One of the biggest reasons why I love homeschoolng so much is that my kids get to follow their own interests. One of those interests is learning to code at a young age.
My oldest son is particularly drawn to all things tech and currently does most of his school work online. While doing some math problems in
Khan Academy we found that they have a whole section on learning how to program. Children (and adults) of all ages follow a simple step by step tutorial that teaches the ins and outs of java. I was so proud when he showed me, that after only a few minutes, he could write his very own lines of code.
Khan Academy is a free service, which makes me love it even more.
There are so many more websites and apps that offer online classes for kids to learn code. Here is a quick round up of all the ones that I found in my search to find great resources to help to teach him how to code.
1. Youth Digital – Amazing classes. These guys offer great deals on a regular basis. If there is a class that your child would like to try, make sure that you keep checking their website. They also have a money-back guarantee.
2. Thought Stem – These guys are pretty reasonably priced. They also use the drag and drop method that is so popular in apps made for children. The CEO is a PHD in computer science and has also made a video game teaching kids how to code, so it’s a pretty great product.
3. Tynker – These classes are offered in bundles and modules. You can get 5 modules for around $100. They look pretty neat, and have many different ones that you could tailor to your own child’s personal interests.
4. Gamester Mechanic – These classes teach kids how to code while they design their own video game. If you have a child who is a gamer this might be something that they really enjoy. Classes are anywhere from $199 – $249. This might be one to keep checking back as well.
5. Scratch – As far as I can tell Scratch is free. This would be a good website to start trying out code to see if your kids like it. Like Tynker, they also have many different modules, with different ways to code.
6. Move the Turtle (app) – This is a $4 app that teaches kids as young as 5 years old basic coding. That is just amazing. 5 year old computer scientists!
7. Hopscotch (app) – This is a free app. My son loves this one. He uses it almost daily. It has different games and activities to teach all different applications for coding. There is gaming, modification, art, as well as math. This is one you must check out.
8. Daisy the Dinosaur (app) – Another free app for the under 6 crowd. The point of the application is to teach kids basic coding so that Daisy walks across the screen. It’s really fun to make her move!
9. Cargo-Bot (app) – This one looks so cool. It uses a programming language called Codea, and can be used exclusively on your iPad. Each level teaches not only coding but logic. Plus it’s FREE!!
10. The Foos (app) – This is another FREE app for that younger crowd. It looks like a game with these little monsters, but you need to use code to pass each level. That is my favourite type of learning – not even realizing that you are!
Common Sense Media has a listing of their favourite websites and apps for kids. There are a few on their that I did not include as they were for high school children, so not relevant to me…. yet.
Another amazing website that you should go and check out is Code.org. This week they are hosting an #hourofcode where they are trying to get as many students as possible to log on and to learn some simple coding. They have teamed up with some really large tech companies, and have phenomenal activities, tutorials, and teaching resources that will help you to support your student.
My son decided to do the Minecraft hour of code and he was so excited that THE Jeb was on the video and signed his certificate. He ended up doing two more hours and that was absolutely fine with me!
Here is a video that we did on Periscope on our #hourofcode
If you want to see any other videos LIVE or replays make sure you follow me on Periscope and Katch.
Please let me know if you have tried any of the above programs, classes, or apps. I would love to know how your kids liked them. If you know of any that you think my son would like – make sure to contact me on here or my Facebook Fan Page.
Happy Coding!!
PIN IT FOR LATER
