First Bytes Looks to Teach Minority Teens Programming

My oldest son first developed a love for creating things when he was about 3. Â He started building things in his room out of anything. Â He'd build stick figures out of the straw that came out of the broom. Â He'd use his blocks to create whole buildings and tunnels in his room. Â For this birthday this year we brought him a LEGO set with over 1,000 pieces. It took him an hour to put it together. Â (Seriously.)

Lately my 13-year-old has been talking about wanting to create an app and make his own video games.  I know he has pretty lofty dreams.  But, fortunate for us, there's a program that is looking to teach kids between the ages of 12-15 just how to do this sort of thing.  The First Bytes Society operates with the mission of making software development education accessible to youth.  In their words:

There's a few things wrong with typical software development education and its supporting ecosystem: a lack of accessible curriculum and tools, a high (read expensive) barrier of entry to formal education, and a pretty hardened stereotype of what a software engineer should look like. We're aiming to fix these things.

And guess what mamas: Â IT'S FREE!! (yes, FREE) So now that we know what they're all about, let's get your kid signed up.

• The program starts on March 30th and runs every Monday evening until May 18th.
• Click here for info on the First Bytes Society Kick-Off.
• First Bytes will accept 10 students. Â Click here to fill out your application now.

In addition, the program is looking for 10 mentors to assist in teaching the teens and still needs to raise $3500 to continue operations. Â Visit their website at firstbytes.org to find out how you can help. Â I hope you mamas will take advantage of this great opportunity!