Did you know your kid can 'learn to code' online?

Abhishek Sawant
A Google doodle recently celebrated fifty years of coding languages for kids by “Coding for Carrots.” It is the first ever coding Google Doodle and uses the 'Scratch' programming language. 'Scratch' is the most popular kids programming language, of course, if you are reading this you must remember Logo. It all began in the 1960s with 'Logo' Seymour Papert and researchers at MIT developed 'Logo' - the first coding language designed for kids.

Learning how to build small websites and games help kids refine their design, logic and problem-solving abilities. There are a number of free websites that teach children how to play around with code. We've rounded up a dozen of our favorites.

Scratch

Scratch designed by MIT students is a programming language that allows the kids to build anything they want. Children can snap together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance and sing. Scratch has inspired an app called Scratch Jr, aimed at kids above 8 years, which helps kids learn programming languages without any hassles.

Programming Tutorials Made With Code by Google:

Google's Made with Code encourages young girls to pursue a career in computer sciences. The platform is easy to use and is very informative for beginners and intermediate coders. Additionally, there is a host of tutorials in the Resources section with new videos being released periodically. The website has introduced a new feature that lets you create holiday emoji which you can share digitally.

Tynker's Hour of Code Free Activities:

Tynker is the easiest way for kids to learn coding. The website allows kids to solve Solve fun puzzles using visual blocks or Swift to learn the basics. Then build amazing games, create fun Minecraft mods and add-ons, control robots and drones, and even explore STEM. The more time you spend coding on the website, you get points which can be redeemed Great for an hour of fun with coding!

Code.org:

Code.org is a nonprofit organization and eponymous website developed by Hadi Partovi which aims to encourage students in the US to learn computer sciences. The site includes free lessons in over 45 languages. Code.org also focuses specifically on the female and minority students, as the organization believes these are the students most at risk of not receiving computer science education before high school or college.

Lightbot:

Lightbot is an educational video game for learning software programming concepts developed by Danny Yaroslavski. Lightbot secretly teaches programming logic as you play. Lightbot lets players gain a practical understanding of basic concepts like instruction sequencing, procedures and loops, just by guiding a robot to light up tiles and solve levels.