MIT App Inventor

Our offer of programming courses includes tens of items, so we recommend using filters to narrow down the choice. Firstly, select the location which is most conveniently reached with the child or from which we can pick the child. In the second step, select the language of instruction in which the child will learn (we offer courses in English and Polish). Next, notice the age group and choose the appropriate one for the child. After filtering the courses, there will be one or several courses left. Now you can read the course descriptions and select the course which best suits the child’s interests.

The first class of each coding course can be always a trial class. You can enrol the child in it with no commitments, just select the right option on the enrolment form. After the first class, we will ask you to confirm whether the child will participate in the course and if so, to pay the course fee.

Age groups specified for the programming courses for children and teens are our recommendation, not strict guidelines. However, they are worth taking into account. Our experience tells us that children below the recommended age group will do well during the course if they meet one or more of the following conditions:

- feel well handling the computer,

- have completed other programming-related courses or programming exercises at home,

- have experience in cooperation with older children, e.g. attend other courses with older children or spend a lot of time with older siblings at home.

The most important thing is to encourage the child to learn programming and not discourage from it. Only some children will find working with older students to be a motivation for learning. For most it would be a difficult and discouraging experience.

Considering enrolling a child in a course designed for older children, it is worth to think about the natural milestones in the child’s development – to which our courses are adjusted. The first important milestone is learning how to read. Children who don’t know yet how to read, learn at our school only in the youngest age group for grades 0–2. The second milestone is the transition from block-based to text-based coding. In our programming courses for children we gradually introduce elements of text-based coding, beginning from the second grade. However, only courses for the sixth and higher grades are solely based on text-based coding. We know from experience that only a handful of young programmers from the fifth grade are able to successfully complete these courses. The majority of the children needs to “grow into” the purely text-based coding which requires a lot of patience. We do not recommend skipping this phase too quickly, ahead of the child’s natural abilities.

If, having considered all these factors, you still have doubts about the right group, let the child try our classes. Already after the first class in both age groups it will be possible to draw conclusions and discuss the child’s abilities with the instructors. Then you can choose the group that is best suited to your child’s needs.