I promised my kid they’d get a laptop when they learn to read well enough.
This turned out to be a good motivator and they can now read full books.
The kid likes competitions and challenges. I would like to come up with tasks they can learn to do with the laptop.
The reason I want my children to have access to a computer specifically, is that while TVs and phones are used to consume, computers are used to create.
I will be installing some Linux flavor on this machine, as it is a bit dated.
I was thinking about things like:
- Write a short story
- Install a graphics editing program
- Draw a picture of a cat
To get them started.
Probably I need some easier ones first.
It’s never too early to learn navigating drives and folders using the command line!
Honestly give them Minecraft and let them loose on that. For a 7yo that’s a great challenge.
And when they get a handle on the base game, you can build up all kind of skills with texture packs and mods.
- learning to recognize trusted sources
- learning what a virus is, antivirus, etc
- digital art via retexturing thing.
- folder paths structure
- different file formats
- editing config files
Its also easy to make a self hosted server. Which has its own set of challenges, but would be great if they get a few friends to play.
They already build cities in minecraft but on the playstation. Good idea to include that on the PC.
Maybe get them to use keyboard and mouse instead of a controller? Still teaches computer literacy and it’s a good control schema to get used to as a child
Maybe something involving a ‘treasure hunt’ to learn about navigating files and folders, renaming files, and copying vs. moving them.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard lots of kids coming up now really struggle with the concept of file systems, so it’s definitely something worth teaching early.
if they have shown any interest at all in programming, regular expressions is another topic that would be worthwhile to start learning ‘early’.
Damn. I love this community. Lemmy goes hard.
“My kid can read now.”
“It’s never too early to teach them regular expressions.”
Edit: To be clear, I agree. It’s just great to be among like minded folks, here.
Is there a good place to start learning regular expressions as if I’m a young kiddo who just learned to finally read? Lol
…I have a wee one on the way so I’d like to get ahead of this knowledge myself lol. 😅
I love the treasure hunt idea.
Hey dad, Thinkercad is 100% online and has one of those building blocks coding. It has courses for young kids and he can even learn how to model in 3d. Very simple and fun
I’m not exactly young anymore and things have sure changed a lot since I learned my way around a computer. But here are the things I remember being fun for me back then:
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Drawing around in paint (you already have that covered)
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Creating presentations. Maybe like: Make a presentation about your favourite topic. This might involve collecting pictures either from the internet or getting them from a camera / phone on the laptop.
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Playing some games (in my case pinball, but that’s definitely not very up to date). You can learn quite a bit about clicking through menus etc from playing games.
Something else that would be important to learn early is created folders and keeping some sort of system with your files. I struggle to come up with a fun way to teach that though. Maybe someone else has a good idea?
The presentation idea is good and maybe I can tie in some other fun thing, like identifying plants or something.
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Editing a text file (I guess writing a story has that covered?)
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Deleting a program (I did not know how to remove programs for the longest time as a kid… this was on windows, mind you. I figured just deleting the desktop icon was all it took. Oops.)
All of these basic OS skills are great! App management and settings are def on the list now.
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What was the curriculum you used for them to learn to read?
Honestly the only thing we have been doing has been that we try to latch on to things they show interest in. For reading it was first identifying letters together while out and about when they were asking and turning it into a game. Later they would request to practice writing and want to have a sample to copy. We read to them a lot and have since they have been very little.
Now at school we just take checking homework really seriously and try to make sure they see us read books, not just screens.
Give them the gentoo install guide.
I’m trying to be a good parent, not traumatize them.
Lol, make sure the kid goes with VIM while you’re at it.
Covers:
- keyboard, mouse, and (if appicable) touchscreen use
- geography
- science
- reading
- math
- memory
The challenge sets itself. I recommend starting there - my kids love it.
This is really good, I had never found this one either!
- Krita is free and awesome for that age. Maybe install it together. If you have a tablet or touch screen, it’s really fun.
- How familiar are you with (also free) Blender? You would have to install it and learn the basics. Just the 3d sculpting program might be a blast for him and have him edit a UV sphere. There are a few basic tips to get you going, but kids pick it up way easier than adults do.
- The object mode is for the overall, individual objects
- The edit mode is to work on, inside, the object you select
- You absolutely have to have a scroll mouse
- There is a description in the lower left corner that lets you edit the mesh you’re “adding” or putting in, then it goes away. This messes up a lot of people.
- At the top are tabs that let you select a layout for Blender for each focus. There is one for sculpting.
- The upper right has a lot of icons that let you move around the program (solid, see-thru, etc., and perspective. You would have to know this stuff.
- This video is for you right now if you don’t know anything, and for him in a couple of years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOmYInaX-wE
- Have him search Wikipedia on something he loves and to look for the sources.
- Have him look for, speed up if necessary, and learn from youtube tutorials on topics that interest him.
Side note: Affinity (photoshop alternative) just became free, but I think that’s too much. Good to know about though.
Have him search Wikipedia on something he loves and to look for the sources.
I like this idea, but with the additional step of vetting the topic in question on Wikipedia before allowing the kid to read the page.
e.g.: the kid says, “I love MrBeast!” and wants to research him. That Wiki article, while mostly innocuous, has a fairly lengthy “Controversies” section, including blue links to topics like “sexual harassment” and “homophobia”.
I never learned blender myself, although I can do some cad… Need to include some 3d modeling for sure though.
I didn’t know about Affinity, need to check it.
For photo/paint applications,
Paint.net is a great program, and photopea is a pretty good in-browser Photoshop clone.
Those tasks sound simple enough :3
Could also throw in things like take a screenshot, or file navigation. If they’ve not used a computer knowing where to find things will come in handy
Yea, taking a screenshot is definitely going on the list.
If you can figure out how to get it all running, there used to be a lot of really good edu-tainment software in the 90s.
Zoombinis The Incredible Machine Etc
You could install something like LMMS and let them experiment with making their own music (without needing recording equipment or learning real instruments yet).
Oh hey I didn’t know about LMMS, this is definitely going on the list!
This is a wonderful idea.
Off hand, I would agree with understanding file navigation. I would suggest you make a sort of capture the flag treasure hunt. First round, find the file. Second round, move the file. Third round, rename the file.
Installing and uninstalling apps, including looking at reviews online to see what app is best for drawing, for example. Say the challenge is you can only install 2 apps and can only keep one.
Hour to add and delete bookmarks from the browser.
Good luck with this!
Do you intend to include internet/web surfing, or hold back on that until later?
Search engines can be very useful, while also being awful.
But I do think teaching the kiddo how to navigate the website of your local library would be a good lesson for them.
I was hoping I can keep that limited for now, although it’s better for me to teach rather than let them discover on their own…
Get an old 486 and have them install doom via discs heh
