7 Reasons You'll Love Tynker Coding For Kids

This post contains affiliate links. This means we may earn a commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase via our links. Please see our full Disclaimer for additional information.

Hi! We’ve had a few weeks of downtime over at Liam’s Coding Journey, but there’s been lots going on behind the scenes. Liam has been learning to use Tynker, and his coding has improved heaps in a very short time. With Tynker, coding for kids has never been easier. Liam absolutely loves the gamified lessons, and barely even realises he’s learning!

We’ve had a great time with Tynker, so really wanted to share some of the highlights.

What is Tynker?

Tynker is an online platform which teaches kids to code from as young as 5 years old. Kids can start with block coding, and move into more advanced coding languages like Java, Python, html and CSS as they grow in confidence. Tynker makes coding easy for kids, by incorporating it into game-style lessons. The lessons build in complexity at a gentle pace, allowing kids to get comfortable with each new concept before advancing.

Lessons are presented as games, with an indicator of beginner, intermediate or advanced level which enables teachers or parents to guide kids to appropriate lessons. At each level, there is a wide variety of games to suit the interests of every child – Barbie, Hot Wheels, dragons, puppies, Minecraft, outer space. You name it, Tynker probably has it. At each step of the game, the character has a problem to solve, which is achieved using code. Kids have the opportunity to test their code and make changes as many times as they want, which helps to develop a stronger understanding.

And if gamified lessons weren’t enough, Tynker also provides a full suite of blank templates in all the main coding languages. These are great for when a basic understanding of coding has been achieved, and kids want to get creative in their own workspace.

7 Reasons You’ll Love Tynker Coding For Kids:

There are so many reasons to love Tynker, but here are some of our top picks:

1. Gamified Lessons

Have a look at the Coding Games available from the Play menu on Tynker, and see which ones take your fancy. Within each game, complete the coding task to give the next set of instructions to your character. In the Hot Wheels game, use code to direct your car around the course and win the race! When you have assembled each set of code, press play to test it out. You can play each level as many times as you want, or progress to the next track. For each set of code, Tynker provides only the blocks that are needed at the time. This is great because it removes distractions and prevents kids getting bogged down in obscure code that isn’t needed.

Liam loves Glitch Manor, Agent Recall and Gears Of Time. He directs his character through mazes, collects gems, and flies spaceships at just the right speed, all using code.

2. Plenty of options to suit personal interests

Whether your young coder is interested in space adventures, racing cars, or Barbie, Tynker has something for everyone. You can be confident that all the key skills are covered, no matter what your child’s interest is.

Use the Explore button to filter the lessons to the type of coding you’re interested in. That might be Art & Music, Game Design, Minecraft Modding, or Robotics & AR. These ensure that you’re getting the most value out of Tynker. When you’ve found a topic of interest, scroll across to choose a lesson that sounds like fun!

3. Tynker’s Parent Dashboard

Tynker has a parent login, called the Family Portal, that syncs with your child’s account. Here, you can manage your subscription and all that usual stuff, but also view certificates, awards and a portfolio of projects. Keep track of which lessons are in progress or completed with Tynker’s simple progress tracker.

Tynker Parent Dashboard showing progress made on activities — Tynker’s Parent Dashboard helps you keep track of your child’s progress

4. Create Minecraft mods

This is Liam’s favourite feature! Not only are there lessons to teach kids how to code mods, but there are templates for them to build their own mobs, skins, equipment and mods.

Tynker integrates really well with Minecraft Education Edition, which is available for free with a school or university-issued email address. These are usually email addresses that end in .school, .ac, .edu or similar. If you don’t have a suitable email address, Tynker also integrates with Windows 10 Edition, Pocket Edition and Java Edition.

On your Tynker Dashboard, navigate to ‘Create A New Project’, and select Minecraft, followed by the type of Minecraft project you want to try. You’ll get options at the top of the dialogue box for Windows 10/Pocket Edition and for Java Edition. If you’re using Education Edition, choose Windows 10. When you’ve finished your project, just download it and follow the instructions. You can use them in Minecraft straight away, or share the links with your friends!

Try out Tynker for Minecraft!

5. Blank templates to get you started

If you want to take a break from the lessons and just start creating, there are tons of blank templates ready for use. Templates are available in block-style, python, java and html, and there are custom ones for a wide range of Minecraft mods. You can even code your Lego WeDo 2.0 in Tynker!

6. Hour of Code

Hour of Code is a global initiative that encourages kids to give coding a try. Tynker is an excellent facilitator of Hour of Code, because they make lots of different activities available. Have a look at just a few of the options available (there are 25 different activities right now):

Tynker Hour of Code Projects — Here’s just a few of the current Hour of Code projects available

7. Suitable for every level

Liam is working on block-style coding at the moment, but there are lessons, games and templates for every level.

As kids become more comfortable, there are options to learn Python, Java and Advanced CS.

Learn more about Tynker…

Frequently
Asked
Questions

We love your questions! Have a look through these common questions about Tynker, and get in touch if there’s more you’d like us to answer.

I Have More Questions!

There are a few Tynker lessons you can access for free, and it’s a great way to try it out. However, it’s quite limited, so you will probably find yourself looking to move to a subscription fairly quickly. We recommend an annual plan for great value.

From our perspective, absolutely! There’s just so much you can do with it, and it helps kids learn coding fast. The game style of the lessons means there are lots of milestones along the way, which keeps motivation up.

Tynker is designed for 5-18 year olds. Liam is 8, and it’s pitched exactly right. The lessons begin with simple instructions and small blocks of code to build up confidence, and become more complex as each lesson progresses.

Here’s a link straight to Tynker! Or if you prefer, just search ‘Tynker’ in your favourite search engine.

Tynker have three plans available in addition to the freely available lessons – quarterly, yearly, and 3-year certification. The quarterly plan lets you try it out without a big upfront expense, but works out more expensive on a per-month basis. The yearly plan is great value, and this is what we got for Liam. It has access to all the great features of Tynker and is a cost-effective option. The 3-year plan gives full access and offers a cool coding certificate.

If you’ve got a keen coder or two that will be using it regularly, then Tynker is a great option. It’s cost effective, and gives immediate access to a huge range of activities. As their confidence grows, they can tackle the more advanced lessons at their own pace without additional cost.

If you’re just getting into coding and budget is a concern, consider trying Scratch first. Scratch is completely free, so you can give it a go with no financial input. The block coding is very similar, so you can easily move across to Tynker later.

Have you tried Tynker Coding for kids?

If you’ve tried Tynker already, we’d love to hear from you.

Leave a comment below and tell us your favourite part of Tynker!

Happy Coding!!

7 Reasons You’ll Love Tynker Coding For Kids

What is Tynker?