Coding for Kids with Code Kingdoms

Why are so many people talking about coding for kids?

What if your kids could learn how to code their own video games and learn what Reader’s Digest calls “the most important skill for jobseekers in the near future” at the exact same time?

What if coding video games as a kid could help build the skills needed to earn $20,000 more a year and be more competitive in a variety of job markets? (Reader’s Digest)

With Code Kingdoms, your kids can have fun learning basic, intermediate, and expert coding for Roblox and Minecraft, while building skills for their future. This means less time watching others play games on YouTube and less passive technology consumption. With Code Kingdoms coding for kids, children become inventors and builders; actively participating and problem solving. In our family, Code Kingdoms has helped create coders from ages 7 to 38!

What is Code Kingdoms?

Code Kingdoms likes to say that they are a website “built for kids by (big) kids.” The company goal is to make coding fun and to help teach kids crucial coding skills. To achieve this goal, the team creates video tutorials and a simplified coding screen to teach the next generation of coders using Minecraft and Roblox. The entire site is focused on coding for kids.

While Code Kingdoms teaches your family how to code, it does not include subscriptions to Minecraft or Roblox. While the basic Roblox account is free, coders will need their own copy of Minecraft for the computer.

How Does Code Kingdoms Work?

Code Kingdoms offers several options for both individual and family accounts. You can choose affordable monthly, annual, or lifetime memberships for Minecraft, Roblox, or a bundle for both games. If you have multiple gamers in your family, the Family Lifetime Bundle is the best value.

To use the service, you simply visit codekingdoms.com and register each member. If you have a family membership, this allows each person to code on their own account, at their own pace, and celebrate personal successes. This means no fighting over who gets to code which level or frustrations over account sharing.

Members can complete easy, medium, and hard courses to learn coding and earn experience points. Once they have enough experience points, users open up the game creation mode. Each course teaches new skills and builds upon skills from previous courses.

A Family of Coders

Code Kingdoms generously provided enough memberships for our three older children and Dad to try out coding. Our kids, ages 11, 9, and 7, all enthusiastically embraced learning how to code two of their favorite games. Each child enjoyed watching and coding along with the fun tutorial videos.

Each child also when through a stage of frustration that involved yelling at the computer screen. No one gave up, though, to my surprise. Their eagerness to learn outweighed the frustration and they went back to problem solve. The issue was almost always simply leaving out a crucial step for saving or some small thing that was easily fixed. They went on to complete more tutorials and cheer whenever they coded a new game.

Code Kingdoms Courses

Code Kingdoms Courses are designed to build upon each other. Each course includes a video tutorial, along with written instructions alongside the video. Pauses are built into the course, along with places to check in for help. This means that members can complete a course at a pace that suits their needs.

Each video is narrated by Lara, a friendly narrator with a delightful British accent. She is joined by other pals who help to build and edit the games. Lara is kid-friendly, without talking down to kids, and my family loves the humor between Lara and the Code Kingdoms team. She takes things step by step without becoming dull and truly makes viewers feel like there’s no dumb questions when it comes to coding for kids.

What I appreciate most about these courses as a parent is that they don’t just focus on the how, but also the why. You don’t just type in code for lasers. You develop a goal to create lasers, then go through a layered process to code, test, and play. Coding takes work, but it’s fun and Lara is there to entertain and patiently wait for you to complete each step.

The idea is that kids will complete these courses and go on to adapt or build their own Roblox and Minecraft worlds. It’s cool to show someone a game you’re playing, but it’s even better to invite them to play a game you coded.

Coding for Kids Family Reviews for Code Kingdoms

11 Year-old Review

Our oldest is primarily interested in learning to code Minecraft. She plays Roblox occasionally with her brothers, but she went directly for the Minecraft Courses. She told me that she likes how Code Kingdoms course videos tell you step by step what to do and go slow. She likes Lara’s accent and her fun and engaging narration. Some of her favorite video moments involved the funny little stories created about the Code Kingdoms course development team. She says that coding is challenging at first, but it becomes more intuitive. Her only suggestion is for the webiste to make it easier to figure out when/where coding goes wrong.

9 Year-old Review

Our 9 year-old son really liked understanding what happens behind the scenes in games. He enjoyed following the directions, testing them, then manipulating numbers to see different effects. He codes in both Roblox and Minecraft using the Code Kingdoms tutorials. His favorite part is showing his creations to friends and family.

7 Year-old Review

Our 7 year-old son enjoys both Roblox and Minecraft coding. He loves exploring the fun maps and building the different game elements. The videos are also entertaining for him and  he says, “The people in the videos are funny.” His biggest challenge was forgetting to press “run” to save all of his hard coding work. He suggests making sure this step is highlighted more in the courses. Overall, this small issue with “run” was his only complaint and, once solved, he loved learning to code with Code Kingdoms.

Dad’s Review

Kids were not the only ones excited about learning to code. In fact, my husband found Code Kingdoms and suggested our family try it. He enjoys the videos and says that they are even great for adults with no coding experience!

Do you have potential new coders in your life? Kids who love to play Roblox and Minecraft? Check out Code Kingdoms for a new, fun adventure with coding for kids.

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.