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Getting kids (6-10) started witg programming and game dev (programming.dev)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/gamedev@programming.dev
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Hi. I want to get my little cousins into computers, and since they're kids, making games are really fun for them. I made a game with them with Love2D and they had a blast (I put their faces on the characters) but I think Love2d is a bit too hard for them.

My main motive for them is to make something and be creative. Programming is just a tool for that.
So something simpler with less code and mental load that let's them create stuff more simply is good.

What do you guys suggest?

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[–] 6 points 1 month ago (6 children)

Isn't this what scratch is made for? Kids learning programming.

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    yep. Scratch is one option I'm considering.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    Scratch is a fantastic entry point. That's where I was put on the path for a software development career.

    Someone else mentioned Lego. If you can find the Mindstorms robotics set, that would be a great place. I know they're not cheap at retail and I don't know if they're still offered. But it's a way to get introduced into visual coding but with a physical aspect still.

    Heck, even a a Lego motor set like this and some gears and wheels will do a lot for problem solving skills.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Totally agree. I thought about robotics stuff a lot for them. They got hyped when I created a synth with a rpi pico. Maybe I'll buy them an arduino kids robotics kit.

    the benefit of the software first approach is that it costs nothing and shows them you don't need to buy stuff to create things neccesarily.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    Didn't think of an Arduino kit but that would be a good low cost entry as well. You don't even need to program it to start. Just basic circuits with switches and lights is a great education tool.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    I've always found it weird that Arduino has its own language. On top of it, it's not a really well designed one in the sense that it does not follow a simple paradigm where there are few basic fundamentals and from there it's only vocabulary.

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