Top 30 Free and Paid Minecraft Programming Lessons for Kids
Minecraft is not just a game, but a whole platform that is known even to those who do not play it. Logos with the name and images of game blocks are found everywhere: on T-shirts, backpacks, notebooks and much more. Even among cosplayers you can meet fans of this game. In general, it is difficult not to notice the presence of Minecraft in everyday life.
Minecraft has become one of the most popular sandbox games in the world. Don't worry about your child spending too much time playing online games: let's talk about the benefits and features that have contributed to the rapid growth of Minecraft's popularity among schoolchildren.
Even Minecraft lessons for kids aged 6 and up have great potential for developing creative and logical thinking, as well as social skills. In this virtual world, schoolchildren can build, explore, interact with other players, and create amazing worlds limited only by their imagination. So Minecraft not only entertains, but also educates, making the game a useful tool for children's development.
Want your child to learn to code? Then this selection of paid and free Minecraft programming lessons from the authors of the Pixel school courses is for you.
Basic online course “Programming in Python in Minecraft
Age: 9-13 years
Cost: from 800 rubles per lesson, there is a system of discounts
Duration: 1.5-3 months
Children will immerse themselves in the world of Python programming through Minecraft lessons. The training modules are designed specifically for systematic mastery of the material. Students will create game characters, animation, and participate in the development of full-fledged game projects. All this will definitely be useful in the future for a portfolio and will become the foundation for successful training in other areas. This initial course will allow children to understand the key concepts of coding in practice: cycles, variables and commands, and others. Online classes will help develop logical thinking and skills in working in three-dimensional space for both novice gamers without coding experience and confident young programmers.
Minecraft Programming: Learning 2D and 3D
Age: 9-13 years
Cost: from 800 rubles per lesson, there is a system of discounts
Duration: 1.5-3 months
Here, children have the opportunity to study 2D and 3D shapes, which will help develop spatial imagination. Children can also get acquainted with the principles of artificial intelligence and apply them in practice by creating a virtual assistant in a gaming environment. This new knowledge will serve as a basis for more conscious learning in the field of information technology. For example, in the lesson, they will build their own small city using a few lines of code, learn to decrypt file data and display messages in the game chat, gain skills in creating 3D objects such as a maze, and also master other programming capabilities in Minecraft.
Minecraft for Kids: Mastering Game Design
Age: 9-13 years
Cost: from 800 rubles per lesson, there is a system of discounts
Duration: 1.5-3 months
In each lesson, children will learn something new in Python. In Minecraft, they will even write code of more than 100 lines: this is quite a lot for beginner programmers. The children will also create an invisible bridge and use their skills to develop a game on the theme of treasure hunting. They will also be able to control events in the game, reacting to clicks on blocks, and separately create a script for the behavior of different sides of these blocks. The module ends with the creation of their own mini-game. They will present this project at the defense, where everyone will show what they have learned.
Comprehensive Minecraft programming course for free on creating games in Minecraft
Age: 9-13 years
Cost: free
Duration: 2 hours
A basic understanding of Python programming is required to successfully complete the course. In Minecraft, kids get acquainted with the basics of development, study variables, cycles, and operators. This experience helps them develop spatial and algorithmic thinking. At the end of the course, students use their skills to create a program that makes their life easier in the virtual world of Minecraft. And here you can create up to 15 different games: quests, classics (yes, those that are drawn with chalk on the pavement), runner. Flight simulator, “Attack of the Zombies” and others.
How to Install Minecraft and Python on MacOS
Age: from 7 years
Cost: free
Duration: 12:03
To start coding in Python, you first need to install and prepare the necessary platforms. You can find a list of them in the description of the video: this is, in fact, the Minecraft installer, Python for MacOS, Java, a special file server for Minecraft. How to download them and in what order to install them so that everything works correctly, see the video.
Minecraft Online Programming: Making a Stone Farm in Minecraft
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 4:02
To create a farm, you first need to import a specific library. Then, variables are created to get the character coordinates, adjust the size of the farm, and coordinate them. In the video, the farm dimensions are set to 10×1 (width and height), but you can always experiment with your own values. Then, the video shows how to work with the coordinate system so that the farm appears at some distance from the main character.
Quadcopter bomber: Python programming Minecraft for kids
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:29
The tutorial shows how to make a self-guided quadcopter that will fly in an unknown direction. In order for the player to be able to influence it, you also need to create a Python script for the chat. First, you will need to import the block, time, random libraries to set a random direction for our quadcopter. Then, the mc and qc variables are set to give the device its appearance. In the video, it consists of iron, diamonds, and stone blocks.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 2:21
As in many lessons, we begin by importing the necessary libraries. Then you will need to set the variables. The lesson will introduce you to the Python function “setBlocks ()”, which is needed for the program. Well, actually, all that remains is to assemble a boat from wooden blocks and run the resulting program for testing.
Parkour in Minecraft on the sky
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 4:19
It's hard to say what can't be done in Minecraft. For example, this tutorial will show you how to make a game called “Parkour in the Sky”. The player's goal is to climb as high as possible along gold blocks that randomly appear near the character. To do this, you first need to create a python file called “parkour”, import the necessary modules. Python is connected to the local Minecraft server via the “mc” variable. To set the player's initial location at a height, you need to specify the value of the startPos variable as 150.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 4:04
After we have connected to the Minecraft server, we need to determine the current coordinates of the player using the “getTyler_pos” function. The train cars in the video are built to the right of the player, so the coordinates are set along the x-axis. Next, the size of the cars, their width and height are configured. From the video, you will learn how to create and run a cycle that will allow you to create 4 cars at once.
How to Build a Beautiful House in Minecraft with Python
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 6:02
In order to create a house as shown in the tutorial, first of all, you need to import the MCPI library. Then declare a variable and place a command in it to perform operations in the game, as well as a variable that will contain the coordinates of the character. Next, we will create variables that will indicate the IDs of the necessary blocks.
If you want to use other blocks to build your house, but you don’t know their ID, you need to go to the Minecraft Tools folder and find the Minecraft Python API archive there. You need the BLOCK file there. Copy this file from the archive to any folder convenient for you and open it. Now you can see the ID of the blocks you are interested in.
After watching this video, you can add whatever you want to the house, using the functions shown by the teacher in a similar way.
Minecraft Programming for Kids: 10 Free Minecraft Mods
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:45
Mods (modifications) allow you to make the game more exciting and diverse. The video talks about ten free and interesting mods that you can take into service for your projects. Among them are Tinkers Construct for creating your own workshop for making tools, Alex's Mobs, which gives an additional 89 mobs for the game, Techguns, which adds skins and 3D models of weapons, as well as Terra forged, The twilight, Forestry, ThaumcraftPam's, Harvestcraft, Immersive Vehicles, Minecolonies.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 6:01
Hopscotch is one of the most popular outdoor games. It is a fun game that develops hand-eye coordination, eye, and more. In this video, hopscotch is created in Minecraft using the Python programming language. The platform for the game should be placed at a bird's eye view. The player's task is to score as many points as possible by jumping from one diamond block to another. First, a Python file called Classics is created. Next, you need to import the libraries and modules needed for the program, Minecraft, Block, and Time. The MC variable contains a command for performing operations in the game. And what variables and their values need to be entered for the program to work, see the video.
How to Make a Rocket in Python in Minecraft
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:02
After watching this tutorial, you will be able to create your own rocket in Minecraft and launch it using the Python programming language. In order to create a rocket, we need to import the MCPI, Time, and Minecraft Staff libraries. Then declare a variable in which you will place the command for performing operations in the game, as well as a variable that will contain the coordinates of our character. In the Rocket list, you will see the coordinates of the blocks that will form our rocket. To do this, you will need the ShapeBlock function. You can find ready-made functions and materials for the lesson in the description of the video.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 6:56
The video shows how to create a submarine using Python. In this game, the main task is to prevent the submarine from colliding with obstacles, which also need to be created. Another condition is the maximum height. If the submarine goes beyond the specified values, the game will be over. How to write the conditions for losing and winning the game, what variables to use, watch the step-by-step video. All the explanations are accessible, so even Minecrafters aged 6-7 years old can make such transport for the game for free.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:21
A tutorial on creating a mushroom farm in Minecraft. To do this, first of all, you need to add the MCPI library, which is created specifically so that our Python scripts are loaded in the Minecraft environment. Next, using the coordinate system and variables, we set the character's location and determine the location of the farm so that there is some distance from it to the player. The main activation code is set using block coordinates, variable values to determine the farm's activity state. The activation condition will be the moment when the player steps on the corresponding block.
How to make a portal in Minecraft
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 3:27
A portal in Minecraft is created by importing the necessary modules, declaring variables with the character's coordinates, and the portals themselves. The video shows how to make them from sand and stone blocks, but you can take any others at your discretion. From the lesson, you will also learn how to create an infinite loop and what variables are declared.
Minecraft tutorials: how to build a tower
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 3:07
The process of creating a tower using Python will take you a little time if you follow the instructions in the video tutorial exactly. As always, it all starts with importing libraries and declaring variables for building our tower. Then its coordinates are added to another variable and blocks for construction are created. The video also shows how to install a spire on the tower and add windows.
Minecraft Whack-a-Mole Game in Python
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 6:42
The player's task here is to catch a mole (in the game it will be a diamond block) and score as many points as possible without falling into mole holes or falling off the platform. As the number of points scored increases, so does the difficulty of the game. To implement this, you need to write a script for catching and conditions for complicating the game.
How to Build a Farm in Minecraft
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 4:03
This is the second farm video in this series. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to set the position and size of your farm, build glass water barriers, use code to place water and dirt, and even plant a cute front yard and fence around your play area.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 6:58
If in the previous video we made an open farm surrounded by a pond, here we will try to create a whole plantation of watermelons. To do this, we will also need to create the walls of our farm, mark the entrance, build a roof and add pillars to make the farm more realistic.
How to make a lighthouse in Minecraft
Age: from 12 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:57
In addition to importing libraries and declaring variables with specified values of the beacon coordinates, here you will need to write a Python script to create a cylindrical tower and commands to create a cycle. You can also add glowing parts to your beacon using the video.
What PC do you need to play Minecraft?
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:19
An important question that probably worries many: what kind of computer can handle Minecraft? From the video, you will learn what the system requirements are for the platform, what kind of processor and video card is needed, how much space on the hard drive the game takes up, how much RAM it “eats”. If you have a weak PC, this is no reason to despair: the video provides a list of platform versions for devices with weak characteristics and ways to optimize performance, including for graphics.
Visual: Children (analyzing a lesson from a school student who created a project in Minecraft)
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 3:01
Perhaps the most unusual and at the same time visual lesson of our selection. Here, Pixel school student Stepan talks about his project, which he created on a Minecraft training course. As in other videos, there is a step-by-step instruction. So, if you wish, you can get inspired by Stepan's game and create the same or write your own game scenarios by analogy.
Minecraft for Kids: Playing Tic Tac Toe
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:02
A game that is absolutely familiar to everyone, the essence of which is to place your symbols (actually, crosses or zeros) before your opponent so that a single line is formed horizontally, vertically or diagonally. To create such a game in Minecraft, you need to use the Python programming language to write a game program with cycles and conditions under which it will be determined whether the player is currently moving and, if so, in which direction.
How to build an egg in Minecraft
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 2:17
A lesson that will suit beginner coders. As we already understand, our egg will not have the usual real form, since we are talking about Minecraft. To create it, you will need the mcpi library and minecraftstuff. Next, variables and the drawSphere function are declared to create an object.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 4:33
To build a car in the game, you first need to form our car through coordinate lists and declared variables. Then its position is determined using a Python script. You will also learn from the video how to make your car fly using code.
How to build a castle in Minecraft
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 4:25
One of the video tutorials in the list has a step-by-step instruction on how to create one tower with a spire and windows. For the castle, we will need the buildTower function to create several towers. A separate function is written for each installation. To correctly build the outer walls of our castle, we need to declare variables to store the central position. This can be done through centerx and centerz, which correspond to the coordinate axes “x” and “z”.
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 3:53
In this video, you will learn how to create a farm that will gradually fill with reeds when the player steps on the activation block. To the farm itself, you will create a fence, a glass fence, place soil and even water needed to grow plants.
How to make a chest in Minecraft
Age: from 9 years
Cost: free
Duration: 5:45
A tutorial based on the process of creating a reed farm from the previous video. The goal of this tutorial is to show how to write code for a random chest to appear on our farm. If you haven't watched the previous video, don't worry: here the teacher also shows all the steps for creating variables, boundary walls, and a fence.
The big advantage of such lessons is their accessibility and game form. One way or another, if a child wants to create something unusual in Minecraft (a tower or the whole castle), implement useful mods, he will learn to use the Python language. Ultimately, this knowledge can become the basis for a deeper study of one of the most popular programming languages.
