Coding is one of the skills that are likely to be competitive in the future job market. Introducing your kids to coding at an early age prepares them for their future. Besides this, coding encourages kids to exercise their brains, enhancing creativity and problem-solving skills. It also helps them improve their math and writing skills, improving their academic performance.
If you are looking for fun ways to teach coding to your kids, the internet is a rich platform for coding resources. You can find easy and fun games that you can use for kids at any age. We have compiled a list of 10 online games that will ensure your kids learn this valuable skill.
Before we get to that, here are some tips on playing and accessing online programming games for the best experience.
Top 5 tips for best online games experience
- 1. Use residential proxies – Some games can be geo-restricted. Residential proxies allow you access to the best games that are geo-restricted regardless of your location.
- 2. Turn off ad blockers – To avoid any interference with the game software, you are better off turning the ad-blockers off.
- 3. Update your browser – This is to avoid hanging and other issues in the middle of a game.
- 4. Download these games and think of secure file sharing ways to share them with other children.
- 5. Close other tabs – Having multiple tabs opened can slow down your computer. To enjoy the best speed, close all the other open windows.
Top 10 best online games for teaching coding to kids
- 1. LittleCodr
- This game is ideal for kids aged between 4 and 8, but anyone can play. It is a simple card game that lets kids create a set of instructions. These instructions will basically tell whoever they are playing with where to go as well as how to get there. What makes them ideal for teaching coding is because on top of creating instructions, it allows kids to navigate the way around obstacles. If something goes wrong, they are required to make adjustments. This makes it an engaging way to learn coding, linear thinking, prototyping, sequencing, and debugging.
- 2. Scratch
- This is an online programming environment for kids who are coding lovers. It is more than just a game as it allows kids to create their own games and animations using simple drag and drop programming. It is easy to use once your kids learn the basics. It is also fun as it brings together kids developers who share what they have created. The platform also offers tons of other free games that your kids can enjoy.
- 3. Robozzle
- This is a puzzle game where kids solve puzzles by programming a robot to move in different directions. The fun part is that kids can create subroutines or procedures for specific tasks. This game is great for coding because it allows kids a lot of practice. When they hit 40 solved puzzles, they can create their own puzzles for others to solve.
- 4. Code Camp World
- This is another engaging online platform that provides coding education to kids. It allows kids to build various things such as websites and games using drag and drop coding discipline. It incorporates video game concepts so that kids can play as they build. The exciting part is that what they create can be turned into apps on their phones. Code Camp World gives kids a platform where they can practice simple coding disciplines such as drag and drop in preparation for more advanced techniques such as JavaScript.
- 5. Cork the Volcano
- This game combines an interactive app with hands-on tiles that includes a Play Tray that connects to a device wirelessly. Kids use these tiles to manipulate the pieces, which in turn move the characters through the game. The game starts at an easy level and then progresses to more challenging levels. The good thing is that as kids use Modifiers and different characters at each level, they learn different perspectives of thinking.
- 6. Minecraft
- With over 100 million registered users, Minecraft is among the most preferred online programming games for children. You can be sure that your kids are learning from the best. It involves placing blocks to build objects such as homes. It also involves going on an adventure where kids create weapons to defend themselves. With Minecraft, kids are exposed to a huge community of creators to explore what others are creating. This has a multiplayer feature that allows kids to play with up to 4 friends.
- 7. Tynker
- This award-winning, interactive game allows kids to learn programming in a fun way. Kids use visual blocks to create their own games. It also allows other functions such as modifying Minecraft, programming drones, and writing stories among others. Like most games for coding, Tynker connects your kids to a community of young developers where they can share their work as well as explore projects from other children.
- 8. Osmo Coding Jam
- This game features a board game that connects to an iOS app on a device. It combines the benefits of music to kids’ development with programming to create a wholesome game for your kids. Kids use hands-on coding blocks to create music. The good thing about this game is that kids get to change the coding blocks physically on the board. This makes it easy to understand even for the youngest kids.
- 9. Blockly
- Blockly is a Google project that features seven games including Bird, Turtle, Puzzle, Maze among others. Maze provides a perfect way to introduce your kids to Blockly programming games. It uses drag and drops programming to play. Your kids can then proceed to the other games to learn more. For instance, Turtle introduces kids to loops while Bird teaches them conditionals.
- 10. Lightbot
- This programming puzzle game lets kids guide a robot to light up tiles. It uses commands to solve puzzles of different levels. With challenge stars to collect, kids can be encouraged to keep playing and learning about coding. The reason why Lightbot is good for your kids is that it introduces them to conditionals, loops, and procedures in a fun and interactive way. This makes it easier to follow and grasp the concepts.
Conclusion
Learning coding can be beneficial to your kids, and the earlier you introduce to them the better. However, learning how to do it can be challenging for them. Thankfully, with programming games such as those listed above, learning can be simplified. In addition, combining that with the fun aspect of playing only makes them eager to continue learning about coding.
Author: – Laurie Green: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-green-5aa347224/
