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Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home Review by Crystal McClean
Matt Bohnsupport@homeschoolcode.academy
Homeschool Code Academy
https://www.homeschoolcode.academy
Matt Bohn, a software engineer and previous homeschooler, teaches students Python through a video series. Students follow along and download PDFs that contain programming challenges to complete using the videos as a guide. Then after students have applied their knowledge, they can watch Matt solve the challenge to see if their code is correct.
Students love how they can adapt the coding to use different colors, shapes, speeds, or other options to make the class interactive. The goal is to learn to code 2D graphics and arcade-style games.
We received a one-year subscription to Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home, valued at $125 (other subscription options are also available). The target age for this course is fifth grade and up.
All that students require for this class is a Mac or Windows 10 PC. The required Python software is available for free via a provided link.
This course includes 159 guided lessons which start right at the very beginning. The course topics are:
- Introduction
- Hardware and Software
- Working with Output
- Working with Variables and Keyboard Input
- Doing Math with Python
- Lists and Tuples
- Turtle Graphics
- Writing Programs that Make Decisions
- Loops - Writing that Repeats and Counts
- Re-using Code with Functions
- Getting Unpredictable with Random Numbers
- Space Game Code Along Project
- Conclusion
Tristan loves learning how to code and has been working through this course independently. After five weeks, he is about one-third of the way through. The lessons are straightforward and easy to follow. He has fun showing off his accomplishments, such as making the computer talk or asking questions.
I do not know anything about coding, so I appreciate how easy it is for Tristan to work through the course independently without needing assistance. Lesson plans are also unnecessary; I simply need to schedule the time for this class; Homeschool Code Academy has everything set up in order on the course site. This saves me time, which is a bonus.
Tristan is learning skills he will need to become a games programmer, which is his ambition. When he can do this on his own and enjoy it, that will be a win.
-Product review by Crystal McClean, The Old Schoolhouse®, December 2022
