Kenn Sippell (Alum) — "I continued to build video games independently for years after RP4K..."

I was a student of Real Programming 4 Kids when I was growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the 90s. I'm 30 years old now with a life based around programming. I continued to build video games independently for years after RP4K and even successfully sold a few. I’ve always loved video games and programming and have been employed steadily in programming roles since I was 16. Most recently, I left my role in a Senior Engineering position at Microsoft's Bing.com to pursue various startups including a video game startup. I’ve been thinking about RP4K lately and how much it changed my life. My instructor was Adrian Cheater, and I have childlike memories of card tricks with Elliott Bay and a gentle giant named Caveman Bob. I’m mostly just feeling some nostalgia and a lot of gratitude and wanting to thank you guys for the opportunities you provided me. Sincerely, Kenn Sippell Founder, DotaCoach.org​ | Senior​ Software Design Engineering​, Bing.com​ | Project Manager, Farms.com ... Read More

Austin Chamney (Alum) — "I have completed my first semester at Carleton, and thanks to RP4K, I am acing several of my courses"

I have been attending courses at Real Programming for Kids since I was thirteen years old. I started off programming the original Donkey Kong game with the beginner language Visual Basic. By the time I reached 18 years of age, I had attended eight courses at RP4K and programmed in three different languages in ranging difficulties. All of these courses inspired me to go off on my own and create games on my own free time. In total, I have made over 15 games, and I am planning on making several more in the future. Not only did RP4K inspire me to make games on my own, it also inspired me to pursue a career in computer game development. I am currently enrolled at Carleton University for their computer game development course. So far, I have completed my first semester at Carleton, and thanks to RP4K, I am acing several of my courses. The course COMP 1405 is a java programming course, and I found that I had already learned almost every topic that was taught during the class. I had learned everything I needed to know in the two java courses I attended at RP4K. Another course, COMP 1501, was very easy for me because 50% of the final grade was determined by a game that you have to make. Since I had so much experience making games at RP4K, I was able to make a game quickly, and I achieved a high grade as well. Next semester at Carleton, I have two more courses in which I will benefit from my knowledge I received from RP4K. These courses are C++ programming, which is the language I took the most courses in, and the continuation of Java programming. Hopefully I will ace these courses as well, and the several other programming courses that are soon to come. I can definitely say that Real Programming for Kids has been one of the most influential courses of my life. It inspired me to choose my entire career path in game development, and taught me many different skills that will help me be employable. ... Read More

Effie K. Toronto, Ontario (Parent) — "...their online program continues to engage our son"

Much of the way COVID unfolded in North America felt abrupt. I am sure this sentiment is shared by many parents like myself who were required to transition their children's education and extra-curricular activities online. Some of those transitions were more successful than others. In our family's experience, Real Programming 4 Kids was the most successful transition, and their online program continues to engage our son in ways that are even better than the in-person experience. He looks forward to his classes on Monday afternoons. He is 9 years old, and the teacher maintains his attention and curiosity throughout the class. I would not hesitate to continue these courses online in the future. RP4K has rolled out a program that is organized and engaging for the student ... Read More

Thul Miles (Parent) — "The morning of her second session, I shared with her that I was going to be taking her that afternoon again. She cheered"

Thaya, our 8 year old daughter joined the beginner's coding class at Real Programming 4 Kids in 2017. She absolutely loves everything about the program!! The morning of her second session, I shared with her that I was going to be taking her that afternoon again. She cheered with excitement. I was actually very surprised at her reaction as she seemed to be more excited to attend this extra curricular activity than most birthday parties she is invited to! I attribute her keenness to the program to 2 things. Firstly, her teacher Justin is amazing. He is kind, patient, funny and calm natured. His enthusiasm for coding really makes it that more enjoyable for the kids as well. Thaya really enjoys learning from him! Secondly, the coding evolves around making a video game that is interactive, creative and fun. Whenever I pick Thaya up the students (and Justin!) are always laughing/smiling, which is wonderful to see! I would like to add that Real Program 4 Kids' flexibility with make up classes and their sincere willingness to help makes it that much easier for us parents trying to juggle busy schedules. We have never had an issue with scheduling make up classes. In fact, the administrators bend over backwards to help out, which is refreshing given the fact that other programs our daughters have been involved with in the city have not been nearly as accommodating or flexible as RP4K ... Read More

Gillian Vivona (Teacher) (Parent) — "Four courses later, I can’t believe the difference. Leonardo’s confidence and self-esteem are greatly improved."

What a difference Real programming has made for my son and our family. Our son Leonardo has had difficulty in school since the early years. While school helped with the literacy, his math skills suffered tremendously. One day my husband saw your advertisement in the newspaper about designing video games and learning math. The program sparked our interest. Leonardo certainly loved to play video games and designing them sounded great. Four courses later, I can’t believe the difference. Leonardo’s confidence and self-esteem are greatly improved. He desperately needed to find a talent of his own that separated him from his sister. Real programming gave him that opportunity. He finally found something that she couldn’t do. It made such a difference to the dynamic of our family. I found they argued less and he became much less defensive about her success in school. One of the best moments happened recently. I saw my son discussing computer language and graphics programming with a colleague of mine who is taking college computer programming courses. His faced beamed as he realized that no one else knew what they were taking about. He felt very special. I am also very pleased that he is receiving exposure to computer programming which is not offered at school until Grade 11. He can decide sooner if this is a career path he wishes to explore. The staff at Real programming has helped my son learn to believe in himself, to see in tangible ways, how much he can actually achieve. And the best part is I don’t get frustrated about him playing his video games because he is now more focused on the program design then just empty play. I’ve often heard him comment that he knows how this or that graphic is designed. As a high school teacher of 22 years, I will often hear parents complain that their child isn’t focused, that they have a low attention span, and that they don’t like learning. Then I ask them how time at home is spent. Almost without fail, they complain about the hours spent at video games. I remind them that anyone who can spend hours at a video game, persevering until victory at that last level is achieved after countless attempts at problem solving, does not have an attention span problem. The staff and program designers at Real programming understand that learning needs to be fun. They have taken something kids love to do for hours at a time, and designed a fun, completely educational experience. A parent couldn’t ask for more. ... Read More

Diana Litzanova (PhD, CPA,CGA) (Parent) — "Got early acceptance at all universities he applied to."

After taking all science camps and clubs available in Ottawa my son expressed an interest in computer programming. I started searching for classes but couldn’t find anything interesting until I came across RP4K. I am so grateful I found the program because this is the best thing I have done for my son. He started with RP4K when he was 11, took multiple classes and since then he is spending most of his spare time programming. Last year he wanted to learn Python and the people at RP4K accommodated his needs. He is in Grade 12 now and during the programming classes at his high school he spends most of his time helping the teacher and the other children because his programming skills are way advanced. After all those years with RP4K he decided to continue with Computer Science and got early acceptance at all universities he applied to. Thank you RP4K for sparkling the passion and helping my son grow. I am sure there is more to come ... Read More

Mr.and Mrs. Glen Lomond (Parent) — "Not only has the program helped him with his mathematics, logic and general organization, but the ripple effect

The quality of the instruction, the variety of the courses and the creativity of the content is something that we attribute to our son’s interest and success in the program and the success he has achieved in his normal school life. We originally enrolled our son in your program to help him improve his school work. When he was nine years old, our son was at a turning point in his life where he needed to improve in a number of areas in his school work and work ethic. As parents, we were concerned that if we did not take a proactive approach to getting him on the right track then it would be much more difficult as he progressed through school. We searched for the right assistance and decided to gamble on “Real Programming for Kids” program. We hoped that the idea of games programming at his age would help improve his mathematics and logic skills and be fun at the same time. Five years later, my wife, myself and our son could not be more pleased. Not only has the program helped him with his mathematics, logic and general organization, but the ripple effect of improved skills in these areas has lead him to achieve at high levels in every other aspect of his school work. Our son just graduated from grade 8 as one of its most recognized and successful students. This is what we all had hoped for and we strongly believe that this program has contributed directly to our son’s success. He has developed into a confident and self-directed young man. He has completed 8 courses using the Visual Basic, Java and C++ languages and is very excited about starting Java Multi-Player RPG and C++ 3D RPG in the fall. As a past programmer and computer science engineer myself, I cannot believe that our son is working with technologies that I did not touch until I was well into university. He is also very excited about dropping in one more time this summer to complete some aspects of his latest game and maps that he did not get a chance to complete in the last course. Thank you for being so accommodating to let him join one of the existing classes to get this done. He has been asking daily when he is scheduled to go. Thank you again for the great work, amazing programs and outstanding experiences for our son ... Read More