3 Offline Coding Activities for Kids

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Offline coding games are a great way to add variety (and decrease screen time) for kids who love to code and a great way to introduce coding concepts to kids who want to learn how to code. Here are 3 offline coding activities for kids that are fun, interactive and help kids understand coding concepts! These offline coding activities focus on logical and sequential thinking, planning and organization.

1. Coding Simon Says

I know, I know, you already know Simon Says and have played it a million times. There are a few little tweaks you can make to have your Simon Says game be geared towards coding. First, introduce “Simon” as “Simon the Computer Programmer.” All of the other participants are “computers.” Reiterate the fact to the kids that computers can ONLY do what we program them to do. In this game, if a computer does something that “Simon the Computer Programmer” didn’t tell them to do, the computer “crashes” and is out of commission.

The rest of the game follows the same rules as regular Simon Says. Simon (the computer programmer) must say “Simon says….” before each action he/she wants the “computers” to take. If a child does something that didn’t have the “simon says” in front of the instruction, they are out, or if they fail to follow the instruction after a direction was given with a “simon says” at the beginning of it. Once all but one of the “computers” has crashed, the game can restart with the last “working computer” as the new “Simon the Computer Programmer.”

2. Code a Robot

For this activity, you will need a fairly large space and objects to be strewn across it (chairs or other items that will act as obstacles that people must go around - not step on, over, or jump over). These obstacles should make it difficult for someone to maneuver through the room. Have a start and end point. One person is the robot. All other participants are the robot’s coders. (I usually start out as the robot and then, if time allows, let some of the kids get a chance to be the robot). Have the other kids line up in a straight line.

The purpose of the game is to get the robot through the obstacles to the end point without touching any of the obstacles. If an obstacle is touched, then the robot must start again from the beginning. Each child is only allowed to give one instruction to the robot at a time. For instance, take 1 step forward or turn to the right. They can’ t say, “turn to the right and take a step” for their turn. That must be broken into 2 separate instructions. Once a child has given their instruction to the robot, they go to the back of the line. The kids rotate through the line giving the robot instructions until the robot has reached the end point. The kids must work together to plan their instructions to get the robot through the obstacle course.

3 . Monster Coding Art Project

This is an art activity that incorporates concepts of coding into the art itself! This activity focuses on logical thinking and reiterates the concept that technology can only do what we program it to do. Besides paper, pencils/markers/crayons, etc., you will also need 2 dice for this activity. All of the participants are going to draw a monster, but they are only allowed to draw what they are “coded” to do. To start, roll one die to create a basic shape for the monster:

1 = circle 2 = square 3 = diamond 4 = oval 5 = spiky shape 6 = blob

Next, you’ll be rolling one die to determine what will be added to the monster and one die to determine what colors to be added to the monster. (you can roll for this part as many times as you would like and you can do all adding things in a row and then adding colors, or you can switch off between the two).

1 = add one eye 2 = add one mouth 3 = add spiky hair 4 = add one horn 5 = add one leg 6 = add one arm

1 = color something blue 2 = color something yellow 3 = color something red 4= color something purple 5 = color something green 6 = color something orange

Once you’re done rolling the dice, you can take some time and have the kids show off their creations!

Conclusion

What do you think? Do you have any other offline coding activities you like to do? Did you try these ideas? How did it go? Let us know in the comments!

Ready for some online coding activities? Our blogpost, “The Top 10 Free Coding Programs for Kids” can help!

Check out the items below for more offline coding ideas!