Hi, I’m Eric Fredrickson. I taught myself to code by writing my own video games as a kid because my parents could afford a Commodore 64, but not the disk drive, and I really wanted to play games. So I wrote my own. Fast forward a bunch of years, and I found myself the father of an 8-year-old daughter blessed with artistic creativity. Inspired by this video, I thought to myself, I should teach her how to code.

Well, we both had SO much FUN, I decided to offer a class for her Girl Scout troop, which became summer camps. Finally, it became after-school classes, and I started hiring people to teach using my method, and 8,000+ kids later, this non-profit is the result. Our goal is simple: to be the best teachers of coding for kids in the world, so YOUR child can have the same great experience mine did. With coding and persistence, your child can do almost anything.

We make learning coding fun, by letting your child write their own, unique computer game, based on their own ideas. We’ve found that supporting true creativity through coding gives kids a sense of freedom and power that is all too rare for young kids to experience “In Real Life”. Did you ever think about why little kids love Dinosaurs? Well, dinosaurs are huge and powerful. Little kids are not. Dinosaurs don’t have to eat their vegetables or go to bed on time. Dinosaurs are powerful. When kids are coding their own ideas into life, they are like dinosaurs, with unlimited freedom and power over the (virtual) world they create and inhabit. Once kids get a taste of this creative freedom and power, they want to learn more, so they can do more.

Using positive reinforcement and proven, project-based learning, we make sure your child succeeds, at their own pace. Then, the social aspects really come into play. Kids love sharing their creations, and cheer each other on to learning more. Nothing feels more like victory than the adoration of your peers. Nothing else builds self-esteem, confidence, and persistence in quite the same way.

Our classes are friendly and welcoming to kids of all genders, and our social mission is for those young kids to grow up empowered and confident in themselves as masters of technology, supporting all genders together. As they mature, they’ll correct the historical gender imbalance in tech education and eventually the technology industry. We know this works because we’ve been making it happen over the past decade in Seattle. Your child can be part of this empowered generation and help create this better future, by enrolling in our classes.
Teaching this way requires a very low student-teacher ratio, so each child can get the individual attention they need, and the freedom to create their own project. Yes, that means our classes are expensive. But, we offer a pay-what-you-can plan to make our camps and classes accessible to more kids. And we’ll be expanding those offerings as we ramp up our fundraising and expand our time. We’re ready to serve a limited number of kids right now with our summer camps, after-school classes, and online classes. Enrollment is open, so sign up now! See the “about us” page to learn more about our social mission, donate, or offer support.

As a fellow parent, I highly recommend giving this lifelong gift to your child. Give the gift of coding, and celebrate their present and future success.

– Eric Fredrickson, Executive Director