Tag Archives: Coding

Challenge Your Child to Take on a New Activity

The list of jobs of a good parent is long. Of course, the basics are necessary – food, clothing, education, etc. – but the list gets much longer as we think of ways for parents to help nurture their child’s intellect and curiosity. At CodeREV Kids, we have some unique ways to challenge your child through the joys of learning to code.

Coding can help your child for the rest of their life

There are plenty of activities your child can take part in, so you may be wondering – why coding? The truth is that there is a long list of reasons that coding can help your child. Not only will your child learn valuable skills today, but the demand for employees who can code is only projected to go up in future years. What’s more, it’s not just coders they’re looking for. Future jobs may seek out employees in all sectors who also know how to code.

Your child can build on a host of skills

When your child comes to one of our coding classes, they’ll learn about coding but they’ll be building other skills too. Our classes help foster critical thinking and team work. They help improve our students’ self-esteem and they can increase their interest in both math and science. Whether your goal is to help them specifically learn coding, or to boost their self-confidence or help them make new friends, it’s all available here.

Our instructors have unique backgrounds

When a company is staffing for a company like this, what do you think they should focus on more: Instructors who have experience teaching children or instructors who are experts in coding specifically? For other companies, this may be a difficult question to answer but for us it was easy: Our instructors are both. They come to us with vast experience teaching children and creating curriculum, but they’re also experienced in coding in the real world.

If you’re looking for a way to challenge your child, help prepare them for the future, and introduce them to new friends, then CodeREV Kids is a great choice. We offer a host of programs from Minecraft maneuvering to structured coding classes and even classes that allow your child to work at their own pace. We’ve done everything we can to ensure that all students can find the perfect balance between being challenged and feeling confident.

 

Your Kids Deserve Cutting Edge Curriculum and We Provide It

When you choose CodeREV Kids for your children, we take that trust seriously. We want every student to get an exceptional education, for them to have a great experience, and for you to feel 100% confident that you’re choosing the right option for them. That’s why we put so much time and care into creating a curriculum we can be proud of.

We focus on fun and education

Who says something has to either be fun or be education? We sure don’t! We believe that STEM is important for kids and we believe we can make it fun for them to learn. Of course, we also make sure that our curriculum isn’t just good enough for us. We have actually had it supported by experts in education at both the MIT Media Lab and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

A low student to teacher ratio is important to us

There are many things that go into creating incredible tech camps for kids, including the ability for students to get as much help as they want. We work to keep the number of students to teachers as low as possible. This gives us the chance to make every learning experience as individualized as possible and to ensure that every student gets what they need. Our ratios are between 5-8 to 1 for every class.

Your students are safe with us

There are a lot of reasons that coding is important for kids, but if you don’t feel confident in who you’re sending your kids to, then you’re not going to send them here. That’s why we are sure to hold our camps at schools. This gives you the peace of mind that they’re in a safe environment. What’s more, we do fingerprint background checks for every single member of our staff. We also ensure that we have several instructors at each of our locations that has CPR certification. Your child is important to us!

Your student will do more than just sit behind a computer

In this day and age, many parents understand that tech is more and more important every year, but they also wish their kids spent more time outside playing. At CodeREV Kids, we’ve found unique ways to accomplish both objectives. We have some great outdoor activities that will help boost their team-building skills and give them a chance to run and play and have fun. For example, during a full camp day, there are four break times each day.

The Future is Digital and Other Reasons Your Kids Need to Learn to Code

If you look at the jobs that have been booming in the last decade, it’s not hard to see that there’s one sector that’s here to stay: Technology. It’s difficult to imagine a career today that doesn’t involve digital technology in some way, from cell phones to email to in-depth html. At CodeREV Kids, we think it’s important for kids to get involved in the digital world as early as possible.

Why wait until college for your child to learn to code?

It wasn’t long ago that students could only hope to learn how to code when they got to college. Today, kids often teach themselves in high school or even as early as middle school. But why should they have to teach themselves? The good news is that now that we’re around, they don’t have to.

Learning early means a deeper understanding of a wide range of topics

If students learn how to code at an early age, they’ll also get the benefits of learning to code at an early age. For example, coding helps teach children logic, advanced thinking, and problem solving. You’ve likely heard that the earlier a child learns a language, the easier it is. The same is true of coding because it is indeed a new language.

Your kids deserve the best education

When you think of the best education for your kids, what do you think of? Do you think only of getting good grades? Do you think of them embracing critical thinking skills? Do you think of them learning skills that will actually be useful after they’ve graduated from high school and college? No matter which of those definitions you’d chose – or what combination of them – there’s no question that we can offer a truly excellent education when it comes to coding.

Teach valuable skills today in an environment kids enjoy

We know that if you tried to sit your kids down and teach them how to be a CEO at seven years old, they’d soon get bored. That’s why teaching kids coding is much more appealing than helping them prepare for any other type of career: It’s fun to learn. From our Minecraft servers to our flexible, at their own pace classes, we have options that your kids can get excited about. CodeREV Kids is here to make it a reality – just reach out to us for more information.

4 Reasons Coding Will Pay Off for Your Kids

There’s no question that kids today are busier than ever and it can be difficult to fit it all in. However, there’s one thing that we at CodeREV Kids think every parent needs to make time for: Kids learning to code. It’s not because we think every child should be a programmer when they grow up, but because technology is rapidly changing the world we live in and learning to code better prepares our kids for that. Here are four reasons that coding is likely to pay off for your kids.

1. They’ll be ready for the technology of the future

Today, our world is becoming more and more reliant on technology. This is only going to increase as time goes on. From hardware to code to programs, we are a society that’s very reliant on technology. No matter what career path your child eventually choses, there’s a good chance it will be affected in some way by technology and learning to code can help prepare them for it.

2. Coding teaches kids to be makers

When kids learn how to code, they’re empowered. They gain confidence, they learn to be innovative, and they take on skills likely leadership and ingenuity. Coding is all about finding new solutions and teaching new concepts. If you want your child to be creative and to be able to solve problems than teaching them to code is a great way to get there.

3. Kids gain important logic and critical thinking skills

There are so many skills a kid learn when they learn to code. They discover how to solve problems on their own, the best way to tell a story, how to communicate effectively with others and with an audience, how to think methodically and creatively. In fact, learning to guide while also building a video game can be extra powerful because they’ll need to use both technical and artistic skills.

4. Kids love to code!

Most importantly, kids have a great time learning to code. They get to meet new friends, they’re motivated, and they learn a genuine desire to be creative in their world. At CodeREV Kids we’re so glad that kids gain valuable skills but the fact that our students have a great time is enough of a reason for us to show up to work every day.

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.

4 Tips for Teachers Who Want to Incorporate Coding into the Classroom

Are you a teacher who would like to integrate coding and / or robotics into your classroom? Or are you a parent who wants to talk to your local school district about integrating coding and robotics but you want to walk in armed with some knowledge? CodeREV Kids knows that kids benefit from learning coding in many ways and we’re here to share some tips to help teachers incorporate technology into the classroom.

1. Choose the right platform for your needs

There are some types of robotics and coding that take hours just to get started, while other options can be begun quickly. Some need to be completed in one session while other lessons can be spread out over time. Ease-of-use should be a top priority for every age, from kindergarten to high school. Do plenty of research before deciding where to begin.

2. You don’t have to develop everything from scratch

This is not a situation where you need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, make use of existing lesson plans. Trying to develop your own plans from scratch is both impractical and intimidating. Look for content that’s already available or speak to teachers who’ve already been through the process of beginning a robotics and / or coding project.

3. Use technology to learn how to teach technology

You’ll find plenty of resources online but remember that technology changes almost at the speed of light. By the time you find a blog that details how to start classes in coding, that blog may not contain the latest information. Use Twitter, where people are constantly sharing the latest information, or find online groups that exchange ideas.

4. Follow the lead of the students when appropriate

Once you’ve taught kids the basics, they’ll be off and running. There’s no reason not to let them design their own projects. Not only does it take the pressure off the teacher, but it gets the imagination of everyone in the class running on overtime.

Do you have questions about why kids should learn coding? Or do you want to enroll your child in a Southern California coding class? At CodeREV Kids, we’ve been passionate about these topics for many years. We are your top choice for fun, innovative, and ongoing technology classes for kids. Reach out to us today to find out how we can help your kid achieve their wildest coding dreams.

Tips for Teaching Robotics and Coding to Kids with Special Needs

Robotics and coding are excellent skills for any child to learn but this is especially true of kids with special needs. At CodeREV Kids, we’ve taught kids all age ranges how to get involved with coding and robotics. Here are some tips we came across on how to get special needs kids involved.

Start with short activities

Begin each lesson with basic actions to show them what robots are capable of. Use a single, simple behavior at first and give kids a small challenge to go along with it. One example is to teach a child who to make a robot turn left and then challenge them to make it turn around six times. You can introduce other behaviors similarly.

Use step-by-step prompts

One fun way to teach any kid robotics is to encourage them to use their own bodies to plan their programs. For example, they can get down to the robot’s perspective and act out the behaviors of the robot. They can then use step-by-step prompts to make the robot do what they want.

Take advantage of the think aloud model

The think aloud model is very useful when teaching kids to code. Essentially, you explain your thought process as you show the kids how to solve a challenge. Then let them talk out loud as they solve it themselves. This allows you to see how their mind works when solving challenges and gives you an easy way to step in and correct them at the exact moment they need help.

Set tasks for specific kids

One of the most important things is to design and modify tasks for specific kids. For example, you can use redundant text for kids who need additional help, can provide background information specific to each task so they’ll better understand it, add organization, or begin with very easy tasks and then very slowly add on until they can handle the difficult tasks.

If you want your kid to learn coding then CodeREV Kids is the company you want to work with. We offer a huge variety of classes, including flex-course classes that allow your kids to work at their own pace, as well as more structured classes. Do you need information on how your child could best start the process? Contact us today and let us help you understand the ways we’re here to teach your kids.

A Parent’s Guide to Minecraft Modding

If you’re one of the many parents who’s heard about Minecraft modding from your kids but aren’t exactly sure what it is, then CodeREV Kids is here to help. Believe it or not, your kids are learning a lot from this process but there are ways you can ensure they get the most from this learning experience.

What exactly is Minecraft?

Often compared to Legos, Minecraft is a game that takes place online and allows players to build and then explore worlds they create out of 3D blocks. Anything your kids imagine can be built. One of the reasons this game is so popular is because it’s completely open-ended, which allows them to use their imaginations to make it whatever they want it to be. It’s also a great way for them to learn about the power of perseverance and troubleshooting.

The basics of Minecraft modding

Modding can involve everything from minor changes like making rainbow-colored chickens, to significant changes that impact the entire game. Modding is a way for your kids to build structures with code instead of having to use one block at a time. In fact, they can make their own game within the game if they’re able to program new sets of rules and situations.

There can be issues with Minecraft modding

At CodeREV Kids we’re big fans of Minecraft modding but it can be very challenging for non-programmers – which is why there are many ways for kids to “learn” modding. The problem with these programs are aplenty:

  • They don’t really teach kids to code
  • Kids simply use pre-made mods they download online and copy and paste the files
  • There’s no natural progression that allows kids to evolve as modders
  • Parents are forced to pay for servers and set up files
  • These servers could be insecure or unsafe.

Work with CodeREV Kids for a totally different experience

When you send your kids to coding classes with CodeREV kids, we don’t just give them codes to copy and paste, we teach them to code and create their own Minecraft mods. We do this in ways that are fun and creative and show them how coding can be a tool that will bring their imagination to life. We cover everything they need, from tools to servers, and your kids can learn at their own pace. To learn more about our many options, contact us today!

You May Be Surprised by the Ways Coding Can Help Your Children Excel

If you’re like many parents, you may think of coding as a technical skill. While it certainly is a technical skill, it’s also a lot more. It helps kids interact with the digital world in a different way and encourages them to become makers instead of doers. Studies have shown that coding improves computational thinking skills, which can give incredible advantages you may not have thought.

Coding is a great way for your children to practice math in the real world

People used to say that if a person is interested in programming then they should get good at math. Now it looks like the opposite may be true. Parents and educators alike agree that when kids learn how to code, their math skills are naturally improved – and they claim that math is more fun. Indeed, it certainly ends that age-old question kids typically have of math: When are we even going to use this?

Coding can help improve writing skills

Above all else, coding is creative. It allows children to combine their love of technology with a (sometimes) newfound love of art. Kids can tell interactive stories, they can create their own storytelling parties, and they can learn new skills that will improve their writing – all while having the time of their lives.

If you want to boost creativity then coding is a great place to start

There’s plenty of research out there that creativity isn’t just something we’re born with – it’s a skill that can be taught and that can be developed. When kids learn coding, they cultivate three qualities that can all improve creativity:

  1. Whole-brain thinking
  2. A desire to become a creator
  3. The mindset of an experimenter

Confidence is important and coding can help increase it

Don’t get stuck thinking that the only reason you’d want your kid to learn how to code is because you want them to grow up and become a programmer. While it’s true that it may open up doors in the future – in a variety of fields – it’s also true that psychologists agree that the way to boost confidence in kids is to boost independence and problem-solving. Coding can do all that and more.

Are you ready to learn more? CodeREV Kids is here to teach your kids the fundamentals of this exciting, invigorating, and creative field.

Top 4 Reasons to Give Your Daughter Coding Lessons

At CodeREV Kids we believe that every child can benefit from learning to code. Unfortunately, we live in a world where boys are often encouraged to go into STEM fields more than girls are. We urge the parents of girls to get them involved too! Here are just four of the many reasons it’s a great move.

1. Coding is a lot of fun!

Once your daughter learns how to code, she’ll be able to express herself in totally new ways. She can design games, build her own apps, and turn almost any idea into a virtual reality that’s within her reach. It can be used for all sorts of school work from art projects to math problems. Teaching girls to code gives them a feeling of ownership and a sense of pride in what they’ve created.

2. Coding teaches critical thinking skills

When a kid learns to code, they’re learning more than just how to copy and paste. They’re actually developing logic and analytical reasoning intuitively. This can help your daughter excel in any area she’d like to explore in the future. She can transfer these skills from the computer to the real world. And that’s a win-win.

3. It’s the language of the 21st Century

Did you know that some schools are starting to allow kids to take coding classes and counting them toward their foreign language credits? That may seem crazy to someone who hasn’t ever learned to code but the truth is that coding makes it easier to learn other languages and it promotes some of the other elements that are considered advantages of learning another language. It helps kids learn roots, structures, and critical thinking – all of which are part of learning another language.

4. It shouldn’t be thought of as a “boys field”

Today there are tons of organizations that exist just to encourage girls to code. Why coding? Because it boosts self-esteem. Because it encourages both independent thinking and group-working. Because it’s a way for kids to not just use technology but interact with it.

At CodeREV, we think these are all worthwhile reasons for anyone to learn coding but we feel it’s especially important for girls to know that they’re welcome and encouraged to be a part of this field. Are you interested in getting your son or daughter involved in coding? CodeREV’s classes are designed to do just that!