Before building in Minecraft, it's a good idea to get familiar with the different controls and commands in order to fully understand what one might be able to do with the popular sandbox game.
For instance, perhaps it's using the mouse to look around the world, and using the "W," "A," "S," and "D" keys to move forward, left, right, or backwards, respectively.
Simple, right?
But what if you wanted to get a better view? As in, a view from the top?
Minecraft Flying Commands
The Minecraft command to fly is to press the spacebar twice while in creative mode. Thus, if in another popular Minecraft game mode, survival mode, you'll need to enter the command /gamemode 1 to go to creative mode, and then press the spacebar twice in order to fly.
Once flying, press spacebar again to fly even higher, and then hold the left "Shift" key to descend.
Fly: press spacebar twice
Fly higher: press spacebar while flying
Descend: hold the left "Shift" key
(Since this is a post on flying commands we won't get into flying in survival mode, which requires the rare item, Elytra.)
Besides flying being cool and fun, there are a number of different scenarios where one might find the need to fly! For instance, let's say a young Minecrafter is building a maze, but how are they going to know if that maze has enough twists and turns to be one that offers entertainment value? Flying helps with that overhead view!
Other Basic Commands
In addition to flying, here are some commands young creators will want to familiarize themselves with.
Breaking Blocks
Use the left mouse button to break the block you're aimed at. (The block you're looking at will have a black outline around it.)
Placing Blocks
With a block in hand, use the right mouse button to place the block. (You can use the scroll wheel to change the block you're holding.)
Accessing the Creative Menu
Click the 'E' key to open the creative menu; you can navigate the menus to look for blocks you want to use. Left click and add the block to your inventory to use it.
Read More: How to Speed Up Time in Minecraft
Playtesting & Sharing
Now, at this point the completion of whatever project or game your child is creating might seem way off in the distance, it never hurts to talk about the last few steps.
Reason being, the one thing most creators want to do at this point is share and show it off with friends and family—and rightly so!
But, there's one last important thing to do before releasing everything to the internet and/or friends: testing.
When games are finished or during their development, video games are thoroughly tested to make sure all the parts work and fit together to make the final game the best it can be.
So before releasing their awesome project, your child will want to make sure it works from start to finish.
If they can't quite reach this point and are hitting a few snags along the way, consider one of our many Minecraft camps, virtual summer classes, or Minecraft Tutoring options.