7 reasons why your child should learn programming

We are all aware that we are living in a digital time where phones, tablets and computers have flooded every Kosovar home, and with that they have managed to conquer the lives of children. Just as we teach them reading, writing and mathematics, children today must learn how to create digital programs and not just use them.

Coding or programming is the art of creating computer games, applications for phones or computers that help in the implementation of every profession from Healthcare to business leadership. By the time children grow up, the ability to program will be a fundamental skill like reading and writing is today, no matter what profession they decide to pursue.

• Programming is not included in school curricula, do not let your child fall behind.

Unfortunately in primary and secondary schools, the importance of programming has not yet managed to enter as a serious subject from early education. This is a problem that now in the USA has only been addressed and work is being done intensively so that every school offers the subject of programming with adequate curricula.

• Programmers are not only technology experts or engineers

When the word Programmer is mentioned, most of us have in mind a stereotype of a "Geek", an asocial expert isolated in the digital world, or a person who works only with computers. This kind of portrayal is not true at all, since people who have coding skills and are not necessarily programmers by profession have managed to show great successes in various scientific fields and have achieved more creative results than their colleagues who did not have coding skills.

• Programming is creative and fun

It is amazing to watch an 8-year-old spending hours creating his games in Scratch, a programming language for children.

Scratch enables children to play computer games, while simultaneously teaching them to program or even enabling them to modify the games. For example, if your child is playing a game in Scratch and doesn't like how a certain character looks, they can make changes in the game and add things that seem better to them. This allows them to develop their imagination and creativity.

• Programming boosts self-confidence

Some children find it difficult when external pressure is created for achieving various goals in an imposed manner. However, programming gives them the ability to control their own future. Programming allows them to create a world where there are no predefined paths, where there is not just one way to accomplish things, and it builds self-confidence by showing that they can create their own unique ways, build problem-solving solutions in their own way.

• Programming teaches critical thinking and enhances problem-solving skills

Programming is like a game of chess, where you need to think several steps ahead and all the possible moves your opponent might play against you. Programming teaches children to think about the final outcome and how to break down large tasks into many small ones. When children learn to program, they learn to overcome difficult tasks and achieve great results by teaching them "How can I break this problem into small pieces that are manageable in order to reach the final result where I need to be"

• Programming teaches storytelling

Creating computer games teaches children the skills of how to craft stories through games and share them with others. The more space we give children to create creative games, the more they will impress us with their imagination.

• When you learn to program, you program to learn

Programming is a new form of writing, a form that allows you to write new things, from games to interactive stories, animations, and simulations. And in the process of creating these new things, children learn not only about computer science, they learn problem-solving strategies, project design, and communicating ideas. Skills that are necessary for everyone.

Shkolla Digjitale is a certified school in Prishtina, with field experts that enables programming learning for children aged 7 – 15. You can register your child from the form below and we will contact you for details.