Young children are fascinated by the buttons on a computer keyboard.
However, everyone is always very keen for them 'to get to grips' with the mouse, discarding the keyboard as an ancient input device soon to be replaced by voice-activated technology. Sorry folks, but it will be around for a bit longer, much to the delight of many children!
There are many ways of introducing the computer keyboard. Much early years software tends to be cause and effect, requiring some sort of input to trigger an event on screen. Generally the mouse buttons are the default input, but with some exploration of the software settings it is often possible to change the input device to the keyboard. If so, then the spacebar is usually the switch; each time they press it, say 'spacebar!' to reinforce its recognition.
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