Many parents enroll their children into coding classes for the most obvious reason possible: they want their children to learn how to code computer programs. This makes sense in a world where people are glued to smartphones and other screens!
But learning to code also teaches kids a range of other skills they can apply more broadly. Even if they don’t become professional video game developers, the skills children learn at RP4K help them in work and life.
Let’s take a closer look at the range of skills kids can learn in the new year.
Our online computer courses for kids are aimed at giving children coding skills in particular languages professionals use in the field every day. Even children as young as six or seven can learn how to code in Python, the same coding language used to build apps like Netflix.
We proudly ground our lessons in professional languages only, rather than drag-and-drop programs designed to merely give children a sense of what coding is like. RP4K classes begin with Python, and students will gradually learn more advanced techniques within each language before advancing to more sophisticated ones, like Java, JavaScript, C#, or C++.
There’s a difference between general computer skills and hard skills in a specific coding language.
At the risk of oversimplifying a complicated subject, computer engineers have certain habits of mind which children absorb when they learn to code. These habits will benefit them later in school and life, even if they never become professional video game developers or work with computers.
Computer engineers understand what trial and error are all about because it’s embedded in the binary nature of coding languages. The ones and zeroes and either/or conditions signify the duality between something being either right or wrong.
That’s why computer engineers appreciate that being wrong is an inevitable part of the learning process, not something to beat yourself up over! Ego can be crushing and paralyzing when people are caught between the desire to get things right and the unwillingness to make a mistake.
Learning how to code teaches kids to embrace mistakes as something to learn from, rather than something scary to avoid. This is a crucial life lesson beneficial to every discipline, from creative pursuits to personal relationships and more.
People tend to think about “languages” as only the common ones people use to write in or talk to each other. Coding involves learning certain languages, which are written systems with rules, grammar, and syntax people use to express themselves.
To be sure, RP4K students will learn coding languages like Java. They’ll also work out the parts of their mind required to master language, just like musicians do. Music and C++ may not always be commonly thought of as a “language” the way French or Hindi is, but the underlying fundamentals are similar.
By the time your child has taken their lessons, they’ll be able to write and read coding languages used to build popular apps like Netflix or video games like Minecraft. Students also learn soft language skills that will help them directly and indirectly in future studies and life in general.
It may seem a little early for young children to need career counselling, but our instructors have a wealth of practical knowledge they can pass on to students about professional coding and what programming in post-secondary school is like.
RP4K hires young instructors from Computer Engineering and Computer Science programs, so they know what to expect when students and young professionals take up coding.
Students in the early grades get to see and interact with young coding professionals. High school students can probe our teachers and ask specific questions to learn more about what future coding classes are like, how it feels to work in the industry, and more.
It’s hard to imagine one subject that can help improve students’ language and math skills, but learning to code can do just that. Sometimes math teachers struggle to make lessons immediately applicable for contemporary students.
When kids learn how to code video games, they’ll need to use math skills to get the job done. The founder of RP4K is a mathematician! We’re proud to offer secret math lessons built into every coding class, as video games wouldn’t exist without concepts like integers, 3D vectors, and even trigonometry.
Fun may not always be classified as a skill, but it is! Kids have had to endure months of a pandemic, and they may be struggling to catch up on classes they missed while simultaneously having fun. It might be that having fun is like a muscle that needs to be worked out after a considerable absence.
If your child needs to keep their computer skills sharp in a joyful way, they need RP4K’s online programming classes for kids in Toronto. We hire young subject matter experts who also grew up playing video games themselves, so they relate to students and understand their excitement about video games first-hand.
For many kids, the video games of youth are as nostalgic and memorable as finding gifts under the Christmas tree. When students and teachers come from the same world, the lessons are not just more impactful but fun, too.
The new year is a great time to make new resolutions or find the resolve to keep up old ones. For kids, learning skills can’t come at the expense of fun. Knowing how to code is one of the surest ways that kids today can build the skills they’ll need for tomorrow, whether they want to become professional video game programmers or enter a wide variety of other industries.
Don’t hesitate to sign up for a free trial lesson to see if RP4K is right for you and your children! They’ll learn new ways to think and sharpen the old ones, all while having fun. What a great way to start a new year!
