For years, parents have signed their children up for programming courses to prepare them for the workforce of tomorrow. The number of jobs people can apply for when they have excellent coding skills is incredible; not only are there prestigious, high-paying jobs like app or video game developer. There are tons of adjacent jobs in non-tech companies since they all rely on computers for some aspect of their operation.
More than that, parents want their kids to understand the underlying code driving digital technology so they can shape it rather than the other way around. Technology can be dazzling but also intimidating, and peeking behind the curtain to see how it all really works can be a great way to demystify it.
Learning how to code can also improve how students perform in subjects that have nothing to do with programming.
Taking weekly online coding classes teaches kids how to think and problem-solve like an engineer. There are certain mental habits programming encourages which really overlap with engineers.
Parallel thinking, where there are no consequences for “mistakes,” is crucial. Essentially, a “mistake” is regarded correctly as an inevitable part of finding the right answer. “Mistakes” aren’t something to beat yourself up over for making or something to be ashamed of. They’re inevitable, and they show that you’re on the right track.
Learning to think like an engineer will improve their self-esteem and problem-solving skills. Kids learn to be methodical and organized in their thinking, arranging and testing hypotheses until they’re solved before moving on to the next problem.
Kids learn foundational mathematical concepts when they learn to code, such as vectors, integers, and, later, even trigonometry. Your child may not take computers in later grades or in their post-secondary education. Enrolling them in online coding classes for kids exposes them to important math concepts.
Our classes are capped at four students per class, so at most, it’ll be your child and three others. There’s also no mandatory minimum, so even if your child is the lone student, the class will run as scheduled.
RP4K was proudly founded by a mathematician, and math is still at the core of what we do more than 20 years after our founding. There’s a very strong relationship between coding and math, and exposure to programming sets up children for success.
Kids can get early exposure to fundamental math, while older high school students can encounter math they wouldn’t otherwise see until their first year of university. One thing is for sure: coding students will be a step ahead of their peers by the time they enter the classroom.
When people talk about how many languages a person can speak, they usually mean languages like Spanish, Hindi, or French. However, there isn’t merely one thing called “coding.” Instead, there are specific coding languages, and learning one of them exercises the same part of the brain required to learn the conventional written and spoken languages.
RP4K is proud to teach the most powerful and in-demand coding languages, such as:
Right from the first class, students will be stimulated by attainable challenges. They can refine and improve their skills in each coding language before advancing to one that’s harder. As they move up, they can more readily translate their imagination into a computer program because the languages get more subtle and powerful.
Students may not associate the work they’re doing with more conventional spoken and written languages, like French, but they’re engaging with the logic, rules, and even syntax of a coding language.
This is bound to help them elsewhere in their studies. Even if they don’t major in languages, Arts students need a course credit in another language in university.
Even the world’s best teachers would struggle to do their job properly in a classroom environment too packed with students. RP4K caps class sizes at four, so students don’t need to fight to get heard.
Teachers can lavish their attention on each student effortlessly. In this environment, kids can get all the support they need from their teachers. There’ll be no classroom management issues that can beset overpacked learning environments.
RP4K hires teachers from a computer science and computer engineering background. Your child is free to ask them questions about their coding classes, but also broader ones about what coding looks like outside the classroom and what jobs open up to people with coding skills.
They’ll have a teacher and mentor right at their fingertips, and there’ll only be, at most, a few other students with them in sessions.
Finally, RP4K works hard to make learning fun for kids. The last thing any young person needs is to have a negative association with learning. If you ask a child which they prefer, class or recess, their answer probably won’t surprise you.
Our goal is to combine these two things. Positive reinforcement, letting them feel how fun learning can be first-hand, sets them up to enjoy a lifetime of learning. RP4K teaches kids how to create their own video games, ones they can play with family and friends afterwards and show off their accomplishments. If you think kids like playing video games, just watch how much they love coding them!
We also use gamification concepts in the lessons, so the same dynamics that make playing games so engaging help with keeping kids motivated for coding instead. If you’ve ever struggled to pry your child away from a video game they’re playing, you’ll be glad to know they can be this hooked on learning!
Parents may have different reasons for sending their children to RP4K. Some are looking to prepare their children for the digital workforce of the future. Others want them to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the technology through which modern life runs actually works. Some parents want their children to have a fun, safe time. These are all great reasons, and none of them are wrong! RP4K will also make your child more prepared for school. If you believe in these or any other reasons for signing up your child for online coding classes, contact RP4K today.
