter out of a bunch of little letters with this activity from Meaningful Mama. If you don’t get magazines anymore check with your local Buy Nothing group, or your local library may have some they’re looking to get rid of.

I think most preschoolers love dot markers, so these free alphabet dot marker worksheets from Daydream into Reality would be a great thing to download and print out. This is a great set because it includes uppercase and lowercase letters, and some have letter tracing practice while others include something that starts with that letter that kids can color. Work with one letter at a time or the letters in the child’s name and then provide the whole set as a quiet time activity.

Another great set of alphabet worksheets that isn’t free (and would also be good for older kids) is this set from My Nerdy Teacher. These worksheets include letter tracing and recognition activities, as well as objects to color.

I also love these alphabet roads printables from Messy Little Monster, which kids can use with cars to trace the letters (they could also be playdough mats you use to form the letters in the shape shown, or trace with a dry erase marker).

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