Tag Archives: coding for kids

Are Your Kids Ready to Code? Upcoming Options to Get Them Inspired

At CodeREV Kids we’re always looking for new, exciting, dynamic ways to get kids excited about learning technology. It’s not hard, given the fact that kids are surrounded by technology in their daily lives, and are naturally curious, but it’s our goal to always offer up-to-date and useful classes they can take with them for years to come. Here are some of our upcoming classes that may be of interest to your kids.

Modding for Minecraft: Kids Ages 8-10

This Monday night class takes advantage of a unique system we use that doesn’t require much typing at all. The classes involve creating mods in Minecraft that will impress even the tech savviest of kids. It’s a great way for your kids to learn the basics of coding, the logic required to write programs, and problem-solving skills. It’s an incredible opportunity to take part in an engaging and empowering class.

Mathcraft: Kids Ages 7-10

A Wednesday night class on Mathcraft is a great choice for kids ages 7 – 10. In this unique class, parents watch their children actually be thrilled to learn math! It’s a must-do for any parent that wants their kids to not only get math at a deeper level, but to enjoy it. The class involves kids building math problems within Minecraft and then solve them with our unique Mathcraft program. They’ll also be using our own economy system, which gives them a chance to solve realistic economy based problems.

Unreal Game Dev: Kids 11+

This is a class designed for older kids and it happens on Saturdays. Kids will start by learning the game engine called Unreal. They’ll then use a professional game making tool that was used to make the level of games you can buy on the shelves today. They’ll get to have fun playing with virtual reality in the new Vive, and they’ll be taking part of a truly innovative experience. For kids with an interest in VR, there may be no better choice.

Flex classes may be a better option for your child

At CodeREV Kids, we also offer flex schedule classes, which allow you to switch up your times to ensure you find a balance that works for you. These classes begin with a 1.5-hour assessment to see where your child is today and where they’d like to go. The learning is then paced for their specific needs.

Book Recommendations for Kid Coders

More and more kids are getting interesting in coding and that interest is spilling out in other areas of their lives. One of the things we get so excited about at CodeREV Kids is that kids don’t just learn to code but they learn to think critically, solve problems, and work independently within a team. We’re excited to see how many books are being released that deal with kid coders. Here are a few that have come across our radar recently.

Ruby Wizardry: An Introduction to Programming for Kids by Erin Weinstein

In this lovely book, the author includes lesson on programming as well as an introduction to it by introducing Ruby, a free, open-source platform. Initially the lessons are pretty basic but they get more challenging as the book continues. As a result, it’s a good choice for both beginning and advanced coders.

So, You Want to Be a Coder? by Jane (J.M.) Bedell

Do you have a kid who’s interested in coding but has a lot of questions about what a job in the industry would really look like? Then this is a great choice for them. It includes short interviews with people currently working in the industry – including a few teenagers who have started businesses of their own. There are also quizzes to help kids decide if coding is a good choice for them, along with ideas for future education and coding camps to increase experience.

Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding by Linda Liukas

Part picture book and part activity book, this work follows Ruby as she goes through her world and solves problems she encounters. The story itself doesn’t actually teach coding – it reinforces the skills and ideas that are so important in the coding world. For example, Ruby looks for patterns, breaks large problems into smaller, solvable ones, makes plans, and adapts when plans don’t come together as expected. In the second half, there are activities that kids can use to practice the skills Ruby showed in the story. These are thinking, problem-solving activities that don’t require a computer.

Books are great but there’s no substitute for hands-on experience

At CodeREV Kids, we love the idea that books can spark an interest but we believe there’s no substitute for real, hands-on experience. That’s why we offer a number of online classes for kids to code. Contact us to get more information about your options.

Coding for Kids – Which Side of the Argument Are You On?

At CodeREV Kids, we’re huge proponents of teaching kids coding. We believe there are many advantages and that it helps not only prepare kids for their future careers – in virtually any field – but increase their problem-solving skills as well. While we strongly hold this opinion, we keep up on those who say that coding for kids has its drawbacks.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Younger kids learn to code — but is it too early? raises some interesting questions. The article discusses the decision of San Francisco to teach computer science starting in preschool and in every year through a student’s senior year. There are a number of programs that help kids learning computer science, and many of these programs involve coding.

Programs have introduced kids as young as three and four to programming robots with apps. Preschoolers who started learning to code a few years ago are reported to love it, and parents have loved it too. A school principal who has a similar program says that it improves her students’ vocabularies and encourages them to think in computational ways.

Not everyone is on board, though. Detractors say that encouraging kids to spend more time in front of computers is a mistake. There’s no question that children’s brains are more sensitive than the brains of adults. They worry that if a child is exposed too much to screen time, that their stress hormones will be affected or their natural clocks will be out of sync – even when they’re using computers for educational reasons.

However, Dr. Tanya Altmann, a pediatrician, disagrees. She believes that teaching coding to children as young as three-years-old is appropriate, assuming parents have rules about how much time they spend in front of screens. She even says that her own son was involved in a coding class when he was seven. The key was that she created guidelines to ensure the kids weren’t always on computers.

At CodeREV Kids we understand these arguments but the truth is that the future is in technology. Kids are already spending hours a day in front of some form of technology, whether it’s TV or a game on their tablet. We know from experience that getting kids involved in creating – not just consuming – this technology is fun for everyone involved. Do you want to learn more about our programs? Reach out to us today and let us share our passion with you and your family.

How Disney is Upping the Coding for Kids Game

At CodeREV we’re excited to see companies and schools across the country begin to see how important coding is and why it should be taught to kids. To do that, we need to find innovative ways to make the experience fun and interesting. We’ve come up with some really unique and well-received ways to do that but it’s nice to see that Disney is working hard to shoulder some of that burden too.

USA Today has an article titled Disney to join effort to get kids into the coding game. Greg Toppo writes, “Do you want to code a snowman? How about a droid? The non-profit group Code.org on Tuesday said that it will team up with Disney and Lucasfilm to create Frozen- and Star Wars-themed computer science courses for children, part of a free, 80-hour computer science course that will be integrated into the group’s curriculum over the next year.

In 2014, Code.org’s much shorter “Hour of Code” animation tutorial featured Anna and Elsa from Frozen, while the 2015 version included Rey, BB-8, Princess Leia, R2-D2 and others from Star Wars, the group said. It hopes the characters will provide a kind of bridge for students to transition from the short introductory tutorials to a full computer science course, offered at its online Code Studio. “We regularly hear from teachers that their students want to keep coding,” said Hadi Partovi, the group’s CEO and co-founder.

Students, he said, have been known to skip recess to spend more time coding. “Part of this is because it’s inherently fun to create things, to make apps or games,” he said. “But a huge part of it is because of the engagement factor from interacting with characters like Anna and Elsa, BB-8, or R2-D2.” The new partnership was announced at the annual conference of the International Society for Technology in Education. Code.org said more than 11 million students and 330,000 teachers have accounts on its platform.”

Are you interested in hearing more about coding for kids in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas? CodeREV has been bringing the world of STEM-learning and coding to kids for quite some time and we’re excited to expand on a regular basis. We’ve found some really unique ways to get kids excited in both our summer camps and our after-school sessions.