Maybe you’ve heard the Hour of Code mentioned at your child’s school, from others in your parenting friend groups, or perhaps you’ve luckily ended up on this post while looking for ways to bring more education into your child’s life. Well, we’re glad you asked and we're excited to share what and how your child can try the Hour of Code at home!
If you're a teacher, head on over to our other Hour of Code for educators blogs. -> Click Here.
What is the Hour of Code?
The Hour of Code is a global movement that introduces millions of students to computer science. Hosted by Code.org for Computer Science Education Week, the Hour of Code is a week-long celebration that takes place in December, and this year, we hope you’ll be joining in!
We’ll also let Code.org explain it themselves…
"The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. This grassroots campaign is supported by over 400 partners and 200,000 educators worldwide."
- Code.org
The Hour of Code is traditionally celebrated in classrooms but that doesn't mean you can't join in from home. It's a great opportunity to introduce your child to a new hobby or interest, engage them in a way where they don't even know they're learning, and prepare them for a successful future in the 21st century.
What is Involved in the Hour of Code?
Like Code.org explained, education companies worldwide join forces to inspire and empower kids with simple and fun 1-hour coding activities. The Hour of Code is designed for kids of all ages, with pre-reader-friendly games to high school-aged activities.
Regardless of your child’s hobbies or interests are, there’s something for everyone- maybe even you, Mom and Dad! We’re talking about dance parties, Minecraft, animals, hockey, even baking.
A lot of activities in the Hour of Code also connect back to important issues and subjects like environmental science, history, nutrition, math, the list goes on. The goal is to introduce kids to something new, break stereotypes, and most allow them to be creative while learning and exploring.
Now, you may be saying "my child knows nothing about coding" or "I know nothing about coding so how will I help my child?" Toss those thoughts right out the window! There is ZERO experience needed to take part in the Hour of Code from you and your child. With tutorials and easy to follow directions, the focus can be on learning and enjoying computer science.
So now that you know what the Hour of Code is, let's talk about how your child can take part at home!
How to participate in the Hour of Code at home?
1. Check out the Hour of Code website
Code.org has done an excellent job of preparing everything you and your child will need for Hour of Code. Start by simply checking out their website and see what all the hype is about. And hey, if we can’t convince you to take a look, maybe NBA star Steph Curry can?
https://hourofcode.com
2. Explore the Activities & Prepare
Browse the activities ahead of time to look find choices that match your child’s age and interests. Take a few moments to look at the details and starting instructions of the activity before handing off to your kids. And if you don't have the proper technology, that's no problem. The Hour of Code offers tons of unplugged options so your child can still participate.
We hope when browsing, Kodable’s Hour of Code activities have made it onto your list of activities to try! Ideal for K-5 , we’ll link them below for quick reference.
- Design Your Hero: Use your real-life heroes and your imagination to design a character who will protect the fuzzFamily. -> Play Now
- Intro to Programming: Explore self-guided game that introduces kids 5+ to programming basics. -> Try it out
- Beach Cleanup: Save the beach babies! Learn to program using basic commands and clean up the beach to protect ocean life. -> To the Beach!
- Make Your Own Kodable Maze: It up to you! Get creative and complete maze-building challenges with basic coding concepts.-> Design Now
- Build Your Own Fuzz: Design your own Fuzz and use code to modify its properties and bring your character to life! We can wait to see. -> Get Building
3. Get Coding
It's time to get this party started and we want to give you a few ideas of how to kick off your Hour of Code.
Join the Hour of Code Independently:
Hour of Code is set up for your child to complete independently if they wish. All you need to do is navigate them to the activities page or activity and let them hit the ground running... or hit the keyboard running in this instance. Let your child explore and take on challenges as they complete activities. When they're finished, let them show off what they've learned!
Enjoy the Hour of Code by Learning Together:
Use the Hour of Code as a time to bond and enjoy education with your child. Set time aside to watch some of Code.org inspiration videos, scroll through the activities together picking ones each of you want to try, and enjoy your time learning and discussing why technology is so important and how coding is present in our everyday lives.
Make the Hour of Code a Play Date:
Call up your parent friends and make it a kid's play date! Get the kiddos together for independent and peer-to-peer learning. When kids learn together, they rely less on adults and more on each other. Watch them work collaboratively to problem solve, interact through successes, and discuss what they're learning together.
4. Celebrate Your Child's Success
Finally, participating in the Hour of Code is a huge accomplishment! Make sure you celebrate your child by printing off their certificate. Share it with the entire Hour of Code community and us here at Kodable by using the hashtags #HourOfCode #Kodable. May we also suggest an ice cream treat to wrap up the celebration?
What Comes Next?
Coding education doesn't have to end when the Hour of Code is over! According to Code.org "while 90% of parents want their child to learn computer science, most schools still don’t teach it."
It's easy to continue the fun and learning at home by sign up for Kodable's 7-day free trail. Let your child explore the entire Kodable galaxy as they continue to discover the and enjoy a computer science education.
Make coding a regular activity with Kodable -> Start your 7-Day Free Trail Now
Hour of Code 2021 Resources
The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can take part in an Hour of Code event! At Kodable, we believe all learners deserve access to programming education, and the Hour of Code allows us to take a huge step towards this achieving this goal. We’d love for you to join us!
For Teachers:
- Access to all of Kodable’s Hour of Code activities. Available here ->
- Step-by-step instructions for hosting an Hour of Code with your students. Download Guide ->
- 15 tips from other teachers for participating in the Hour of Code . Read more ->
- List of essential videos that will inspire your students during the Hour of Code. View videos ->
- Certificates for students to celebrate their Hour of Code accomplishments! Download certificate ->
- 4 ways to extend learning beyond the Hour of Code. Read more ->
For Parents:
- Access to all of Kodable’s Hour of Code activities. Available here ->
- Step-by-step instructions participating in the Hour of Code with your children. Download Guide->
- Blog post: How to do the Hour of Code at home. Read here ->
Tip: Prevent Loading Issues!
During the Hour of Code we will have millions of learners using Kodable! To prevent loading issues, make sure you log into Kodable on all your devices the week before your learner(s) participate in the Hour of Code. If you don’t login to Kodable beforehand, you might have to sit through longer loading times and you’ll want to spend the hour coding, not waiting!
