The Best Coding Programs for Your Kids in 2021
Coding programs for kids are becoming more popular daily, and the reason for this isn’t far-fetched.
In the digital age of computer literacy and software applications that solve human problems, coding or programming is a basic skill required for everyone to understand, develop, and use the technology around them.
It is crucial for children to learn coding at a young age. Coding knowledge prepares everyone for tomorrow. It equips both children and adults with the skills that help them compete favourably in the ever-changing tech-driven world.
Before we get into the best coding classes for your kids, here are five ways learning programming help your children.
Why Your Kids Should Learn Coding
A decade ago, coding was considered one of the most difficult skills to learn. However, a lot has changed as the world continues to be technologically advanced and connected.
Some of the benefits of coding classes for your kids include:
1. Improved Personality
Coding or building a web application can come with its challenges, such as bugs and errors. As kids interact with and learn to fix errors whilst coding, they develop positive traits like patience, resilience, and grit.
Successfully building a game or any other application gives children self-confidence. As they learn more programming concepts in their coding classes, they instinctively pick up ways to overcome failure by creatively tackling it.
2. Improved Concentration and Focus Ability
The curriculum of coding programs for kids often prioritises focus and concentration. Children are expected to create and input their codes correctly or risk unsuccessful projects during their coding workshops.
By continually building applications, your kids would develop attention to detail while also learning to take strategic steps to achieve their goals.
3. Better Analytic Skills
Coding programs involve programming workshops where kids are challenged with completing projects, either as individuals or as members of a group.
These projects are usually fun to complete because they are practical. Most significantly, children are required to solve complex coding problems using arithmetic and algebraic skills.
With coding, your kids are rewarded with well-sharpened math and analytic skills, alongside the ability to solve problems creatively.
4. Preparation for a Career
With social media, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence and robotics, the technology sector has experienced rapid growth in the last decade. The development of the sector has influenced the demands for individuals with coding experience.
Enrolling your children in coding programs prepares them for one of the most sought-after professions worldwide. Kids can pick up in-demand programming skills early, with the possibility of a coding career in the future.
5. Interaction with the World
Finally, coding help children to understand technology.
Technology continues to evolve globally, and coding classes introduce kids to how it can be used or programmed.
In addition to this, children learn how to connect concepts and interact with various devices, which improves their relationship with the world around them.
Top 7 Coding Programs for Your Kids in 2021
After reviewing some of the benefits of coding classes for your children, we can finally dive into the best coding programs for your kids.
Here are the top seven coding programs where your kids can learn to build their own software applications and games from scratch!
NextGen is an online coding program by The Bulb Africa for children between the ages of ten and eighteen.
The platform offers a personalised learning experience, allowing children to learn at a convenient pace from anywhere on the planet. Training modules are designed like a game; your kids can move from one coding track to the next after completing interactive tasks.
Coding classes at NextGen run for six weeks on video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Teams. Children interact one-on-one with specially handpicked coding experts from the world.
Once your kids join the platform, they can find courses on programming logic, software development, web design, and other relevant tech skills essential for building a coding career.
NextGen also provides personalised training sessions to children with special needs.
Developed by MIT students for kids between the ages of six and sixteen, Scratch Jr is an interactive programming language that assists children to create stories and build games by moving different blocks of codes.
The blocks of codes represent specific commands, so children can quickly turn characters into objects that jump, dance, move or sing by snapping different blocks into place.
Your kids can easily access Scratch Jr through its web version or by downloading the Scratch Jr app on their Android, iOS, or Kindle devices. What is impressive about Scratch Jr is how it offers curriculums and exercises that teachers can apply to help kids learn how to code in class.
Code.org is a coding program with interactive learning modules. Children can play maze games or watch exclusive videos to build websites and games.
The platform offers coding lessons on the basics of programming as well as on programming languages like CSS, JavaScript and HTML. It is also popularly known for its intuitive search engine that allows you to search for coding courses and online programming tutorials.
Children aged four years and older can log in to Code.org, surf through lessons that have been arranged according to grades, and learn how to code from scratch.
Lightbot is one of the top coding programs out there with a fun and simple approach to teaching kids how to code.
The platform offers an app-based coding experience for children of all ages. Kids are presented with LightBot, a puzzle game that can only be advanced with coding knowledge. Playing the game rewards them with coding knowledge and problem-solving abilities at the same time.
On LightBot, children have access to varieties of lessons such as procedures, sequencing, conditionals, overloading and recursive loops. The LightBot App can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon Apps.
Khan Academy offers computer science courses for children aged twelve and above. Coding courses on the platform discuss the basics of programming — such as algorithms, information and cryptography — and cover lessons on HTML, SQL and JavaScript.
Distinguishing itself from other coding programs, Khan Academy makes its coding materials available to anyone in the world without asking them to log in or create an account.
The platform is even more famous for its extensive course library that allows children to search for various coding subjects and learn for free!
Khan Academy doesn’t specialise only in coding for kids, though. It is a learning platform that provides lessons on various topics from computer science to mathematics, chemistry, biology, engineering and finance and history.
Code Monster is one of the coding levels on Crunchzilla, a simple learning platform for people interested in coding.
The platform has four levels of coding lessons — Code Monster, Code Maven, Game Maven and Data Maven. Code Monster is specially designed for pre-teens, helping younger children to learn interactive programming languages like JavaScript.
Code Maven and Game Maven are higher coding lesson levels for teens and adults, while Data Maven is simply statistics learning for children aged twelve and above.
On Code Monster, children come across chat bubbles on a friendly monster graphic that guides them to code. After typing in the correct code, they see the results and advance to the next level.
Code Monkey’s name probably suggests what the coding program is about. The platform teaches coding to children through an online adventure game that involves assisting a monkey in obtaining some bananas.
To assist the monkey towards the bananas, children will complete a series of tasks and challenges. Completing the tasks correctly code the monkey towards the bananas, teaching your kids the needed skills to build their own games.
Code Monkey’s website offers over two hundred free challenges to help children cover the basics of programming. Then, tons of other challenges can be unlocked to go in-depth into building websites and software applications after upgrading to the paid version.
Conclusion
Tons of coding programs for kids spring up every day, emphasising the need for your children to enrol in any of their choices and learn programming from scratch.
It would be best to choose more than one coding program for your kids to avoid creating a boring routine. Varieties of activities across different learning platforms allow children to fully explore the beautiful world of coding.
You can incorporate NextGen as one of the best options for your kids. The platform provides a personalised learning experience for pre-teens, teenagers, and children with special needs.