All Lessons of Keyboarding Kickstart Course Are Now Available
Kids are naturals at learning, but the approach needs to be correct. Typing Master’s new Keyboarding Kickstart course is specifically designed for young children to get all ten of their little fingers moving. The course features exciting, interactive games to catch kids’ attention and keep it there so learning can happen naturally. By turning their keyboard into a gaming board, Keyboarding Kickstart teaches touch typing basics in a gently challenging and totally engaging way that doesn’t overstimulate. The colorful games feature fish, fruit and arrows that children catch with specific fingers while on-screen hands set a visual example which to imitate. Kids progress from focusing on only a few fingers on one hand all the way to all ten fingers engaged on the keyboard.
Children are gently guided in proper form as they improve the fine motor skills that are essential to successful touch typing. Although the course focuses on finger movement, not learning letter keys, the letters do appear to help kids associate the two. You may be surprised to hear kids whispering letters as they reach up to catch a passing fish! Without even knowing it, by the time learners have completed the course they will have spent a considerable time mastering the finger movements required to touch type. The basic skills they learn will serve as a springboard for the touch-typing exercises that they’ll find in the Junior Course. We think they’ll jump right in!
Complete Lesson Index
Lesson 1: Hop on the Home Keys
Lesson 2: Up with the Upper Row
Lesson 3: Impressive Index Fingers
Lesson 4: Locating the Lower Row
Lesson 5: Incredible Index Fingers
Lesson 6: Tapping on Three Rows
Lesson 7: The Ultimate Challenge
Keyboarding Kickstart develops the following skills:
Motor skills
Keyboarding Kickstart helps kids develop both the fine motor skills and key finger movements involved in touch typing without the pressure of knowing letters or their locations. This eases the learning curve as kids are not required to learn both new finger movements and the letter locations at the same time.
Finger movement and anchoring
The games are designed to guide kids to use their fingers in a manner that mimics the movements used in actual touch typing. Kids will learn to use a specific finger to press each key as well as how to anchor their fingers on the home keys. Good form is encouraged from the start to help form a good base for touch typing later on.
On-screen keyboard and hands
Color-coded keyboard icons help guide little fingers to the correct keys. On-screen hands provide a model that kids can imitate, help them identify their home keys and show which finger to use on which key.
Visualize finger movements
All the games are designed to visually reflect finger movements so that kids learn how to use their fingers in a way that builds touch typing skills. For example, they may be asked to “catch” a fish as it swims higher by pressing a key on the top row. Falling arrows point downwards to guide fingers to the bottom row keys.
Engage all fingers
Younger kids tend to use just one finger when they play typing games which makes them dance all over the keyboard. Keyboarding Kickstart has been specifically designed to encourage children to use all of their fingers right from the start. While playing the games, they will be shown images that help them to visualize the correct hand positions so that they make use of all their fingers.
Right, left, together
To make learning easier and to make sure kids don’t get overwhelmed, most lessons are divided into right and left hand exercises before moving on to more challenging games that combine the use of both hands.
Optimal difficulty level
Kids have fun and learn most efficiently when they play at a level that’s most suitable to them. With this in mind, each exercise in Keyboarding Kickstart has six levels for kids to choose from. When kids start to find a level too easy, they can progress to the next level. If they find a level too challenging or have trouble maintaining proper form, they can go down to an easier one.
Letter-key association
While not required to know letters, they are still shown during game play so that kids will begin to associate letters with their placement on the keyboard. A child that uses the right index finger to catch a fish in the upper row will see the letter U when pressing the key. Some kids even start to silently mouth the letters as they appear while playing the games. This provides a good foundation in memorizing letter locations and build towards full-scale touch typing later on.
We hope children as well as adults enjoy Keyboarding Kickstart course to support keyboarding development.
TypingBlog.com 