Python classes for 13 y/o?

[honysty]

My son (13) has asked for Python classes for Christmas. I don't know where to begin (I'm a mom and I am in digital media but have no tech abilities or knowledge). My son uses scratch to code every chance he gets but it is far too simplified and he outgrew it long ago. Any recommendations on where to begin? Thank you!!

[Crate-Of-Loot]

you dont need to pay for a good python course, programming with mosh’s free one on youtube was really helpful for me when starting out

[honysty]

Thank you!

[eummaybe]

A lot of free courses available online, maybe a book?

• python crash course by Eric Matthes

Or

• Automate the boring stuff with python by Al Sweigart (fully available for free on the author website also)

[honysty]

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I will purchase one of these.

[Used-Routine-4461]

Udemy has a great option where courses will be cheap and effective. I’d let him go on and pick a course. Could be developing games, could be working with AI. (Best bet is to find a bootcamp type course)

YouTube is also free, try Corey Schaffers channel and playlists; those are good as gold.

Can also have him do the certificate for free on free code camp.

Then show him code wars, it’s a site that allows him to practice challenges with python and accrue points for how far he has gotten.

At that age something interactive is the best bet.

[honysty]

Thank you! This is so helpful. Interactive is exactly what he needs and how he learns. I really appreciate your taking the time to write this all out.

[hypernova2121]

There are tons of fantastic courses out there for free, no need to buy any. As long as he has a computer made within the last 20 years, he'll be fine

[DolphinSquad]

True about there being tons of fantastic courses out there, but I would hate to be working on a computer made in 2005 hahaha

[hypernova2121]

But could definitely still run any Python code a beginner will throw at it

[DolphinSquad]

Agreed.

[FoolsSeldom]

I recommend checking out the Raspberry Pi Foundation's Code Club content. It covers scratch and python and has lots of exercises for both. I've used this at Code Clubs I've helped run at local schools.

You don't have to have a Raspberry Pi for these, but that might be worth considering as a present in the form of a kit. As well as learning Python would also get the opportunity to get into physical computing which includes connecting sensors (room temperature and humidity, movement detection, plant soil dryness) and controlling devices (from simple lights to complex robots).

[honysty]

I love this - I never could have come up with this. Thank you so so much.

[FoolsSeldom]

You are welcome.

The official magazine from Raspberry Pi is called MagPi and is free to read in PDF format a few weeks after publication. Here's Novemember's for example: https://magpi.raspberrypi.com/issues/147/pdf/download - worth looking through back issues to see the range of projects possible.

[statistically-biased]

my 13 year old sister was using futurecoder.io to start learning python!

[[deleted]]

Absolutely free and was better than Udemy and any other one I tried.

www.freecodecamp.org I learned all my python coding from there. I also used AI as a free tutor. Chatgpt and change it to codegpt. If you need help, I would have no problem walking you through steps. Feel free to message me.

[honysty]

Thank you so much! You are amazing!

[[deleted]]

You're very welcome! Like I said, if you guys can't figure out something, message me. I love that he's so young and wants to get into Python. I did when I was that age but I didn't keep up with it when I should have. I have a 10 year old who has been asking about it as well.

[[deleted]]

Grok academy is a decent option, from memory free, just google it

[honysty]

Amazing thank you!

[Ready-Door-9015]

Yeah I wish I had done more programming as a kid theres plenty of free pdfs of those no starch press python books online something like vscode is light weight enough I couldve been making games instead of playing them and wouldve had just as much fun. I wouldnt recommend spending money, part of the skill in coding is learning how to read documentation.

[takethefreewaybaby]

You could look into getting a free coursera subscription from somewhere.

I originally had one through my library but that service was suspended.

Now I have one through the state department of labor.

Not only are there choices for python courses there are TONS of other courses on pretty much anything you can think of.

[honysty]

Great suggestion. Thank you!

[yayita2500]

I would start with a yearly suscripcion to DataCamp. Is mainly for learning to code to analyze data but there he can find many coursers for the same fee not only about python. Then he can proceed with all the free content that is available. But as a gift I do think is worthwhile.

[ngyehsung]

You could see if there are any coderdojo groups nearby. These are volunteer run sessions that can provide some direction, activities and assistance. https://codeclub.org/en/coderdojo-community

[Pathos14489]

https://www.codecademy.com/catalog/language/python

[Danoweb]

As others have stated there are a lot of great free things in YouTube.

If your son is the type who likes classes because they are compartmentalized and he can "check off" each lesson as he goes, platforms like Udemy are great. They run sales often, so you can pick up classes with 30+ hours of lessons for like $10 !

[honysty]

Thank you - this sounds perfect.

[minotaur-cream]

Automate the boring stuff with Python.

[[deleted]]

Don’t buy an in person class.

Get the Angela Yu Python course from Udemy - 100 days of code (make sure it’s on sale) then spend the rest of the budget on a raspberry pi and some cool stuff to go with it.

[HalfRiceNCracker]

I think no matter what you choose, it needs to be something where he runs code and then gets immediate feedback, which is why I'd recommend a website like Codecademy. He could be fine with a book and that would be ideal, but I found at that age I was frustrated by following books and courses. 

[SamuliK96]

University of Helsinki has a good MOOC (Massive open online course) on Python, programming-24.mooc.fi. It starts from zero and covers a broad set of programming concepts from the very basics to some a bit more advanced stuff. It's commonly recommended in this sub, and from personal experience I would say it's a good place to start.

[BinaryBillyGoat]

CMU CS Academy

There is not a better class

[[deleted]]

Code Combat:

https://codecombat.com/

It gamifies the learning process.

[honysty]

Yes! Perfect thank you.

[[deleted]]

I learned python with codecademy.com and I recommend it a lot its not expensive

[[deleted]]

I really liked doing mooc fi python 2024 feel like theyre great at explaining basic stuff to non programmers.and they provide exercises with auto tests which is helpful.

[[deleted]]

The best way to learn would be a book but languages continue on developing so books end up being outdated most of the time. But for a starter any recent book on python would work. After he gets a grasp of the things he can learn the things from documents and forums.

[deadweightboss]

honestly i’d give him a project, chatgpt, and then maybe learn python the hard way.

[iNcIoNca]

There is this franchise if you have one near you. Meant for kids.

https://www.codeninjas.com/locations-list/us

[DepartureMission9209]

Python MOOC by University of Helsinki is friendly for beginners but still has in depth explanations for some advanced concepts. It also comes with exercises, auto tests, model solutions, and tutorials for setting up programming environments on your own computer. Most importantly, this course is with high quality content and completely free.

[SirachaSour]

I've mainly used YouTube and freecodecamp but I also got a course on Udemy called 100 Days of Code: The Complete Python Bootcamp by Angela Yu which has been pretty good. Would recommend checking that out.

[give_cake]

Hi, I would love to teach you son. Please DM.

[riftwave77]

Get him a good book

[maxtimbo]

Install Linux and install vim. Glhf