I can recommend ScratchJr and Scratch which my 9 year old has been using through school (it’s part of the UK curriculum). She really enjoys it to make puppet shows and mazes, but don’t know yet if she’ll want to graduate from the block logic to using a full language like Python or JavaScript.
Second the recommendation for Scratch for any kid that wants to do coding at home (it’s also been part of our kids’ curriculum in NYC). One of our kids is heavily into coding. We did a week or two at a Code Ninjas in Brooklyn for summer camp, but he’s really been enjoying Penguin Coding, another local option, which he’s found to be more advanced for him. Highly recommend them if you happen to live in Brooklyn or Massachusetts!
GameMaker on Steam is a pretty great toolset to make games. It's powerful enough that it made the first version of Spelunky, and easy enough that I've taught many kids how to make their own games in it before.
Yeah, that's what I figure. I think we came away feeling "okay, not great?" and it's hard to tell how much of that is the location or my child's general disinterest to activities past the second interaction.
My 7 year old has been coding for about a year now. We started with CodeMonkey (US based) exercises, where he did independent learning, but it was difficult to keep him engaged - he really benefits from tutor led learning. He enrolled with The Code Zone (UK based) at the start of the year; it's purely online with a tutor/class and he's so much more engaged. They work with scratch, but also have an integrated Minecraft education module (he's a huge Minecraft fan). I work in Software Development and I can see that there will still be a place for coders in the industry. AI needs guidance and knowledgeable heads behind the scenes to curate and maintain code quality. I don't think that will ever really disappear.
I recommend Star Stuff - a programming puzzle game! You can find the full experience on Steam but a large chunk of the puzzles also exist on starstuffedu.org for free! Super fun, unique coding experience where logic puzzles take the front seat and coding is your tool.
I can recommend ScratchJr and Scratch which my 9 year old has been using through school (it’s part of the UK curriculum). She really enjoys it to make puppet shows and mazes, but don’t know yet if she’ll want to graduate from the block logic to using a full language like Python or JavaScript.
Thank you, great to know.
Second the recommendation for Scratch for any kid that wants to do coding at home (it’s also been part of our kids’ curriculum in NYC). One of our kids is heavily into coding. We did a week or two at a Code Ninjas in Brooklyn for summer camp, but he’s really been enjoying Penguin Coding, another local option, which he’s found to be more advanced for him. Highly recommend them if you happen to live in Brooklyn or Massachusetts!
Noted!
GameMaker on Steam is a pretty great toolset to make games. It's powerful enough that it made the first version of Spelunky, and easy enough that I've taught many kids how to make their own games in it before.
Thanks!
It seems heavily YMMV, not just based on the location, but on the specific instructors at the location. I'm not against the idea in principle though.
Give us an update when your kid gets hooked on Quadrilateral Cowboy and becomes a L33T H@XX0R.
Yeah, that's what I figure. I think we came away feeling "okay, not great?" and it's hard to tell how much of that is the location or my child's general disinterest to activities past the second interaction.
My 7 year old has been coding for about a year now. We started with CodeMonkey (US based) exercises, where he did independent learning, but it was difficult to keep him engaged - he really benefits from tutor led learning. He enrolled with The Code Zone (UK based) at the start of the year; it's purely online with a tutor/class and he's so much more engaged. They work with scratch, but also have an integrated Minecraft education module (he's a huge Minecraft fan). I work in Software Development and I can see that there will still be a place for coders in the industry. AI needs guidance and knowledgeable heads behind the scenes to curate and maintain code quality. I don't think that will ever really disappear.
My son is nearly 6 and loves Minecraft, sounds like this has potential!
Oh, that is *really* neat.
I recommend Star Stuff - a programming puzzle game! You can find the full experience on Steam but a large chunk of the puzzles also exist on starstuffedu.org for free! Super fun, unique coding experience where logic puzzles take the front seat and coding is your tool.
oooh very cool, thank you