Homeschool Code Academy Review

 Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Technology is an important skill for kids today. If you are looking for resources for your kids to learn coding you might want to look at Homeschool Code Academy and their program Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home.

This is a basic course to learn Python. The course starts out by giving you an overview introduction of the course so you can navigate and utilize the course successfully. The lessons are all taught for you. No prior knowledge of Python or coding is needed for this course. This is a nice Online Coding Class for kids. You can choose to pay monthly or for the complete course at once which is a ten-month course.

The course is intended for middle and high school kids. You will need a computer, internet, and you will need to download a program to complete the assignments.

There are 13 topics with each topic broken down into subtopics

Introduction

Hardware and Software

Working with Output

Working with Variables and Keyboard Input

Doing Math with Python

List and Tuples

Turtle Graphics

Writing Programs that Make Decisions

Loops-Writing Code that Repeats and Counts

Re-using Code with Functions

Getting Unpredictable with Random Numbers

Space Game Code Along Project

Conclusion

Challenges to do assignments and you can get feedback. You can download or print off PDFs for each challenge.

You access all the courses on your Dashboard which is on the left side of the screen. You place is marked or you can just click on the resume tab.

Each lesson has a step by step video of the lessons. The videos vary in length from a minute to ten plua minutes. The majority of the videos are around five minutes. The course is taught by Matt Bohn who will show you what you need to do in the lesson. Some of the lessons are text that will give you details on lessons, the information is pretty much the information you learned in the video but this provides a visual step by step to help you complete the assignments. After the lesson you will work on an assignment. You can’t jump around in the lessons. The lessons are intended to go in order and when you complete a lesson it unlocks the next lesson for you.

To do the assignments you will need to download a free program called Thonny. The course can be used freely after you are down with the course which enables the student to continue creating games in Python.

The course gives you a basic overview of computer systems learning about the hardware and software. Then it goes into different techniques needed with coding from variables, loops, outputs, and other concepts needed with coding.

The lessons start out simple with creating a simple, “Hello World” to making the program speak out loud to you. The lessons will progress to you making a space game. The course can be used independently by the student or the parent can assist as needed. The course is self paced and you can use it at the pace that works for your student within the allotted time of the membership.

How Did I Use Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home?

I used this with my 15 year old son. My son is actually very advanced in coding and is familiar with Python and creating games. So he went in to this from a different view. My son went through the course at lightning speed starting out just watching the videos and looking over the challenges. He said, “The program is laid out nicely and the instructor is very good at taking you step by step in the lessons.” “He thought that the videos did a great job explaining and they were easy to understand.” His conclusion was that he would have liked this course when he was learning Python.

My son used his Chrome book and desktop computer throughout. My son isn’t a fan of the free program of Thonny that is recommended. He said it’s more of a preference thing as he has been using another program for so long that it’s sometimes easier to go with what you know. He said,"there isn't anything wrong with it." I asked him to try the Thonny again since it has been awhile since he has used it. He had a hard time downloading it for some reason so to keep his frustration down I told him not to worry about it. My son did say that Thonny is great for beginners as it gives a lot of feedback and it’s easy to get assistance within the program.

My son actually made the space game after he watched all the courses during the review period. Yes, this would normally be a 10 month course but my son wanted to see the end results and see how the course took you through the final project.

Here is his final finished space game. Like I said my son used this unconventional getting to the end of the game quickly. 

His conclusion was that he would have liked this course when he was learning Python. He said he hopes they make more courses in the future as it is a well put together course learning about coding.

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Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew have been using Homeschool Code Academy and their program Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home. Click on the graphic below to read more.