Ask HN: Teach a 5-year-old math and science over the summer?

I'll add the Storybots TV series to the list here. It covers a wide range of learning topics and is entertaining enough for the grown-ups to watch as well!

So on the point of maths, maybe you should break maths down like people would break a computer program down in order to teach programming?

What I mean by this, is that many maths symbols are like functions or constants, and once you know the rules for a language and its compiler you can code, the same goes for maths, except its a universal language all over the world and the compiler is the rules which is the same all over the world.

Thats why some teachers say if you are good at maths you will be good at programming.

So identify the functions, constants & rules a 5year old will be expected to learn, teach them those, repeat for the next year.

How hard can it it be?

There is a debate over whether people should be expected to learn to do the long hand calculations on paper in this day and age, but thats like teaching kids to bang their heads against a wall when there is no need for it, although I'm sure some hackers will jump in a say there is a need for it just like there is a need for working out binary in a memory register, although the later is a more common example.

Obviously there are a lot of tricks in maths which can also be taught.

I've found the highest success rate by adding on to what they're already interested in when I see an opportunity. Like when they point out an observation or ask a question, for example mixing paints and discovering new colors, or learning to count/measure/add missing building blocks to finish a wall.

I made a simple graphical web app to help my 5 year old (now just turned 8) understand basic arithmetic concepts, and it's been very successful. You can see a session of us working with it together at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3doY76KEVk . (note that I made a web cam button, so it will put the video of us behind the app itself, so I could screen capture the app and it shows me and her as well) The video is a full half hour (two sessions), and even if you just skip around it's pretty cool to watch how the concepts seem to click for her.

You can use it at https://pianop.ly/mathLesson/ and if anyone is interested I'll put an MIT license on it and put the code on github.

It started out with us using pennies laid out on the table, then when I realized how tedious it was, I started using GIMP, then when realizing how tedious that was, made a little app. This is the earlier version (first GIMP, then a cruder version the app) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VDn54vPNSk

My son is almost 6. He knows the alphabet and can read some words. He knows addition and substraction (with fingers) and how to count to 169. I plan to help him expand in all of those areas during the summer, but naturally (not with homework)

He likes puzzles and videogames. We made a couple Pico-8 games together. Lately he has been developing levels in Mario Maker 2. He builds legos. He enjoys going to the countryside and playing with rocks, sticks, bugs, etc. I think all those will help him appreciate math and sciences later. He has a piggy bank and he earns coins sometimes when he does good deeds. He loves counting them. I will try to do more of those during the summer, but mostly because he enjoys it.

I also intend for him to be around other children as much as he can during the summer, which he also likes. And he is missing some social practice because of the lockdown.