As you all know, technology is already embedded in our lives.
When talking about the professions of the future, many people put technology and computer-related professions on the top.
Consequently, many parents want their children to have knowledge of technology and especially programming.
Also, I know that many kids are bored of sitting at home and looking for a new activity, so in this article, I will try to solve both problems at once.
In this article, I will talk about 4 applications that your children can have fun and learn to code while playing games.
Unfortunately, most writings on the internet often show you expensive and paid applications. But since I think education is a right that everyone should have access to, I will recommend you free apps and websites.
I want to say that, non of those apps are sponsored and I do not have any befenit to suggest them. I just wanted to suggest an idea for spending quality time with your child on an educational purpose.
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Scratch Jr.
Scratch Jr.
Appropriate Age: 5 to 7
Suitable for
- IOS/Android/Kindle Fire/Chromebook
ScratchJr is an introductory programming language for children from 5 to 7 that enables them to create their own interactive games.
Your kid can combine graphical programming blocks to make characters dance, move, and sing. They can also add their own voices while creating a story character, and even they can change voices too.
Payment: Free
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Tynker
Tynker
Appropriate Age: 5+
Suitable for
- iOS/Android/Chromebook
Tynker has plenty of learning modules.
One of the great features of Tynker is, it allows your kids to start at a suitable level for their experience and age.
Tynker serves thousands of schools and educators all over the world and currently, 60 million kids are using this to learn how to code.
Payment: It has free and paid options
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CodeSpark Academy
CodeSpark Academy
Appropriate Age: 5–9
Suitable for
- iOS/Android/ Kindle Fire/Windows/Amazon
CodeSpark hopes to make computer science education accessible to all the kids in the world.
Your kids can code a game or puzzle and they can play various games with this website.
Also, they have a research-based curriculum.
Payment: Free and paid options.
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Coursera.org (This is for you)
Coursera.org
Appropriate Age: 13+
Even though it is for the older age group, Coursera still deserves to be mentioned.
With this website, you can learn something new anytime, anywhere from top universities in the world.
There are hundreds of free courses, video lectures, and homework exercises, so this site is perfect for not only programming but also for various topics such as psychology, art, and business.
As a 23 master student, I use this website very frequently, so do not think this website is only for your child, you can also use this website and get education from the top universities.
Payment: Most courses are free but if you want to receive a certificate, you may need to pay for that course.
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Final Thoughts
I hope you can find at least one useful website in this article. Please don`t forget to let me know if you are curious about more apps.
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Previously published on “A Parent Is Born”, a Medium publication.
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Photo credit: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
