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Great Program to Teach Typing to Young Children |
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 My 6 and 8 year olds started learning keyboarding a few weeks ago - typing to us old folks. We are using a computer Typing program called "Typing Instructor for Kids". Children learn to type by traveling around Typer Island and playing games, going through easy-to-follow lessons and speed drills. The boys LOVE this. They hardly noticed they were learning. I had to force them to quit playing and at the end of the first session they had each memorized the home row keys and were touch typing at better than 90% accuracy. The program lets them know their WPM (words per minute) and their accuracy after each game or lesson. The kids get so excited when they improve, and there's a little bit of competition going on. We've issued a challenge to some of our good friends at home who got the same program to learn to type this year - "Race you to the Castle!" To get to the castle and take control of the island you have to progress through all 5 of the different areas on the island. Then, to gain access to the fortress you must pass a speed drill and prove that you can type more than 15 words per minute.
I offered Instant messenging as an incentive to the boys to stick with it. Once they learn all the keys they will earn the privilege to get online and chat with their friends, as long as they use the correct form. No hunting and pecking! I must say, I am very impressed with how quickly they've learned where the keys are and I really like this program. At this point, after about 3 weeks, they know where all of the letters are and they're about to start on the numbers. They are typing some of their school work (Bible verses and a few journal entries). They've also started e-mailing some of their friends. If you're looking to teach a younger child to type I highly recommend this program. It doesn't cost much - about $15. You can't go wrong. Try it!
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We're excited to be able to partner