```I am a health care professional with no real knowledge of electronics. I am looking to help my 11 year old boy who seems to have taken a interest in electronics. I am looking for a few fundamental books/videos/tutorials which can help me guide him. He currently is looking to start with project which would have a a soil moisture sensor with automatic watering for our garden plants. Once done with this basic set up may go on to add light and temp sensors, and may be create a sprinkler controller. I have found some simple items on this site like the soil moisture sensor [https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13322](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13322) and SparkFun Inventors guide also referred as SIK Guide. [https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_t ... IK_3.2.pdf](https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_tutorials/3/1/0/RedBoard_SIK_3.2.pdf)
Would kind forum members suggest tips and ideas which can help this movie Dad ensure that he can foster the budding, curious 11 year old boys interest in electronics this summer ?
Thank you very muchHello there. I would have to say that books are great, as a reference, but in this day of technology I would lean more towards online tutorials and products that have good support.
Books can be difficult, as they are often written in a way that is easy for some to grasp and confusing to others. With the online help, it is easier to grasp a concept when you can actually watch someone do it (youtube), or have simple instructions on how to get it going with forums on the intricacies of it.
With that said, for the beginner, I would stick to Sparkfun and Adafruit products for the Arduino based controllers, and Raspberry Pi. org if you want to run that route as well. The Pi and Arduino are 2 totally different systems, so I would watch overwhelming your son too quick. If he uses Linux based computers, then the Pi won’t be too difficult, but if he is used to Windows it can be frustrating. (The Pi IS a computer, albeit a bare bones one)
You will end up having to know a bit as well, just to navigate what is compatible with what you ultimately get him. There are many types of Arduino based systems out there, some more capable than others, and a few with much more documentation. I am talking about some products made in China, in which the instructions (if there are any) are translated to English with a second-rate translation program (also made in China), which results in very poor descriptions which make no sense.