A Rocket & Raven series · Coding, K to 12

Code Crew

A four-rank coding ladder for kids who'd rather build a rocket: Crew Recruit, Crew Pilot, Crew Engineer and Mission Commander. After the ladder, high-school courses cover computer science, data and real Python. Every course is free, start to finish.

Pick a rank → Computers and high school

Why a rank ladder?

Most US schools push computer science down to the K to 5 grades, but the same skill looks very different at 5 versus 10 versus 12. Code Crew groups grades into ranks so families can pick the right entry point without overthinking it. A kid who finishes one rank gets promoted to the next, and the curriculum picks up where the last one left off. Each grade introduces concepts from the CSTA K to 12 Computer Science Standards (Levels 1A, 1B and 2). We don't claim official endorsement.

Rank · Grades K to 1 · Ages 5 to 7

Crew Recruit

Mission ready. Boots on the deck.

Visual block sequences and the first big ideas: order, patterns, simple if-then thinking. No reading or typing required.

Grade K · Ages 5 to 7

Code Crew Kindergarten

A kindergarten coding course built from visual drag-and-drop puzzles: sequencing, patterns, and simple if-then thinking. No reading or typing required.

Grade 1 · Ages 6 to 7

Code Crew Grade 1

The first taste of typed instructions. Short words, big ideas, and an adventure with Nova, the crew's AI companion drone, that gets a little harder each week.

Rank · Grades 2 to 3 · Ages 7 to 9

Crew Pilot

Hands on the controls.

Scratch-style block coding plus a kid-friendly text mode. Loops, conditionals, variables, and the first real bug-hunts.

Grade 2 · Ages 7 to 8

Code Crew Grade 2

Memory boxes, counted loops, checks and named jobs, wrapped in a 12-week mystery: the fleet auto-pilot keeps dropping at the same spot. Kids read every program line and answer by tapping, with no typing.

Grade 3 · Ages 8 to 10

Code Crew Grade 3

Loops, conditionals, variables, functions, debugging, algorithms, decomposition, and a board-game capstone.

Rank · Grades 4 to 5 · Ages 9 to 11

Crew Engineer

Building the ship.

The bridge from blocks to text. Real algorithms, structured data, functions, and small programs your kid designs and ships.

Grade 4 · Ages 9 to 11

Code Crew Grade 4

The step from Grade 3's pseudocode to real Python. Kids read, trace and complete programs on the page, with lists, loops, strings, dictionaries and functions.

Grade 5 · Ages 10 to 11

Code Crew Grade 5

The capstone of the K to 5 line. Recursion, searching and sorting, trees, and a capstone program built piece by piece.

Rank · Grade 6 and up · Ages 11 and up

Mission Commander

Leading the mission.

A Python intro and the start of real programming: files, modules, libraries, and projects worth showing off.

Grade 6+ · Ages 11 and up

Code Crew: Mission Commander (Grade 6 and up)

Real Python on a real computer, for kids who already know what a loop is. Input, decisions, loops, functions and modules, files and JSON, testing, and a command-line tool to build and demo.

Beyond the ranks

Computers and high-school CS

1-2

Inside the Machine G1 to G2

What is inside a computer, what every part does, and the safe fixes a kid can try. Tap-only, read aloud.

3-5

Inside the Machine G3 to G5

How the parts of a computer work as a system, how the internet moves information, and a real troubleshooting method.

9-12

Data and Society 9-12

Plan, run, clean, graph and model a community survey by hand, and learn how data can help or harm the people in it.

9-10

Intro to CS 9-10

Design, write, test and launch a paper app for a Moon greenhouse, and learn how data, networks and computing shape the world.

11-12

Python 11-12

Build a rover simulator in real Python with classes, grids, searching, sorting and recursion, then read the same code in Java.

Short sessions. Mon to Fri.

Kindergarten through Grade 5 lessons take about 10 to 15 minutes a day. Grade 6 and up runs about 30 minutes a session, because students write and run real Python on a computer. Each week ends with an optional Crew Quest.