Can three year-olds learn how to code? You bet! Read on to see how Nexus International School (Singapore) introduces coding to its Nursery learners.
Coding classes for children have become the norm these days as more parents see the importance of acquiring digital skills from a young age. So what’s a good age to introduce coding to children? At Nexus International School (Singapore), digital learning – which includes coding – starts from Nursery level, the school’s youngest year group!
Why is Nexus teaching three year-olds to code?
Technology skills and computer literacy are growing in importance in today’s digital world. Nexus recognises this and has integrated digital learning into the curriculum of all year groups to give its learners a competitive advantage.
The school has introduced digital coaches to its faculty to enhance its curriculum. Instead of focusing on specific programmes, Nexus aims to develop essential cognitive skills like logic, language, and thought processes to foster technological literacy and flexibility among children. Coding, for example, doesn’t just teach children hard skills; but develops creativity, problem solving, and communication skills as well.
How is coding taught in Nexus’ Nursery?
In conjunction with Nexus’ Nursery learners’ reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Primary Digital Learning Coach Ms. Stephanie, decided to use Codeapillars to demonstrate abstract coding concepts. As the name suggests, Codeapillars are colourful toys that resemble caterpillars, with detachable body parts that represent programming blocks. The toys are a great example of block programming, where blocks of instructions are used to run a programme – just like the logic used in the iPhone’s shortcuts feature.
Ms. Stephanie showed the learners how each Codeapillar body part is an ‘input’ or ‘instruction’, which can translate into ‘outputs’ when they’re connected to the Codeapillar’s head. She invited the children to take turns becoming robots themselves, who receive ‘inputs’ in the form of directions, then transform them into ‘outputs’ by following the arrow markings on the floor. After they’ve mastered the concept of input and output, the learners created their own set of instructions for the Codeapillars to follow.
Coding with Codeapillars is just one of the few ways Nexus does play-based learning
Play-based learning features prominently in Nexus’ Early Years classroom. Young children can pick up complex concepts like coding through simple and engaging play activities, which can be in the form of a game or even through a toy like Codeapillar.
You can see both play-based learning and digital learning in action through a visit to Nexus – just book a tour here!
This post is in partnership with Nexus International School (Singapore).
