Technology is everywhere. For children, learning to program can help them improve their problem solving and computational thinking skills. It can also broaden their career opportunities in the future and give them the opportunity to express their creativity and ideas in a unique way.
Learning programming is like learning a foreign language. Younger children learn faster than adults because their brains are still developing and ready to learn.
If parents don’t know how to program, they must rely on other resources to teach kids to program. Fortunately, there are many inexpensive and free coding websites available in the market today for kids.
JR Code Avengers
JR Code Avengers is one of several Code Avengers courses. It is an online platform used to teach coding to children.
Depending on age and level of experience, you can choose one of three options:
- Basic for children aged five to eleven with no experience.
- Intermediate level for children aged ten and fifteen with basic programming knowledge.
- Advanced age from 13 to 16 years old with more than basic understanding of programming.
JR Code Avengers requires a subscription. Choose an individual, parent or teacher. The courses are paid but offer a 30-day free trial.
Three pricing tiers: $ 29 / month, $ 25 / month for the six-month plan (billed for $ 150 semi-annually) and $ 20 for a full year (billed annually at $ 240). They all offer the same following features:
- Unlimited access to over 500 lessons.
- Over 100 managed projects and quizzes.
- Code Access Avengers Cloud Storage.
- Course Certificates.
- Exclusive Slack channel.
Code Combat
Code Combat is a programming game for children from five to seventeen years old. The main levels are free. Additional tiers are available for monthly subscriptions.
This free programming game for kids teaches JavaScript and Python programming using text-based programming. Children go through different levels of role play.
The lessons begin with concepts such as syntax, methods, loops, and variables. The game has fun graphics to help kids learn to program.
It also gives them the opportunity to interact with other players in the community and participate in team sports.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that offers classes for every student, anywhere. It contains hands-on exercises, one-to-one coaching and instructional videos to empower learners to learn at their own pace.
Khan Academy’s mission is to provide free, world-class education targeted at educators, parents and students.
Personalized learning enables parents and teachers to help identify learning gaps. Khan offers a wide variety of programming courses for kids, including JavaScript, HTML and CSS.
Khan Academy also offers basic programming lessons that teach children how to create graphics, animations, and interactive visualizations.
Lightbot
Lightbot is a puzzle game based on programming. Solving the levels requires the use of program logic.
It is available through a Flash enabled browser or as a paid app for Android, macOS, iOS and Windows.
It is designed for aspiring programmers and helps kids of all ages learn to program. Kids have fun playing games, learning programming logic like overloading, sequencing, recursive loops, procedures and conditions.
Swift Playgrounds
Swift Playgrounds is a free app for Mac and iPad. This makes learning fun and interactive and does not require programming knowledge.
Swift Playgrounds are the perfect starting point for teaching kids coding skills. Playground design aims to help kids learn to program in a fun way.
Swift Playgrounds is simple, fun and addicting, and includes a collection of lessons developed by Apple. Children solve interactive puzzles in coding classes to help them master the basics of coding.
Children experiment with a wide variety of problems, exploring different programming possibilities. Playgrounds consist of drones and robots that are waiting for commands. When kids learn to write code, they control what robots and drones do. By mastering the basics, children can move on to complementary tasks, moving to the next level.
Kodable
Kodable is a creativity and coding app that helps kids learn the basics of coding between the ages of four and eleven.
The basic training program is free. Kodable also offers parents a flat fee, which includes an advanced curriculum available on any device. Children learn the basics of computer science in independent lessons. They create cute characters and play with them.
Programming for children starts at the kindergarten level. Students start reading and writing JavaScript. As they develop, children create their own characters, create levels, and work with other programmers.
Kodable courses are organized like a classroom curriculum. Each block consists of a teacher’s script, an offline lesson, self-guided practice sessions, and a test or quiz at the end.
Tynker
Tynker offers samples of free online programming courses for kids. A monthly subscription is required to access the complete library of over 40 block-text courses and over 3,700 training modules.
Children learn in an interactive self-study environment. Programming courses are devoted to space and are based on the game using rocket ships and space aliens. Children create and create their own apps and games at their own pace. Tynker is suitable for all ages, from beginners to advanced programmers.
Stencyl
Stencyl is a free kids game maker where users can publish games for Android, iPhone, Mac, Windows, iPad, HTML5, Linux and Flash without code.
Children six and older create their own games, characters and worlds. For young children, the graphics are child-friendly.
More advanced learners gain the ability to view and edit text code in the games they play. They are required to download and configure the software. The forums provide invaluable support.
Kids who appreciate game development and design detail will love learning to code with Stencyl.
Blockly
Blockly is a free resource that gives you access to fun coding games for kids that are best for kids ages 8 and up. It uses a block-based approach to teach programming and JavaScript principles.
Students learn through a series of blocks and puzzles. Educational games teach programming to children who have no programming experience.
The aim of the games is to help children solve challenging and fun puzzles using the drag and drop function to create a story that solves the problem. Puzzle pieces appear on the screen. Children complete their story by solving a puzzle.
Ready to start programming your kids?
In today’s modern world, everyone knows that learning to code gives children a chance for the future. The choice of the resource most suitable for your child will depend on age, interests and level of knowledge.
The free and paid resources described above will help you know where to start introducing your kids to coding.
–