Teaching children how to write an algorithm or set of rules for completing a task doesn’t have to been challenging. You can take a book that they are familiar with The Day It Rained Hearts, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or Going on a Bear Hunt. Then you can have them connect the events in the story in order.
Let me walk you through how to do this using the book The Day It Rained Hearts.
Coding for Kids Activity
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You will need to print out enough of The Day It Rained Hearts Coding Activity sheets for your children.
Then you will need to read the story Day It Rained Hearts to them. Even if they are familiar with the story it is a good idea to refresh their memory of the events in the story.
Next, you will explain to them what an algorithm is. I keep it simple and tell them it is a series of steps. A step can be up, down, left or right.
Your children will need to draw arrows on the coding for kids activity sheet to connect the events of the story.
Example:
They will draw an arrow pointing up in the box above the raining heart box to get to the catching hearts box.
Next, they will draw an arrow pointing up in each of the boxes leading up to looking at the hearts in the hand.
By connecting the pictures in order with arrows they children are coding or creating an algorithm. The algorithm takes them for the beginning of the story all the way to the end of it.
Here are more activities based on the book The Day It Rained Hearts:
- Raining Hearts Name Craft from Still Playing School
- Prewriting Valentine’s Day Pack from Kori at Home
- Love Heart Number Line from Adventures and Play
- Heart Shaped Pancakes from The Educator’s Spin on It
- Preschool STEM: Valentine’s Tower from Preschool Powol Packets
- Raining Hearts Viscosity Experiment from Inspiration Laboratories
- Easy Heart Shaped Pancakes from The Educators’ Spin On It
- Kindness Party for Kids from Toddler Approved
- Hearts Sensory Bin from The Moments at Home
- Heart Themed Sensory Board from Mama Smiles
- Flannel Board Hearts from Mama Smiles
- The Day It Rained Hearts Process Art from Artsy Momma
- Easy Heart Art Painting from Messy Little Monster
- Felt Hearts to Sew from Mama Smiles
