Get coding at any age with these kid-friendly tools

by Daisy Barrette

Sudo Labs
Sudo Labs
Aug 22, 2017 · 2 min read
Students learning to program at a Scratch workshop (photo: Daisy Barrette, 2016)

You’re never too young (or too old!) to learn to program. Whether you’re looking to encourage a love of computer science in a young mind, or just want to explore fun ways to learn yourself, there are plenty of places to start.

Here’s some of my favourite programming resources that are accessible to kids of all ages:

Code.org
There’s a wide variety of resources on Code.org. You can search by age range or theme on the code studio, or check out their unplugged activities to get a break from the computer for a while. Check out the Hour of Code to get a taste of what’s out there!

W3 Schools
This is the place to learn any and all things web development. W3 Schools has interactive tutorials as well as extensive reference material on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. With only a text editor (like Notepad++ or Sublime Text), you’ll learn to make a simple website in no time.

A student adjusts the text and images on a website she created with HTML & CSS (photo: Daisy Barrette, 2016)

Scratch
A more artistic way to code! Scratch is a visual programming language created by MIT. It’s easy to get started making a game or animation, and the sky’s the limit on what you can create. Scratch is also highly customizable, and there are plenty of tutorials to help you debug.

Khan Academy
It’s not just for math anymore — the educational not-for-profit now has courses on almost every subject, including computer science. You can take the general course, one focusing on animation (in partnership with Pixar), or programming in Javascript.

Honorable Mention: The Hello World Program
Their website is down for maintenance right now, but The Hello World Program’s YouTube page is full of fun tutorials on web development, Linux, and Python.

A student works on adding another level to their Scratch video game (photo: Daisy Barrette, 2016)

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Sudo Labs

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Sudo Labs

Sudo is a Kingston-based nonprofit organization with the mission to create a community where women can learn to code together.

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