In my last post, I wrote about the importance of imaginative play for helping children develop problem-solving skills, creativity, and the ability to collaborate with others. Likewise, when kids learn coding, they gain so many more valuable skills than you might think.

Should kids learn coding? Absolutely! Coding for kids is a basic skill that all kids should learn at some point. Coding is especially valuable because through learning to code, kids get to practice logical thinking, computational thinking, problem solving, and critical thinking. Learning to create programs with computers nurtures a child’s confidence, curiosity, and creativity.

Fortunately, there are many different ways for kids to learn coding. Read on for some of my family’s favorites.

This is a collaboration post. However, please know I stand behind everything written here, and only include links to products/services/resources I’m willing to recommend personally.

Originally published Nov. 19, 2025; last updated February 2026.

How to Help Your Kids Learn Computer Coding

There are so many different ways you can help kids learn to code. Kimmie and Essie have tried a number over the years, and here are some of their faves:

1. Free* Online Learning to Code Software

There are so many online programs that will help your child learn how to write code. These are the ones my kids and their friends have used the most, and like the best:

MIT-developed free programs:

Scratch and Scratch Jr. are free online learning tools, first developed by MIT to teach coding basics to kids using a visual programming language. Scratch Jr. is available as a downloadable app and is designed for kids ages 5-7; this interface teaches very young children some of the basics of how coding works, and introduces them to beginning computer coding principles.

Scratch, for children ages 7+, bills itself as the largest online global children’s coding community. With a free account, children can create all sorts of animations, characters, stories, and games, all built on Scratch’s own visual coding language.

Crunchzilla’s free tutorials

Crunchzilla, part of Seattle-based Geeky Ventures, makes several free online coding tutorials, each geared toward a different age and experience level. Code Monster is the easiest, and is geared toward kids ages 9-14 (or curious older teens and adults with zero coding experience, or kids younger than 9 with some adult guidance); Code Maven is for teens and adults (age 13+); and Game Maven is designed for teens 16+ and adults with some basic coding experience already.

While Code Monster and Code Maven each teach basic coding principles, Game Maven actually walks users through designing and coding three actual video games from the ground up. All three tutorials focus on learning by doing; users figure out how to code by actually coding.

Not-quite free for all, but maybe for your kids:

*Although CodeMonkey isn’t free per se (though their website does offer a free 14-day trial), this software is the most common I’ve seen in use by local public school districts. (Check with your child’s district to see if they have a subscription.) CodeMonkey is designed for kids age 6-14. Through fun, interactive lessons and games, CodeMonkey teaches children everything from block coding to text coding to the languages Python and CoffeeScript.

Just like Code Monster, kids are able to work through the challenges at their own pace, here using a variety of interactive games to teach coding principles and actual coding languages. Our local school district subscribes to CodeMonkey, and I’ve seen kids mesmerized by these games for far longer than I would have expected for “educational” software provided by their schools.

Coding with Robots

There are a number of simple robots available at various price points that also teach coding principles, because students have to input code in order to get the robots to move. While you could always buy your child one (or more) of these robots as a gift, there may be other ways to access them without the cost; check with your local school district, public library, or nonprofit organizations to see whether they own any of them, and what opportunities they may have for your child to practice with them.

In Kimmie and Essie’s Girl Scout council, there are several varieties of these bots available through the council’s STEM program, which is where my kids first got to play with them. Our local school district also own sets that different schools can reserve, to have their kids do cocurricular coding challenges. Thanks to these and other opportunities, here are the coding robots my kids have tried in various settings:

Sphero Mini and Sphero Bolt

Sphero Mini is the most affordable entry-point robot of the ones my kids have used. Kids can program the Sphero Mini robot (recommended for ages 8+) using a free smartphone/tablet app, via which they can tell the robot what to do by drawing, drag-and-drop block coding, or Javascript. Although all you really need is a Sphero Mini ball and the app to get started, there are tons of totally optional accessory kits you can buy to enhance the experience, such as materials to set up obstacle courses for your Sphero Mini to navigate.

Sphero Bolt, the Mini’s more sophisticated cousin, is also for ages 8+. Many of the features, from its spherical shape to the free programming app, are similar to the Mini experience; however, in addition to drawing, block coding, and Javascript, users can also learn Python while coding instructions for their Bolt. In addition to the smart device apps, you can also program the Bolt and Bolt+ via a web browser interface. And the Bolt models are more durable, including being waterproof.

Wonder Workshop Dash

Wonder Workshop’s Dash Robot is the most “lifelike” of the robots my kids have tried over the years. Many of the basic concepts are the same – using an app interface, kids learn programming principles by creating code instructions to make the robot move – but Dash feels more like a pet that can interact with your kid, versus just a ball they can make roll around.

As its makers brag on their website, Dash can “sing and dance” and “respond to voice commands.” My kids used to have a lot of fun making Dash do these very things. But while Dash can talk, sing, and dance all for free, thanks to block-based coding, you can also upgrade (with a paid subscription) to Wonder Workshop’s Blockly Pro coding interface, where kids shift from programming Dash with drag-and-drop block commands to programming Dash via JavaScript.

Ozobot Evo and Ozobot Ari

Ozobot’s Evo and Ari robots are the priciest options, but well worth the cost if you can swing it. Because of different methods of programming paths for the robots to travel (either by writing code or using the special color-coded path-drawing markers that come with the Evo starter kit), these robots truly do work for students from grades K-12. My kids first learned to code Evos at at Girl Scout stem summit when they were ages 8 and 6, and had a lot of fun jumping right in with both the marker method and the coding apps.

The Ozobot Ari, like the Evo, can work either via color-coded marker instructions or via coding apps, with choices including drag-and-drop block coding or coding with Python. Unlike Evos, Aris have built-in gyroscopes and accelerometers, which makes them suitable for studying various physics principles and math problems as well as learning to code. And while the starter kits’ price point is on the higher end, you can use both Evo and Ari with Ozobot’s free resource library of over 700 lessons, covering a wide variety of standard-aligned subject areas while teaching your kids how to code.

Coding Clubs and Classes

At larger regional high schools and middle schools like the ones Kimmie and Essie now attend, there are usually plenty of classes one can take to learn everything from basic coding principles to video game design and creation. But taking coding at school isn’t the only way to learn coding these days; there are so many extracurricular clubs, programs, and camps that also afford kids plenty of opportunities to pick up these skills and have fun while learning.

Here are some of the places you might look for coding opportunities available in your area:

Local nonprofit organizations (Scouting, museums, etc.)

As I mentioned earlier, Kimmie and Essie’s first exposure to learning to code came at a Girl Scout STEM summit. For those of you who think of Girl Scouts as mainly campfires and crafts, I encourage you to learn more about Girl Scouting in the 21st century, where STEM education is prominent and each age level K-12 has an entire suite of coding badges that Scouts can earn.

In addition to regular coding opportunities whenever our troop leader books the STEMMobile to come to a troop meeting, both my girls attended Girls Code Club, an after-school enrichment program offered by our local science museum for girls ages 8-13. Led by female computer science students from our local state university, Girls Code Club gave my girls the chance to learn and practice how to code in a fun, girl-supportive environment.

Now that they’re older, my kids have opportunities to attend coding-based camps at our nearby state university, as well as apply for summer coding-based internships via a local business downtown who partners with the computer science department at different college in our county. Our local art college even also offers classes for teens and adults in basic HTML and CSS coding, where students learn to build their own websites from code. If you have any of these opportunities in your area, check with your local science museum, Scouting council, or college/university to see what (if any) opportunities they offer for kids to learn coding outside of school via extracurricular enrichment programs.

Local coding academies

Finally, you can always do a web search for “software academy near me” or “software academy” followed by your nearest major city, to see if there are standalone private institutions that offer coding courses in your area. (Though if your child is sufficiently motivated, they can take courses virtually from any institution that offers such programs to youth, regardless of its location.)

In addition to regular extracurricular programs offered while school is in session, many of these institutions offer special short-term programs during school breaks, as well as summer camps. Look for one that offers a range of opportunities that match your child’s age level, interests, and schedule. The best of these will include courses that lead to real-life certifications, qualifications, or certificates for your child, which are tangible take-aways of what they’ve learned that they can present when applying to higher education or future jobs.

Why Should Kids Learn Coding?

Besides the valuable skills that kids learn through coding, from thinking logically and solving problems, many jobs in the 21st century – even (and especially!) well-paying jobs in manufacturing and other factory-based environments – rely on the ability to program machines to do what we want them to do. This makes coding a truly vital asset for tomorrow’s workforce.

Given the important life skills kids can learn through computer coding, there’s no reason not to get them started on this path to future success ASAP. Which path will you introduce your kids to first?

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