Coding is cool. Getting your kids to code is even cooler and will help them long term in our technology driven world.

Out of the blue my eight year old son asked me if he could start building his own web site and learn to code. I realized this is going to be a big trend because kids want to create things. This is also being fueled more by programs like code.org.

After doing the typical search I started to realize that this is still a evolving market with no real leader in the space. I started to ask for some recommendations today and received some responses that people were looking also.

To make this really simple I decided to do a quick post on what I have seen so far. Here are some of the services to start with that were recommended by the twitter users below:

• Scratch: With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share your creations with others in the online community.
• CoderDojo: CoderDojo is a movement orientated around running free not-for-profit coding clubs and regular sessions for young people.
• Hopscotch (iPad): Love their statement: We founded Hopscotch so we could build the toys we wish existed when we were kids. Made with ♥ in NYC by these friendly people.

I am going to have my son start on Scratch and Hopscotch to see how it goes as they look like a great starting point. CoderDojo looks like a great concept but I need to dig in more to see how it really works.

Special thanks to @benkepes, @jamesurquhart, @osbornm, and @andyknosp.

If you have any more feel free to let me know and I will add it in.

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