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Recommendations for a coding package for 8 year old

7 replies

RosaRuocco · 01/08/2023 07:47

Hi all,

My 8 year old son would like to learn to code. He has used Scratch at school but I'm looking for another package that is fun for kids to learn, preferably one that is free but if not something reasonably priced would be great. We have a laptop that he can use.

Many thanks for any ideas :-)

OP posts:
Whatsthepoint1234 · 28/08/2023 17:29

Ds13 is obsessed (and I mean obsessed) with coding and robot building and has been since his scratch days at 6 or 7. I would recommend a raspberry pi or bbc microbit. Ds had a raspberry pi now which is basically a mini computer that you can plug into your tv and code on, all you need is an hdmi cable, a tv and a mouse + keyboard. He even has Minecraft on it which he codes stuff in using Java, Java script and python! He started learning python at 8. Now he buys raspberry pi hats (which are basically addd ons) which he uses to build robots. I’ll ask him about the micro bit in a minute as he got that at about 7. And he started on the raspberry pi at 8. they also run coding clubs and protects for children which he used to do and have guides for parents.
Children’s resources:https://www.raspberrypi.org/learn/
Raspberry pi ds has: https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-compute-module-4
He also uses free coding challenge websites but they might be too advanced. I’ll give you more info when he comes downstairs!

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Learn | Coding for kids and teens | Raspberry Pi Foundation – Raspberry Pi

Learn coding for kids, teenagers and young adults. The Raspberry Pi Foundation provides access to online coding resources and challenges that are free for everyone anywhere.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/learn/

Whatsthepoint1234 · 28/08/2023 17:34

The micro bit is basically a simplified raspberry pi aimed at children according to ds. he says you can’t build as good robots on it. You can you scratch or python to code on it but he thinks that the raspberry pi resources for kids are easier to follow. He says you should look on the microbit website.
microbit website:https://microbit.org/

Micro:bit Educational Foundation

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https://microbit.org/

Whatsthepoint1234 · 28/08/2023 17:35

Ds used to plug the microbit into his computer!

RosaRuocco · 30/08/2023 07:21

Thank you both for the information that you have given, I will definitely check out all of those ideas! :-)

OP posts:
Elisheva · 01/09/2023 09:59

Does he play Roblox? My ds used Roblox studio to teach himself coding. You can get tutorial books, but he used YouTube videos. He also uses Unity.

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