Coding for Kindergarteners is one of the many new activities happening at DS this fall. Hear from Kate Skivington, Director of STEAM, Jr., on how our students are discovering this new language via the Code-A-Pillar.
The Kindergarten class has been busy coding in the STEAM Jr. room! First, they watched a short video all about coding and discussed what it means to create a code. They realized quickly that a code needs to be precise, or else you might need to take action and start “debugging” to fix your code. Next, each student took turns programming another classmate to save the “three bears” stuck in a square on a large, floor grid. They used arrow cards to program their classmate to move forward, backward, left, right, and so on. After much success, they were ready to explore Code-A-Pillar, a fun coding tool created by Fisher Price. This open exploration was vital to learning how to power up the device, connect its sections, and understand the basic functions. Next, students were faced with a large grid full of colorful shapes. After rolling a die to see which shape they received, their task was to code their code-a-pillar to reach that shape, from where they were sitting. Their upcoming task will be to code their device to reach its food in a specific area on the grid (food=green Legos). Code-a-Pillar is so much fun! We can’t wait to find more challenges and continue coding with it!
Enjoy the videos of their work from introduction to action! Thanks to Ms. Skivington for taking the pictures and videos!