Dear Park Shore Families,
Over the course of the past two weeks, Park Shore’s Kindergarten and Pre-K classes participated in Computer Science Education Week by completing an Hour of Code. The Hour of Code is a global movement created 5 years ago and is driven by the Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week Advisory and Review Committees, as well as an unprecedented coalition of partners that have come together to support the Hour of Code including Disney, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Boys and Girls Clubs, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, just to name a few.
The movement was created to introduce children to the concept of coding and to inspire them to learn about computer science. Computer science helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity, and the general belief is that by starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path. By participating in this event, the goal was to have each child write several lines of code on their own.
During the Computer specials sessions for Pre-K through Kindergarten, I presented an overview of the concept of coding and computer science. I explained how code is the computer language that makes things happen on the screen when they play games or use the computers and iPads, and that a programmer is the person (or people) who write the code, or set of instructions, which tells the computer what to do.
Through the code.org website and a program called Kodable, using both the SMARTBoard and iPads, the children wrote several lines of code using a method called Blockly, which is a visual aid that groups lines of code in blocks in order to drag and drop them to complete different programs and puzzles. We coded The Grinch, Minecraft, Frozen, Star Wars, Angry birds and even had a Dance Party! Using the Kodable app on the iPads, the children learned about sequential programming by placing the directional arrows in the correct order to move the “fuzzy guy” through various mazes. This is a direct tie-in to our Robotics and Coding in the Classroom program whereby the children use the Code and Go Robot Mouse to program it through different challenges.
Most of our local elementary, intermediate and high schools participate on different levels, however Park Shore is one of the only Preschools in the area to be part of this amazing event! In all of these programs, the children did not play the games, they wrote the codethat made the characters in the program move! Please ask your children what they coded in our class. Each child earned the attached certificate of completion for participating in this awesome global initiative!
We had so much fun and I am so proud of them all! Click here to access the website at home, watch the introductory videos and let your children show you what great programmers they are by following the easy step-by-step instructions.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about the event or the programs on the website. It is always my pleasure and an honor to play a role in their education!
Enjoy the holiday season and best wishes for the New Year!
Much love,
Miss Samantha
Park Shore Computer Science and Technology Specialist