Coding for Kids (K-8)

Kids learn to code with blocks before text — Scratch and ScratchJr together cover most of K-8. For older kids see coding playgrounds and STEM hardware. For math see Math for Kids. For homeschool / curriculum see Open Educational Resources.

Block-coding (the K-8 default)

• ★ ★ Scratch (MIT) — free; BSD; ages 8-13; the dominant block-coding language; ~100M registered learners. Web + Mac/Win desktop + iPad. Scratch 3 is current; TurboWarp and PenguinMod are popular community forks.
  • https://github.com/scratchfoundation
• ★ ★ ScratchJr (MIT + Tufts) — free; BSD; ages 5-7; iPad / Android / Chromebook; pre-reading block-coding.
• ★ Snap! (UC Berkeley) — free; AGPL; Scratch fork with first-class functions, lists, custom blocks; BJC / AP CS Principles tool.

Code.org (school-curriculum-flavoured)

• ★ Code.org — free; non-profit; CS Fundamentals (K-5), CSD (6-8), CSP (9-12, AP CS Principles), CSA (AP CS A). Massive Hour of Code campaign. Free PD for teachers.
  • https://github.com/code-dot-org/code-dot-org
• Code.org App Lab / Game Lab — free; web-only block + JS hybrid; the CSD platform.

Paid kid-coding apps

• Tynker — paid + free; block + text; massive K-8 catalogue.
• CodeMonkey — paid; turn-based puzzle game; ages 6-14.
• Codeable Crafts — paid; tablet-flavoured.
• Lightbot — paid; classic puzzle.
• Hopscotch — paid; iPad-only block-coding.
• Bitsbox — paid + free; web + monthly box for kids.

Game-shaped coding

• CodeCombat — free + paid; see coding playgrounds.
• Roblox Studio + Lua — free; the cultural massive of K-8 coding outside school.
• Minecraft Education + MakeCode — paid school edition; block / JS / Python in Minecraft.
• Kodable — paid + free; pre-K to grade 5.

Apps / mobile

• Swift Playgrounds (Apple) — free; iPad-native; Swift; ages 10+.
• Hopscotch, Encode, Mimo — see above.
• MIT App Inventor — free; see coding playgrounds.

Hardware-paired (link to STEM)

• See STEM Hardware (micro:bit) — micro:bit with Scratch, MakeCode, MicroPython.
• See Pi classic projects.
• Sphero, Ozobot, Wonder Workshop Dash & Dot — paid; see STEM hardware.

Community / clubs

• Code Club / CoderDojo — free; non-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation; thousands of free in-person coding clubs worldwide.
• Black Girls CODE, Girls Who Code, Latinas in Tech — non-profit equity-focused clubs.
• Coolest Projects — Raspberry Pi Foundation kid showcase.
• First Lego League — paid; competition robotics for K-12.

Pick this if…

• Default K-8, free, browser: Scratch.
• Pre-reading kids (ages 5-7): ScratchJr.
• In-school CS curriculum: Code.org.
• More-capable block-code: Snap!.
• Apple iPad, ages 10+: Swift Playgrounds.
• Game-shaped coding: CodeCombat or Minecraft + MakeCode.
• In-person community club: Code Club / CoderDojo.