For that age, Lego Mindstorm might be best. It's pretty simple and is easy to "code".
Ask HN: How do I help my 6yr old learn robotics and coding?
11–16 of 16 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I help my 6yr old learn robotics and coding?
#12My son started learning to code at 6 years old. We started by playing fun games at bedtime where he would give me instructions for various things such as how to leave his bedroom and I would follow them literally - resulting in my bashing into walls, falling over etc. He soon got the hang of being accurate with his instructions. He then moved on to building simple games using Scratch but got bored with that pretty qu…
"We started by playing fun games at bedtime where he would give me instructions for various things such as how to leave his bedroom and I would follow them literally - resulting in my bashing into walls, falling over etc. He soon got the hang of being accurate with his instructions."
Very nice
Re: Ask HN: How do I help my 6yr old learn robotics and coding?
#13I don't know about robotics, but there are plenty of coding resources aimed at children.
If you have an iOS device lying around, there's this really amazing app to learn Swift (the programming language used to develop iOS apps called "Swift Playgrounds". The language is really easy to learn, and promotes many programming paradigms.
There are also a couple of websites for little kids, like [Happy Coding](https://happycoding.io/). If your kid is into graphics and stuff like that, Processing or Python (with the turtle library) might be of interest to them.
Lastly, there's also Scratch, which incidentally enough supports controlling robots.
Re: Ask HN: How do I help my 6yr old learn robotics and coding?
#14Hmm, see this: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-5y... At 6 years old, I was learning to read and write, to count and calculate. I started playing the flute. I also had my first exposure to TV. Your plans to make him code seems a bit overambitious to me...
It’s not my plans. He’s actively asking me to build robots and to code. School has given him some Minecraft coding games but he’s maxed them out or just bored with them. I’m just trying to foster his interest.
Re: Ask HN: How do I help my 6yr old learn robotics and coding?
#15Start your child out with ScratchJr. It is free and designed specifically for kids aged 5-7. I just finished teaching a lower elementary class a series of 5 lessons on it. Here was an Earth Day activity I created for them https://youtu.be/-w7NxdQJGLM
Re: Ask HN: How do I help my 6yr old learn robotics and coding?
#16My son started learning to code at 6 years old. We started by playing fun games at bedtime where he would give me instructions for various things such as how to leave his bedroom and I would follow them literally - resulting in my bashing into walls, falling over etc. He soon got the hang of being accurate with his instructions. He then moved on to building simple games using Scratch but got bored with that pretty qu…
Great job, it's obvious you're happy to see him succeed and sounds like he's enjoying the process.
A reminder to think about spending time playing basketball or soccer with him and enrolling him in a league for a couple years, in case you aren't and if he isn't already playing. Two or three youth seasons participating in a team sport that involves constant decision making will benefit him in the future, even if he decides he doesn't like the sport.