Tynker Coding For Kids: What You Need To Know (Complete Review)
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.
As the world is becoming more digital, it’s more important than ever to have a strong knowledge of coding and computer systems. But it doesn’t have to be daunting. Just like learning any language, kids are sponges for new information, so there’s a huge benefit to starting when they’re young. Liam is 8 now, and started using Tynker when he was around 6.5 years old. We know how hard it can be to decide whether a coding platform is right for you and your kids, so we’ve put together a complete review of Tynker to answer some of your questions and highlight some of the great features.
If at any time you have more questions, please get in touch with us using the contact form here. We’re always happy to share our insights and experience.
Tynker At A Glance
Tynker Pros
Tynker Cons
Key Takeaway
Tynker is a fantastic way to get kids coding quickly, while having heaps of fun. It’s more structured than most of the other platforms we’ve tried, but presents lessons in a way that captures the imagination and helps kids feel like they’re playing a game.
Easily start coding mods for Minecraft with ready-made templates.
Why should you listen to me?
That’s a fair question. I’m not an expert in coding or education. I’m just Liam’s mum, and Liam has been interested in robots and coding since he was 4 years old. We started with simple robots like Tobbie, who we’ve written about here, and moved on to free coding platforms like Scratch. Liam needed a bit more direction though, and that’s when we came across Tynker.
We’ve been using Tynker for about 18 months now. Initially, we used the free version to try it out, which was a great place to start. Unfortunately, we hit the limit of what was available, and Liam started to lose interest. During Round 3 (or 4, I lost track) of lockdowns, we got a the full version of Tynker, and that was a fantastic decision. Liam’s coding has improved significantly, because he’s learning in a very natural style that moves at his own pace. The lessons are designed as games, and he is free to pick games that are interesting to him personally.
Seeing his coding improve consistently has been really rewarding, and it’s had an added benefit of improving his confidence. His goals have gotten bigger, and he’s so excited to share his projects more widely.
Minecraft Modding
Liam uses the Minecraft modding templates at least a couple of times a week. These are a great way for kids to start creating their own Minecraft mods. You can choose to create mobs, items, skins, mods and heaps more, with ready-made templates. Click on the type you want, choose Windows 10 Edition or Java Edition, and you’re ready to go. Some templates have coding embedded, so you can just design and import. For others, you can customise the coding as well as the design. I’ll be writing more soon about exactly how to do all of this (as soon as Liam shows me!), but I’m told it’s pretty easy.
No matter which version of Minecraft you have, you can use Tynker to code your own customisations. If you’re using Minecraft Education Edition, choose the Windows 10 Edition. It’s not listed explicitly as an option, but it’s compatible and easy to use.
Parent Dashboard
The Dashboard is great for more than just keeping an eye on your subscription! You can see your child’s progress and which lessons they’ve been choosing. Against each lesson, you can see the number of sessions in each and the percentage complete. At home, I can see which lessons Liam has nearly completed and give him a bit more encouragement, but also spot the ones he’s stalled on. It might just be one tricky step that he’s stuck on, and if we work on it together then he’s away again.
When a lesson is fully complete, a certificate is available to reward your child’s progress and keep the motivation high. Just click on ‘See Certificate’ to download it.
This is Liam’s actual progress at the moment, which is really easy for me to check in on. He likes to flit from one activity to another, so always has several things on the go at once!
Tynker Pricing
Tynker has several different options available, to suit your budget and family size. The free version is a great place to start, as it gives you an idea of the potential Tynker can offer without any commitment. There is a limit to what’s available though, so you might hit that cap fairly quickly.
Individual Tynker Plans
Tynker offers individual and family plans, which is great for flexibility. A quarterly subscription is available, which can be a good way to test out the full version of Tynker for a short time, or spread the payments to suit your budget. When compared to an upfront annual subscription it does work out more expensive at US$15 per month.
We use the annual subscription, which works really well for us. It’s fairly cost effective, working out to US$9.38 per month, and having done the one-off payment, I don’t need to think about it for a whole year. Liam has access to all the lessons, plus templates for a huge range of projects in a wide variety of coding languages.
A 3-year subscription is also available, which reduces the effective monthly price down to US$8.50. With the 3-year subscription, more guidance is available to ensure that your child covers extensive coding skills. A Coding Master certificate is awarded when all skills have been achieved.
Family Tynker Plans
If you have more than one child who loves coding, consider Tynker’s family plans. Quarterly, annual and 3-year plans are available, but provide for up to three children at a discounted rate. You can manage multiple kid’s accounts from a single parent dashboard, which makes it easy for you. At the same time, each child can work at their own level on the lessons that they’re personally interested in.
Purchase Tynker With Confidence
If you try Tynker and find it doesn’t suit your family, Tynker offer a 30-day money back guarantee. It’s very easy to get in touch with them, and they’ll sort it all out for you.
Tynker Competitors
Tynker is great, but it’s certainly not the only kids coding platform on the market. We’ve published several posts about projects Liam has completed in Scratch, which is another good platform. You may have also come across Code Kingdoms, Gamefroot, or Microsoft MakeCode.
Scratch is great because it’s free. It’s also got a lot of extensions that make it compatible with a wide range of hardware including Lego WeDo 2.0, microbit, Makey Makey and more. Ready-made characters, items, backgrounds and icons make it quick to get started, but there’s also a full drawing canvas to invent your own. Simple tutorials are available, and kids can publish their projects within the Scratch Community so that others can try out their games.
Gamefroot recently moved to a subscription model and we haven’t explored it recently as a result. However, Liam had a lot of fun with Gamefroot when it was free. It’s very simple, but the characters are fun, and it’s easy to build cool game scenarios.
Microsoft MakeCode is free, and is designed for coding your microbit. It’s good for allowing extension menus to be added, like the custom Tobbie code blocks, and has some great tutorials for creating microbit games. Once you’ve done some tutorials, you can start designing your own games, or try out MakeCode Arcade.
Code Kingdoms is designed to enable kids to code their own Minecraft mods and Roblox games. It’s one of the more expensive platforms out there, and begins at a slightly more advanced level than Tynker. Code blocks are still used, but they’re designed to help kids transition from blocks to Java, so the text on the blocks is in the Java language. It’s a good next step, but you would want some beginner coding knowledge first.
Who is Tynker right for?
Tynker is great for kids who have tried out some free coding software, like Scratch or MakeCode, and found that they really enjoy it. The progressive lessons offer more learning opportunities than the free software, and we really like that advanced coding languages are available. As Liam gets older, there’s a lot of potential to extend his coding skills, and we can see why Tynker remains suitable for teenagers as well as the younger kids.
Who should avoid Tynker?
If you’re not sure whether coding will be of interest to your child, then we recommend starting with Scratch. There’s no investment required, the blocks are easy to drag & drop, and there is a wide range of fun characters and items to use. You can always move to Tynker coding later on, when it’s time to introduce a bit more structured learning.
On the flipside, if your child is only interested in coding for Minecraft and Roblox, it’s worth considering Code Kingdoms. Tynker is great for Minecraft, but doesn’t seem to be compatible with Roblox at this stage. It’s one of Liam’s key frustrations at the moment, and would be the only reason I’d look to add another coding platform to the resources we use.
Conclusion
Tynker has been a fantastic resource for Liam’s coding skills, and well worth the investment. With the Minecraft modding tutorials and templates, he’s highly motivated, and fun games like Turing’s Tower teach essential skills that he can build on.
Check out the Tynker website here, and find out more about how Tynker coding could help your child in the digital world.
