Looking for something for my 7 and 10 year old. I want them exposed to coding but not in a boring way. We tried Code.org at home and it felt too much like homework. Been hearing good things about Scratch and Codecademy but wanted to know if anyone here has actually used those with their kids and what the experience was like?
Scratch is the gold standard. It's fun, visual, and doesn't feel like homework. Your kids can make actual games which keeps them engaged.
Scratch is way better than Code.org if they're not feeling the homework vibe. You can make actual fun games instead of just following tutorials. My 8yo made a simple Pac-Man game and was genuinely proud.
We did Scratch with our 7 and 9 year old and honestly they were more interested in the artwork/sprite creation part than the actual coding. But that's still coding concepts, just applied to something they care about.
Tynker is another good one - similar vibe to Scratch but some people find it more intuitive. Let them play around and pick what clicks with them.
Scratch for sure. The key is letting THEM design the project instead of following instructions. "What game do YOU want to make?" instead of "let's follow this tutorial."
The key difference: Code.org feels like school, Scratch feels like making something cool. Start with Scratch and if they love it, THEN worry about more structured coding education.
Codecademy is more structured which some kids like and others find boring. Scratch lets them be creative which is probably why it'll engage your kids more.
The whole reason Code.org felt like homework is because it IS designed like homework. Scratch lets kids be creative which is the fun part.
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Codecademy can be dry. Scratch is more playful. Try that first. If they get bored with Scratch then maybe revisit Code.org but with a project-based approach instead of tutorial.