Code.org has some amazing learning tools, and this one is geared specifically towards early readers. Some of the activities can be done independently, but others require adult assistance. It’s a great, self-contained course for schools, clubs, parents, and other adults to use with kids as young as 4.
Bitsbox is subscription box that can help teach kids to code. Each reusable box comes with an activity booklet, trading cards, a toy, temporary tattoos, and stickers. You can also get just the book, or a digital version, and they’ll even let you simply use the web site without a subscription. Bitsbox is targeted at kids 6-12, and does require both reading and typing, but can be used with adult assistance for younger kids.
Run Marco is a web-and-app-based game for kids to learn programming basics. It’s cute, with nice graphics, and relatively easy to use. Non-readers can use it, but might need help. The interface is pretty intuitive, but some of the kids we have worked with weren’t quite sure how to get the “code” to run without some help. My only big issue with it right now is that they don’t yet have a “girl” version available. It says it’s coming soon, but until it’s there, we’ll be more likely to use games with non-human characters, because a lot of the girls we work with don’t want to use a “boy” avatar.
We used The Foos during Hour of Code with many of the younger kids. It’s available as an app, on the web, and as a downloadable application for Macs. We found that the Kindle version was a bit clunky, but the kids had much better luck with the web version. Unfortunately the web version appears to be limited, so they won’t be able to get as far as they might in the app. They really enjoyed it, regardless, so we’ll keep this in our toolkit!
This is a great tutorial for making a DIY light-up bookmark, from Sew Electric. There are some other great tutorials on the web site, as well as links for additional resources, materials, and more.
We love this web site! They have some great, easy projects for anybody interested in getting started with sewable electronics. The bookmark project is fairly easy for kids that are comfortable with a needle and thread. I made a bracelet using the Sparkling Bracelet instructions. For those of you that would rather see all of the projects in a printed form, they also have a book available, with quite a bit more info than what is on the web site. You can many of the electronic bits and pieces you need to get started from Sparkfun. We also sell a sewable electronics mini-kit with the electronic parts required to build the bookmark.
We use Scratch in many of our introductory programming classes, especially for kids in the 7-12 age range. It’s so easy to use! Kids can create fun animations and interactive games with a drag-and-drop interface. There’s some typing, but it’s minimal, and the commands are easy-to-read, so most of the younger kids can keep up with the class. Scratch comes with a great built-in library of graphics (called Sprites) that kids can use, or they can use the drawing tools to create their own. Some of our kids will also download images from the web to use in their Scratch projects.
Depending on the length of the class, we usually teach kids how to make the following with Scratch:
- Simple animation that “draws” on the screen
- Interactive, keyboard-controlled animation
- “Apple catcher” game that combines randomization, looping, events, and variables
- Web cam controlled music generator
- Keyboard-controlled “maze” game
- Virtual pet
You can see some of the class projects that we’ve uploaded here: https://scratch.mit.edu/users/coderkidsclub/
Using a web-based interface, coders can create mods, and test them in a Minecraft simulator. They can also connect their mods to the LearnToMod server, which they can connect to via their own desktop copy of Minecraft.
LearnToMod requires a subscription, but it’s only $30 per year, so it’s totally worth it if you want to learn some programming, and make some cool Minecraft mods while you’re at it!
One thing to note: LearnToMod requires a special server plugin to run the mods. So the mods won’t work on every single Minecraft server out there.