STEM Coding Projects for Kindergarteners

Truth is, everyone, especially young children, deserves the right to learn coding skills. Programming today has gone beyond the ‘male specialty’. It is now accessible to everyone, including kids. Now, high schoolers, kindergartens, and kids across all grades can start their journey to the world of programming, engineering, and math.

Engineering and math-based courses are fast becoming the focus of the future. We are living in a digital world, and in the coming decades, manual labor would have been mostly eradicated. Therefore parents, teachers, and other educators need to ensure they create easy access for kids, including kindergartens, to learn about these new trends to duly prepare them for the future.

Learning coding skills should be an extracurricular activity for kindergarten in schools and at home. Also, teachers should ensure to make it as fun as possible for their kids. Kindergartens and kids, in general, need to experience learning in diverse ways to keep them interested. Even as adults, we sometimes get bored of doing a routine repeatedly, so imagine subjecting kids to the same mode of learning every day; not cool, right?

Outdoor coding activities should be promoted for young children in school and at home. Offline coding activities are fun, refreshing, and teach basic STEM concepts that will help them when they begin real-world coding. In this article, you will learn about STEM for kids, as well as the different STEM outdoor projects for your kindergarten to learn coding skills.

Overview of STEM Kindergarten Projects for Learning Coding

There are tons of engineering and math-based projects for little kids learning to code. These projects range from coding bricks, like lego, to coding books, coding kits, and hands-on activities. While both indoor and outdoor coding are effective in teaching coding to kids, unplugged outdoor coding activities are mostly recommended.

Just as mentioned above, outdoor STEM projects are fun, and engaging, and create room for learning and doing. Kindergartens barely know how to read and write, and the perfect way to introduce them to programming and STEM is through practical STEM projects. Visual coding learning projects, like the Hour of Code projects for kindergartens, help kids learn by using colorful, block-based methods that help kids grab concepts faster and effectively.

Surely, you do not expect your kindergartens to start coding games and websites right away! The importance of teaching young children coding is to help them get accustomed to coding terminologies and methods, which will enable them to understand how to perform real-world coding faster. Let’s see it this way: when little children go to pre-kindergarten, it is not intended to teach them how to read and write immediately! It is a long process that involves learning how to scribble, draw lines, recite the alphabet, numbers, etc. All of these are necessary preps for when they actually start to read and write all by themselves.

The same applies to programming for kindergarten; its purpose is to teach them basic coding concepts like sequence, algorithm, debugging, statements, etc. they will also learn other skills, including computational thinking, teamwork, creativity, and collaboration, among others. In addition, these STEM projects for kindergarten are a good way for parents/teachers to identify their kids’ areas of interest and fix them up when they advance in their coding lessons.

13+ Kindergarten Projects for Kids to Learn Coding

There are numerous STEM projects for your kindergartens to learn coding skills. Here is our suggestion on the best STEM projects for kindergarten to learn to code.

Feed The Mouse

Feed the mouse is an incredible screen-free activity young children can play anywhere! All you need to begin with is a toy mouse, a stack of cards, and toy snacks. To play this game, your kids will take turns acting as the programmer and computer. The programmer instructs the computer to find treats for the mouse and avoid obstacles.

This is an incredible game that helps kids learn about algorithms and debugging.

If/Then Coding Game

Your kindergarten can learn all about conditional statements in coding, a necessary skill for all programmers. If/then statements is a conditional statement that directs the computer to execute a specific task at a specific time. Little kids can learn this concept by acting as the programmer and computers.

This project involves a group of kids, whereby one is the ‘programmer’, while the others act as ‘computers’. The programmer can instruct the computers to perform specific tasks, i.e. “if I raise my right hand, then you should turn around”. It is an awesome STEM game that teaches debugging, statements, sequence, etc.

A Deck Of Cards

This is one of the easiest offline STEM projects for young kids aged 4 and above. Here, kids will learn the basics of algorithms, sequencing, and debugging. It is super easy and fun for kids to play!

Kodable Unplugged Coding Activities

With over 20+ STEM projects that teach several coding skills, Kodable Unplugged remains a perfect start for your little kids to learn coding. Over time, kids will acquire basic computer science skills, including critical thinking, algorithmic thinking, problem-solving, and logical reasoning, among others.

Themed Coding Worksheets

Get your little kids equipped with multiple coding skills with these themed coding worksheets. With 11 themed worksheets, including Christmas worksheets, Halloween worksheets, Easter worksheets, etc., kids can learn all about debugging, sequencing, branching, algorithms, and loops.

Teach A Robot To Stack Cups

Kids can create a series of instructions and methods on how a robot can stack cups. They can challenge one another to create the best methods of how robots should stack cups. This is an interesting coding game that builds teamwork and healthy competition in kids.

Outdoor Coding Activity With Chalk And Water Guns

Parents can engage their kids in this super fun outdoor project, with just a chalk and water squirter. It involves two people, where one has to act as the robot, and the other as the programmer. With a little setup, parents can enjoy this activity with their little kids, while they learn about robotics and coding.

Tech Starter: Coding Teaching Resources

This is a collection of coding projects, worksheets, and activities for all kids to acquire the fundamentals of STEM, algorithms, and critical thinking.

Edison Robots

Designed to teach robotics to young children, the Edison robotic kit uses a step-by-step guide to learning all about programming and robotics. It is an awesome way for your kids to learn about programming and robotics. To learn more about the Edison robots, check here.

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Coding Simon Says

In this STEM project, all participants will act as computers, and whoever plays the role of Simon is the programmer. Before playing this game, teachers must set the ground rules, one of which states that the kid calling the shots must mention “Simon says” at the beginning of every statement.

Printable Scratch Books

With up to 60 free printable scratch books, kids can learn all about scratch programming. The printable scratch books include the basics of scratch and block coding, along with step-by-step guides and online tutorials.

LEGO Maze

Lego bricks for kids are just so amazing! Your kindergartens can learn how to code a lego maze in the simplest way ever, with the free printable Lego Maze. This is an easy lego activity that uses hands-on activities to teach kids how to code. Coding a lego maze is a free, printable coding activity that makes learning more visual and practical. Younger kids can engage in this project using paper and Lego bricks.

LEGO Coding Activities

This robotics STEM project for kids gradually guides kids through the various levels of programming with lego robotics. This gives kids the ability to grow with their Lego toys. As they proceed to higher levels, the lessons become more intense and comprehensive. There are four levels in total here, with lessons and activities at the end of each lesson.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is teaching coding to kids in kindergarten important?

It is very important for kids, including kindergartens, to learn to code early. To perform excellently as a programmer, one needs to know the core rudiments of coding and learn it from scratch. When you teach kindergarten basic coding concepts, you are grounding them in the core values and skills needed as a programmer.
As your kindergartens proceed in their learning, they will have the confidence and boost to approach real-world coding activities.

How do I teach my kids how to code for free?

The good thing about coding for kids is that you can learn it all for free! Many coding resources and programs comprehensively equip kids with programming and STEM-related skills without having to pay any sum. The Hour of Code is a great way to start coding for kids. The opportunities are limitless and available for anyone interested in coding apps, games, and robotics.

Final Thoughts on Outdoor Kindergarten Projects for Kids Learning Coding

Coding for kindergarten should be nothing but fun! Kids are well, just kids, and sitting behind a desk all day with a pencil and pen is not ideal. Teaching kids how to code is a form of relaxation which creates the perfect balance between learning and having fun!