looking for summer fun activities for your kids?

​     With school out and the beginning of summer here, many parents are planning activities to keep their kids busy, informed, and out of trouble. With time, travel, and expenses sometimes too much to consider, there are only so many day camps, vacation time, and summer classes you can consider for your child.
          “Mama, I’m bored,” Tommy complained to his mom for the umpteenth time. “There’s nothing to do,” he whined sitting on his bed and surrounded by games, toys, and his “stuff.”
          Tina had enrolled her son in the YMCA summer program. He liked going but occasionally had issues with other kids. They had a week’s family vacation scheduled later in the summer, but there were time gaps. She felt she had to fill her son’s time or pay the price with his mischief.
     Emma Romano, mom extraordinaire, has put me on to this website, https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/safest-coding-sites-for-kids/. Kids, ages 5-18, will have a blast learning gaming code and creating their own fun on computer.
             For example, Crunchzilla, at https://www.crunchzilla.com/, is available for kids 8+. It uses JavaScript and it’s free. Crunchzilla offers a series of interactive programming tutorials aimed at different age groups and skill levels. These tutorials allow users to learn programming through hands-on experience by building graphics, animations, games, and more. The tutorials emphasize practical engagement over theoretical instruction, encouraging learners to experiment with live code from the start.
The platform is completely ad-free, focusing on user engagement without external distractions. All tutorials are available free of charge, making the site accessible to anyone interested in learning to code.
              Another one? How about Blockly Games, at https://blockly.games/. This one is for ages 5+ and uses Block-based coding and JavaScript. It’s also free. Blockly Games, provided by Code with Google, offers a series of interactive, educational games designed to introduce programming to children. Through various themed games, users engage with key programming concepts such as loops, conditionals, functions, and mathematical equations.
          Blockly Games are self-paced and designed to make learning to code accessible and engaging. The platform is completely open-source, which means it’s customizable and accessible offline.
          These are 2 of 38 code-learning, gaming options for you and your kids to choose from on https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/safest-coding-sites-for-kids/. Some are free. Others are paid subscriptions after a free trial period. All are informative, interactive, and just plain fun.
          “Okay, son. Which coding site do you want to explore today?”
          “Wow! There’re so many to choose from,” Tommy scrolled down the list of options.”
          Mom concluded, “Tell you what. I’ll get us lunch. After lunch we can take an hour to have some fun with coding and games. Deal?”
          “Deal.”
        The opportunities for young learners to engage with technology are vast and diverse. Each platform offers unique tools tailored to nurture a child’s analytical and creative skills, preparing them for a future in which digital literacy is paramount.
Guiding our children through this journey will both spark their interest in technology and also lay a solid foundation for their education and career. We can encourage the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators.
Blessings,
Jon

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