Coding Like a Mother

My Coding Journey (Week 3)

Last week I had a revelation. I realised that I need to focus on “the joy of learning to code”.

Coding is a hobby for me. It is something I choose to do, not something I have to do. If there is such a thing as “mindful coding”, this is what I aspire to. I want to enjoy the process of learning to code.

One of my goals for this week was to “have fun”. What a great goal to work on! This week I have slowed down, worried less about making progress, and focused on things that make me smile. Read on to find out more…

Motherhood: Obstacle or Opportunity?

I am lucky to be a mum to two wonderful children, aged 1 and 6. But motherhood can sometimes feel like an obstacle when learning something new. I set aside time in the evenings to learn to code but most nights I have to abandon my plans when the children don’t sleep.

One evening this week, I was rocking my baby girl to sleep for the umpteenth time, thinking about how I wanted to get back to my laptop and continue learning functions on Codecademy. For a moment, it felt impossible. When would I find the time to learn the basics?

But I know lots of inspirational women who have learnt to code while raising a family, so it is possible.

Then it occurred to me: what if I just need to think about this differently? What if I stop seeing motherhood as an obstacle, and start thinking of it as an opportunity to approach learning in my own personal way?

What if I stop seeing motherhood as an obstacle, and start thinking of it as an opportunity to approach learning in my own personal way?

For the past 6 years, I’ve been playing with my children and having fun.

Children love to play. They are curious. They enjoy exploring, discovering, building, and knocking things down. They become absorbed in the moment, often without any particular goal except play itself. If I want to enjoy learning to code, I could tap into that playfulness. I could reconnect with my inner child.

Playing with Code

I started this week with a bit of coding fun. Monday was Valentine’s Day. We don’t tend to celebrate Valentine’s Day but we did have a slightly posher-than-usual version of pizza and chips. My husband cooked the food and presented it to me not as chips, not as triple-cooked chips, but as “thrice cooked chips”!

The next day I captured this story in a little loop as a light-hearted coding joke. It’s probably not a very funny joke but it was fun to write and it made me smile!

Gamification for Morning Meltdowns

Mornings are mayhem in my house. No matter how early we wake up, we are always late for breakfast club and nursery. There are meltdowns and tantrums. Getting the children to brush their teeth or get dressed is a Herculean task.

So, this week I wrote a program to “gamify” the morning routine for my son. The computer has a little conversation with my son, exchanging words on how they are feeling this morning, and checking whether he has completed all the necessary tasks before leaving the house. The computer flags any tasks that have not been completed, and my son heads off to complete them before returning to confirm that he is ready for school. Then he receives a positive message to send him on his way.

This is a very basic program, but it has given me the chance to use the knowledge I am developing: the random module (random.randint); logic (if, elif, else); comparators (e.g. ==); user input; debugging. I was over the moon when I finished testing the program and it worked!

My son was really excited to start the game. He enjoyed typing his answers to the questions, and he was amused by the computer’s responses. Even better, we left the house on time, with big smiles, and no tantrums.

I suspect the novelty will wear off before next term begins, but one peaceful morning is a big win in my view!

Course Progress

This week’s course content has become a lot more interesting, as I have enough basic knowledge to start simple challenges. I am working through a set of engaging challenges on the Codecademy course. Similarly, the Code First Girls live session included scenario-based activities and games-based exercises to complete independently during the live session (e.g rock-paper-scissors, flip a coin).

Working on both courses simultaneously — online (Codecademy) and live (Code First Girls) — is ideal for me. The online course provides flexibility to study small chunks of content at my own pace when I have free time, while the live weekly sessions keep me accountable and give me the opportunity to ask questions and get immediate responses from real-life humans.

I have also started to consult the Python documentation, and I have set up a OneNote notebook for my notes and screen grabs.

Goals for Week 4

My goals for the coming week are:

• Start (and hopefully complete) the Modules lessons in Codecademy
• Watch YouTube videos on Modules
• Read about Modules in the Python documentation
• Involve my son in coding during half-term (if he wants to!)

Key Takeaways

This week, the personal lessons I have learnt are:

• Sometimes the things we perceive as barriers and obstacles (e.g. motherhood) can also be sources of inspiration and provide opportunities to reframe our experiences.
• Reconnect with your inner child. Play with code just for fun. Write code that makes you smile.
• Learning to code can be a solitary activity but we can find joy in coding for others, especially for children, even at the very earliest stages in our learning.
• My own excitement for coding is reflected in my son’s face when he interacts with my programs. My learning encourages his learning.

That’s all for now… Bring on Week 4!

My weekly coding articles

Week 1: Hello World

Week 2: The Joy of Learning to Code

Week 3: Coding Like a Mother

Week 4: One Month of Coding

Week 5: All Progress is Good Progress

Week 6: Learning to Code: Practice and Projects

Week 7: My First Coding Vlog!

Week 8: Learning to Code in 8 Weeks

I hope that sharing my own experience might encourage other people (and especially women) to explore coding or other tech topics.

About the Author

Dr Elena Gorman is a UX Designer specialising in User Research. Before changing careers into UX in 2022, she worked as a Project Manager, including for tech-related initiatives, such as the TechUP Programme at Durham University, for The Alan Turing Institute at Newcastle University, and the Creative Fuse North East project at Northumbria University. Elena is also the Co-Founder of Women in Tech North East, a free community of over 800 women and non-binary people who are interested in tech. Elena has a PhD in Theology from Durham University and has published research on female martyrdom in early Christianity.