Have your kids ever told you they want to make video games when they grow up? Video games are engrossing, creative, and many have a rich narrative that could be comparable to novels. Today, over 91% of kids play video games on mobile, console, and PC. Not only are more kids than ever playing games, the industry is growing quickly, and video games can be an excellent career choice.
From hobbyists to future pros, coding for kids equips young students with the skills and knowledge they need to start making their own games, gain an advantage on college or university admissions, and begin a career in game development, computer science, or computer engineering.
Real Programming 4 Kids offers school season coding classes for kids. Find out how kids benefit when they learn a valuable new skill and how to register your kids today, so they can start learning how to code.
Weekly coding classes take place during school from October to June. Classes take place once a week either on a week night or a Saturday. Classes run for 18 to 27 weeks depending on the course, though shorter classes are also an option to fit your family’s schedule. Classes are 1 to 2 hours long. We offer both core and enhanced school season coding classes for kids for kids aged 7 to 17.
Parents know that kids can be fickle, especially younger ones. They say they want to do something and can bother you about it for months before you sign them up for classes, and then they quickly lose interest. Kids of all ages can try out free trial courses, and parents are welcome to sit in on them.
It’s good for kids to find out what an extracurricular is really like before they sign up. When it comes to any extracurricular activity or afterschool classes, give them the chance to explore.
You can find Real Programming 4 Kids courses in cities across Ontario, including:
One of the things that makes our classes stand out from the rest is their size. Our coding classes for kids have a maximum class size of 4 students per instructor. That gives instructors more time to spend one-on-one with students. One-on-one time with students means they get more attention. The course follows the student’s pace, not a pre-determined pace meant to work for the majority. Students learn better in smaller classes because they get noticed, enjoy more opportunities to participate, receive more feedback, and have more chances to collaborate and share ideas with their classmates.
There’s no better example of the advantage of smaller class sizes than one unique student who started taking our Developing Level coding course in grade 2. Despite the course dealing with math well beyond the grade 2 level, he quickly picked up the material, including math problems such as calculating the slope of a line, and bordering onto calculus.
RP4K’s director of education, Scott King recalls his amazement with the student: “I spoke with his parents just to get some further information and to update them on his progress in the class. They had explained that they knew he was gifted in math and figured he would be gifted in computer science but in school he was at the typical grade 2 level for reading/writing and most other courses and so he would not be pushed ahead. Now this is of course an extremely rare circumstance but he could not get that kind of positive experience anywhere else except at Real Programming 4 Kids. The thing with our program is it allowed him to be challenged. It allowed him to explore his interests in math and computer science, with a knowledgeable teacher, in a fun and engaging way. Because our class sizes are so small, we are able to delve deeper into topics that are uniquely interesting to the students and are not restricted by set material. We are able to go at the pace that each student learns the material and not at some predefined pace.”
Instructors are post-secondary students who have specialized in Computer Science or Computer Engineering. They know what it’s like to pursue a career in the field. Beyond teaching core and enhanced coding courses, they can give students reliable information on what it’s like to follow the Computer Science/Engineering track through high school and beyond, including what courses they should take and what they need to enter Computer Science at the post-secondary level.
If you want to learn more about instructors, you can meet our staff, all of whom are currently university students who have been rigorously screened. They know what it’s like to have knowledgeable professors who were great at their field, but poor at teaching; the RP4K teaching model is made to avoid that problem by focusing on students and following a proprietary curriculum we’ve been perfecting for over 20 years.
Throughout the school year we offer both core and enhanced coding classes for kids.
Core: An 18-week long course in which students learn key programming concepts. Classes are 1-2 hours long and introduce students to the essential skills and concepts they need to start coding.
Enhanced: The enhanced program gives students more time to take those concepts and skills further. They have the opportunity to design and customize their video game project and develop independent programming skills. They’ll be able to move on from this course and potentially start designing their own games.
The enhanced program is 27 weeks long, take core concepts further, and you can enjoy lower hourly rates for the longer commitment.
Real Programming 4 Kids teaches students the coding languages used in the industry today.
Introductory & Beginner: In early courses, kids as young as 7 learn the basics of programming, including the logic of problem-solving with code. They start with a drag-and-drop program that introduces the key concepts of programming. Unlike many other coding for kids courses, we then quickly move onto real coding. After learning the basics, they learn how to use Microsoft Visual Studio and how to program in Visual Basic.
Intermediate: At the intermediate level, students learn coding languages like Python, Java, and JavaScript. Java is one of the most popular languages for building mobile games, as Google uses it as their standard. Python is one of the easiest programming languages to learn and it’s behind some of the world’s biggest apps, including Pinterest and Instagram.
Advanced: At advanced levels, older students begin to learn the coding languages behind blockbuster PC and console games, such as C# and C++. Though these languages are harder to learn, they open up new possibilities and they are expected at major video game studios. Learning these languages puts students on the path toward a career in video game development.
Video game may not turn out to be career – it could just be a hobby. More and more video games than ever are being made by individual developers with a passion project. Learning how to program will also push students’ math skills, helping them in their academic efforts, and give them a valuable skill that employers and universities alike are interested in.
