Best Coding Resources for Parents

Stephen Ruh

Stephen Ruh,

March 27, 2020

A month ago none of us would’ve believed March Madness was going to be cancelled, let alone the whole world would be stuck inside like Harry Potter with the Dursleys. But early on into “social distancing” a friend of mine from Awesome Inc shared the tale of how Shakespeare wrote King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra while he was stuck inside during the bubonic plague. Now, I know that’s a great story, and it’s very motivating, but maybe you’re like me and don’t feel like you’ve got quite the chops that Shakespeare had.

Even so, when quarantine hit like a ton of bricks, many of us found ourselves running after the idea that this was the perfect time to be productive.

For the first few days we were all so motivated, “Finally I’m going to have time to brush up on my high school Spanish” or “I’ll read those 10 books on the shelf!” But then, almost in slow motion, your children ask how you’ll keep them entertained each waking moment, and you feel your hair starting to take on a new gray tint.

Well, here’s the good news: I know how you feel and I, along with the Awesome Inc team, am here to put the pen in the hands of your young Shakespeares, and give you ways to help them be productive with their screen time! First off though, I’m not a parent; but one time I had to babysit my four nieces for a week by myself, and I think that gives me some street cred, right? I started out with such high hopes, and it wasn’t until they were riding down the stairs in a laundry basket that I knew I needed something to redirect their attention. So if you’re stuck at home with kids, here are some of the best resources I could find to help you make it through.

via GIPHY

Girls Who Code- the international nonprofit, focused on closing the gender gap in technology, is making CS educational activities available for download free of charge, to anyone who wants to access them.

Take a Code Break- Learn CS with founder Hadi Partovi and the team at Code.org with a live weekly webcast and weekly challenges for students of all abilities

Scratch at Home- shares ideas and resources from the Scratch Team and educators around the world. Each month, the SiP website will feature a new theme to explore and discuss.

These three are all top tier sources for kids coding content, but there’s still one more I have for you, and I think it might be the best one of all (and not just because it’s my job to say that).

The Week of Code Home Camp- The pièce de résistance, *chef’s kiss* Awesome Inc’s new course. This online day camp will help your student learn a new skill, and connect with friends in an encouraging environment. Week of Code Home Camp runs completely online with creative and fun conference call lessons. If nothing else, it’ll keep your kids from building toilet paper forts while you get some work done around the house.