As a family tech blogger, I am always interested in the best apps for families, especially if they are both educational and fun that’s why I’m excited to share 10 of the best coding apps for kids.
Did you know that coding has been called “the most important skill of the future?” (Fast Company)
Not only are there many predictions of coding jobs being in high demand in the future, but if kids learn coding skills now it can help them in many areas of their lives, even if they don’t become computer programmers or app developers.
In fact, coding helps with curiosity, persistence, problem-solving, and critical thinking,
There has been an explosion of coding apps recently and it can be hard to sort through them all. That’s why I’m excited to share my favorite coding apps for kids. These apps all make coding so much fun kids will want to play them again and again and they’ll learn something new every time.
CodeSpark Academy is an app for kids ages 4-10. It’s has a unique and fun way to teach kids to code with lovable characters “the Foos.” It also uses no words so kids don’t have to know how to read to use it, instead it has a variety of interactive learning activities including puzzles, games, projects, and printables. It even offers personalized daily activities based on their progress.
Crayola Create & Play is a fun app for kids up to age 5. While it does have a large coloring focus (it is Crayola after all) it is full of activities for kids. They can color with special effects, they can design, nurture, and interact with animated pets, they can create one of a kind masterpieces, and they can even try coding in the Discovery Classroom. The app is regularly updated so kids will never get bored.
Code Adventures is an app for kids 6+ that was rated “the best of the best” and is full of bright and colorful scenes with puzzles that feature the 5 basic programming categories. Kids help Aurora a lovable fuzzball to get back home. Each level offers an even greater logical challenge to solve by coding. There are various puzzle elements like flying platforms, movable bridges, ladders and portals making coding even more fun for kids.
Hopster Coding Safari is a fun app for preschoolers where they use coding to solve puzzles with animals around the world. They even advance to command-line mode and unlock many new levels to learn more skills and have even more fun. Some the storylines include helping a hungry monkey trying to get to a banana tree, or helping a lion back to its den.
Code Masters Wonderwood is ideal for preschool and kindergarten age children and it’s designed with 60 levels where kids also learn about the various jobs of the Wonderwood Four – Rose the police officer, Pasha the farmer, Max the astronaut, and Pika the firefighter. Kids help the characters navigate through the levels in the right direction and moving any obstacles in their way. I love that there are no in-app purchases and that there are two modes – help and non-help mode.
GoldieBlox: Adventures in Coding is a great app for kids ages 6-8 especially those who already love the GoldieBlox toy line. What I love about this app is that there are no in-app purchases, ever and it offers all kinds of fun puzzles. The storyline will draw kids in as the work to help Goldie and her friends by coding their way around town and they can even play minigames and earn stickers too. There’s even a sandbox mode where they can play endless puzzles at any level.
Nancy Drew Codes and Clues is made for kids ages 6-8 and it’s full of coding, reading, critical thinking, adventure, and fun. It’s a story-based hidden object mystery game, kids can choose disguises, find clues, and program their robot puppy to help solve the mystery. The coding challenges increase as the story goes along. There’s even bonus coding levels in the Obstacle Course mode as well.
Scratch Jr. is an iPad app for kids ages 5-7. It’s an easy drag and drop block format that allows kids to create animated stories where characters move, jump, dance, reappear, and disappear. Kids can also customize colors, sounds, and more.
Tynker is an app for kids over the age of 7 that also focuses on moving blocks of code around. Each block is a different coding concept. This app also has missions for kids to complete, they can learn by solving puzzles, and they can even build games, fly drones, and more.
Hopscotch is an app for kids ages 9-13 that has been downloaded over 12 million times with 33 million games created, so this is one tried and true app that kids love. With their open-ended tool, kids can create art, stories, and games and even publish them to the fully moderated community where other kids can play their games. They can even play games other kids have created and tweak and remix them. On top of that there are play along tutorials that teach kids how to make games like Pokemon Go, Crossy Road, and as kids improve the app will challenge them to create increasingly advanced games and apps.
Kids can learn so much from any of these apps and they are all a lot of fun too. Coding apps for kids are my favorite form of edutainment! Whenever the kids are yelling they are bored or it’s a rainy day, you can feel good letting them play these apps, knowing that they are learning a little something along the way too.
