GUIDE · BEFORE SCHOOL
Getting ready for computers before school
Five things to practice at home. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Many schools use computers or tablets in class. What they use differs by school and region: some use a mouse, some a trackpad, and some a touch screen. This guide gives five ways to get comfortable at home with the skill that helps in any of these: “move the pointer, and press.” Your child does not need to do it all perfectly before school.
The short answer: start with moving and pressing
On this site, we think the first thing to get used to is not typing or tricky operations, but the feeling of “move the pointer and press once.” This is our own view, not a statement about how any particular school works. For more on practice in schools, see “What age can a child start using a computer?”
Five things to practice at home
- Move the pointer, and stop. Move the pointer slowly to where you want to look, and stop where you want it. Rest the hand lightly, without gripping.
- Press once (click). Put the pointer on the thing to press, press, and let go right away. → Click practice for kids
- Press and carry (drag). Some learning software asks children to move things to answer, so it helps to touch this early. → Drag and drop practice for kids
- Move the screen up and down (scroll). It is used to see the rest of a long screen, with the wheel or two fingers on a trackpad. → Scroll practice for kids
- Sitting, and a signal for finishing. Feet on the floor or a footrest, arms resting naturally on the desk. Keep it short, sit next to your child, and stop on “I want to do a little more.”
If you don’t know what the school uses
Enrollment information or an orientation may tell you what kind of device the school uses (mouse, trackpad, a touch-screen tablet and so on). Until you know, practicing the same movements (move, press, carry, and move up and down) with whatever you have at home is enough. For the difference between a mouse and a trackpad, see “Trackpad or mouse first?”
Practice with a game
In Hajimari Garden, each of the skills is its own little game. There is no sign-up, and no ads on the game screen.
| Practice | Game | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Move the pointer | Make flowers bloom | Just move the cursor onto the lights (no clicking) |
| Press once | Feed your friends | Click once to drop food, and your friends grow |
| Press and carry | Put the babies to bed | Grab a friend and carry it to bed |
| Move up and down | Zoom to discover | Zoom in for fairies, zoom out for a rainbow |
Double-clicking is not in these five, because when it is needed depends on the device and the situation. Once your child is comfortable, they can try it in the egg game.
Free · No download · No sign-up · No ads on the game screen
When your child gets stuck
- Want the big picture → How to teach a child to use a mouse
- Want to check what they can do → Mouse skills checklist
- Want to try it in a week → A 1-week mouse practice plan
FAQ
Should my child practice typing before school?
This site does not cover how to practice typing. We suggest starting with moving and pressing. Add typing little by little when it is needed, in step with how school goes.
We don’t have a computer at home. What should we do?
We don’t think you need to get one. Your child can get used to it gradually when they touch a computer at school. If you do get a chance, touching it for a short time through play is plenty.
They use a phone or tablet. Is that enough?
A phone or tablet is touched with fingers, which moves differently from a mouse or trackpad. Once you know the device the school uses, it helps to touch something close to it for a little while.