This post is sponsored, but the opinions are 100% our own.
You know those amazing moments when you provide your child with an incredibly enriching after school activity; the ones where they are just so engaged, it’s hard to get them to do anything else? While this may seem like the unicorn of extracurricular activities, it exists I tell you, and its name is Juni Learning with computer science and coding classes for kids!
Juni Learning is the brain child of Stanford graduates and Google alumni. It is an online school for accelerated learning and enrichment focusing on computer science, and let me tell you, it is awesome! This program is not only mentally stimulating, it’s super convenient for busy parents. I was asked if I would participate in a trial course, and while I thought it would be an amazing opportunity for my oldest daughter, I wasn’t sure how this would fit into our busy schedule. Well here’s the kicker- Juni Learning comes to you! Yep, their program pairs amazing instructors with your child. The classes are one on one or small group and are video based. How cool is that? Our very own in-home computer science tutor-major bonus points!
Juni Learning offers Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced classes, including Data Master (Python), App Master (HTML / CSS / Javascript) and an AP Computer Science A equivalent (Java). My daughter participated in the beginner track, which was developed for the 8-12 age range.
This track uses Scratch’s drag-and-drop coding system to learn computer science fundamentals: loops, conditionals, variables, operators, listeners, and functions. My daughter was guided step by step through the entire process by her instructor Ruby. Ruby was incredibly patient and explained everything in great detail to my daughter. She was really wonderful about letting my daughter know that it was okay not to know an answer, and that everybody makes lots of mistakes in computer sciences. That’s how we learn to program better!
During this session my daughter was able to begin building a video game, she chose the character and used Scratch’s drag-and-drop coding system to tell the game, character, and program what she wanted it to do. It was a really neat opportunity as a parent to watch the wonder in my daughter’s eyes turn into empowerment and confidence. She ended her first class by playing the game she created and truly felt like a Game Superstar. She is already begging me to sign her up for more classes, and that is definitely a win in my book!
Hallie has been married to her amazing husband for eleven years, and together they have four lovely daughters. She is an adjunct professor at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, as well as a Parent Mentor in the Pediatric Cardiology Unit at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Hallie is currently a Doctoral candidate in the field of Clinical Psychology and will be defending her doctoral project this coming year. She loves spending time with her family and volunteering at her church.
