As technology continues to dominate our world and everything is becoming digital, from newspapers to payment modes, learning computer skills is becoming a basic need. The best gift you can give your kids is to encourage them to learn essential computer skills like coding. At the moment, coding is a very critical computer skill. Teaching your child to learn how to code will not only help them develop problem-solving abilities, but it will also help to refine their logic, design skills, and organizational ability. Learning how to code will also help them to learn how to express themselves creatively and in a unique way. Having said that, games can play an important role when it comes to teaching your kids how to code. Gaming encourages discovery, interaction, and trial-and-error, all of which are critical skills needed to learn new technologies. In other words, computer programming can help your kids to develop very important skills. Your kids not only become better critical thinkers but also creators instead of simply becoming consumers of technology. Here is the list of top 15 coding games for kids.
Table of Contents
Top 15 Coding Games for Kids
Here are top 15 codes games for kids that can help your kids to learn how to code.
1. Scratch
This game was developed by MIT for parents who want their kids to learn coding activities. It teaches kids to use coding skills to create stories, games MD other interactive media. If you kid is aged between 8-16, this website might be good for them. It features many step-by-step guides and lessons for parents and children of all programming skills levels.
2. Hopscotch
This is a great game for kids who ate just starting to learn the basics of coding. Whether you are a kid or a grown-up, you will find this game very useful because it is very simple to use. If you are looking for the right tool to get you into the right mindset before you dive into the coding world, Hopscotch is your best bet. Kids as young as 5 can start having fun with Hopscotch app. This is the right game for your kid. Try it out.
This is another revolutionary game fit for anyone who wants to start learning how to code from scratch. Although the web-based app was initially designed for girls, boys can also be engaged in other projects. What makes this application to stand out is that it is simple to use and within a few minutes, one can start to see how coding works. It works by letting you kid to choose a particular block of code that builds off from previous block. For instance, if your child wants to create a SnapChat filter, he/she will first be instructed to choose a color. Next, they will be required to select from a set of accessories. Once this is done successfully, your child would have created a SnapChat filter. It is very simple to use. Made with code is the project by Google and it is on number three spot in a list of top 15 coding games for kids to learn how to code and programming.
4. Code Karts
This is a nice coding game application that can be found in iTunes and Google Play store. It comes in over 20 different languages. It introduces the coding concepts to young ones with logical puzzles known as racetrack. The game comes with 70 different levels to ensure that your kids will be fully engaged even as they learn how to code. The stimulating coding environment is made possible by use of directional bricks to get the racecars to finish the line.
5. Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set
The Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set is a great tool for teaching your children basic coding skills. The game comes with a programmable robot mouse, a double-sided coding cards, a special activity guide, and a cheese wedge, all of which are designed to allow kids to create endless maze paths for their mice. Once the specific maze has been created, the user is free to create cording cards that will tell the mouse where to go. The mouse can even be set to make sounds, light up and change speed in order to make the game interesting and interactive.
6. Vidcode
Once your kid or yourself start to get the basic concepts of coding, you can have this game. This one comes with some awesome challenges and more opportunities to even win prizes and upgrades to enable you access more coding projects. It comes with a lot of flexibility in that you can make your own SnapChat filter, explore climate change and even create your own meme with the code. The good thing about this app is that it makes it extremely simple for kids to learn cording because it shows your child the code you would use to create a certain project. There are very few sites that would actually do this.
7. Kodable
Kodable is one of the best app parents can utilize in their quest to teach their kids how to program. If you are particularly interested in looking for computer science lessons, kodable might be the right place to start from. There are more than 70 tutorials that are designed to teach kids from grades k-5. Apart from learning the basics of Java, the kids will also learn many critical skills such as digital citizenship, robotics and other important coding skills.
8. Code Monkey
CodeMonkey will teach both parents and their young ones a programming language known as CoffeeScript, which can help them learn how to create games in HTML5. As already mentioned, much it is aimed at kids, CodeMonkey can also be fun for adults as well.
9. Kids’n’Code
This is a very friendly game for kids who need a soft introduction to programming. The game comes in different levels with four different commands that kids can use to program a robot to catch a hanging gem. Kids who know how to read best play this game. You can turn off sound effects and music for maximum concentration while playing the game.
Kids’n’Code from Petr Boyko on Vimeo.
10. Robozzle
Robozzle is actually a social puzzle game that is designed to introduce basic programming skills to kids from age 6 onwards, including adults. If you are looking for that cool game that will introduce programming to young people, then this game is what you need. This is certainly going to be a good challenge for your kids or yourself. What happens while playing it is that it tasks you with guiding a robot through a web of mazes using limited commands. You can start from levels suitable for 6-year-olds to levels that can make even seasoned programmers to scratch their heads.
11. SpaceChem
This might be the best programming game ever made. SpaceChem is designed to help kids aged 10 and above, including adults, to learn how to program. This app is actually challenging enough to make high school students sweat. Using coding skills like branching, in order of execution, loops, and subroutines. This is a game you wish you could give your 10-year-old boy and let them start the journey to becoming professional programmers. It is inconceivable that your kids can learn how to program faster and better without using this game.
12. Codemoji
This game was created for students through 8th grade who want to learn to program using CSS, HTML, and JaveScript. Parents can also join and learn a thing or two about programming.
13. Robot Turtles
This is a programming board game designed for very young kids aged between three and eight years old. This game uses instruction cards to commands turtles to move around mazes. Using limited sequence instructions and syntaxes as well as a debug function in case there is an error that has been made; the programming skills that can be learned from this game take only a few seconds each session. Programming skills are probably the best gift you can give to your kid so that they wont be left behind in future computer innovations.
14. Cubetto
With the plethora of games available in the net, finding a suitable game for programming for your child can be a difficult task. The world is full of screens and technology, hence finding a great game that will teach you and your kids how to program can almost seem like an impossible task. But you should not despair. Cubetto is not your ordinary game. This is a friendly wooden robot that will train your kids to do basic computer programming using the real-world object. Cubetto allows kids to create, discover and manipulate code blocks in order to instruct the robot on what to do and where to go.
This award-winning app introduces programming concepts to kids all over the world through games, puzzles, printables, and projects. It brings fun to life using a no-words interface. One thing that makes this game different is that it provides personalized daily activities to your kids based on their progress. With dynamic content produced every month, your child will find it difficult to engage in rot learning. Instead, your child will develop better skills in terms of creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, organization and comprehension. It is on number 15 in a list of top 15 coding games for kids to learn how to code and programming.
Basics of coding you need to know as you or your child start learning to code
Truth be told Coding is not for the faint-hearted; it is for the strong, courageous souls who want to make a difference. However, these games are designed to bring the fun part of it and make coding interesting and fun.
As your child learns how to code, you must ensure that they have the right tools and mindset to work in an ecosystem that empowers them to reach their potential—one where effective collaboration and growth is encouraging.
As coders, it is through collaboration and discussions that you grow, and through growth, you are able to develop into super-coders.
Here are some few basic principles of coding that you should teach your child as they grown to become programmers. In that sense, look for games that can teach these concepts.
The user first
The highest priority if the coder is to ensure that the user is satisfied through consistent delivery of high-quality services. If it is no longer of good use to the customer, then it should be discarded. This could be a better user interface, a new feature, a better performance, a better language/wording, robustness, agility, and so on. Even though not all improvements are going to have an immediate impact, they must be there nonetheless. Timey delivery of projects has the most user value especially for projects with step-by-step goals.
Communication is key
Collaboration and communication in all aspects of software development are critical. You need to talk with your fellow developers, clients and end users at every stage of the development in order to get it right. Every party must understand what they project is all about. Many people often ignore the documentation and communication part. The only way to measure the success of a code is to see how well it communicates its intent. It should be very clear. Other things like the testability, metrics, coverage and low coupling may be important, but clarity in communication is the most important aspect. Basically, if you can understand what a code is all about, and what it does, it is very easy to change it.
Developer happiness
Some software developers substitute development productivity for runtime performance. To be a great developer, it is better to trade runtime performance for productivity, because productivity equal happiness as far as the coder is concerned. Many coders’ happiness comes from getting things done. If you want to focus on performance, then you can look at those individual solutions that need your attention. It is important to remember that things like frameworks, languages, and platforms are tools you can use to reach your goals; therefore, they are your way of thinking.
Reflection
Reflection is not for the eastern philosophers alone. Every coder must reflect regularly. Ask yourself pertinent questions like what can be done better? What did I learn from past mistakes? How should I improve? Am I prepared for future changes? Often this may sound like inconsequential, but you can get clean codes with this daily reflections.
Continuous learning
A developer is a student for life. I bet there are still very many aspects of coding that you are yet to master. But this cannot be done in a day. It requires a lifetime to become an expert developer. Don’t forget to tell us about this top 15 coding games for kids to learn how to code and programming and if you know for coding games for kids then let us know via comments.