The more technical term might be algorithmic logic.  A cooking recipe is an example, as it lists some ingredients, and then a series of steps or a procedure to achieve a result. Automated devices are driven by such procedures, but also, business teams, bureaucracies, automated assembly lines, even your television remote control.  "Coding" really means learning and writing out these steps using rigorous logic.  You could teach kids the Philosophy of Logic and they'd be just as well prepared, but a computer is a lot more fun and engaging in the elementary grades.