5 to 7
Junior Thinker
Your child drags picture blocks to make a character move, tells a story that plays back, and drives a floor robot around a mat, all before reading is fluent.
Junior Thinker, coding for ages 5 to 7 →Programs
Coding, Robotics and AI Programs for Kids Ages 5 to 18
Find the one that fits your child
Three programs covering ages 5 to 18, taught in person at our centres across Canada or online. Your child's first class is free and runs 60 minutes.
Start with your child's age
Age is the fastest way in, and for most families it settles the question. Where it does not, the guidance underneath will.
7 to 14
Junior Creator
Your child builds games in Scratch, moves on to Python, puts a website or app together, and trains an AI feature they can explain to you.
Junior Creator, coding and AI for ages 7 to 14 →14 to 18
Ultimate Innovator
Your teen writes production code in Java, C++, React and SQL, and leaves with projects and a portfolio that stand up to a university or an employer reading them.
Ultimate Innovator, engineering for ages 14 to 18 →If your child sits on the line between two
At seven, reading is what decides it. A child who reads confidently and is keen to type is ready for Junior Creator. A child who is still finding reading hard is better off finishing Junior Thinker first: nothing is lost, and they arrive at Junior Creator able to move quickly.
At fourteen, experience decides it. A student who has coded before belongs in Ultimate Innovator. A student completely new to coding usually starts in Junior Creator, works through the fundamentals at their own pace, and moves up when they are ready.
You do not have to decide this on your own. The free trial class is the assessment: the instructor will tell you honestly which program they think fits, and it costs nothing to be wrong.
Compare the three programs
Everything that differs between the three, in one place.
Junior Thinker, Junior Creator and Ultimate Innovator compared
- Age
- 5 to 7
- What they use
- ScratchJr, codeSpark, Dash robots, Snap Circuits
- What they build
- Simple games, talking stories, robot routes
- Typical starting point
- Cannot read fluently yet; has never coded
- Robotics and electronics
- Included from twice a week: floor robots and snap circuits, set up by the instructor
- Typical session
- 60 minutes, up to six students per instructor
- Age
- 7 to 14
- What they use
- Scratch, Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, VS Code
- What they build
- Playable games, live websites, apps, trained AI models
- Typical starting point
- Reads and types; ready to move past pictures
- Robotics and electronics
- Included from twice a week: Arduino boards, sensors and circuits alongside the coding
- Typical session
- 60 minutes, up to six students per instructor
- Age
- 14 to 18
- What they use
- Python, Java, C, C++, C#, React, SQL
- What they build
- Portfolio projects for university and work
- Typical starting point
- Has coded before; wants something serious
- Robotics and electronics
- Included from twice a week: Raspberry Pi and hardware projects wired to their own code
- Typical session
- 60 minutes, up to six students per instructor
Robotics and electronics are part of the program itself from twice a week upward, in all three. They are not an upgrade and there is nothing extra to buy.
Not coding: Ultimate Math
Ultimate Math is a separate program for Grades 1 to 8, taught in the same rooms, in the same 60-minute sessions, with the same six students per instructor. It follows the curriculum your child is assessed on at school.
It is sold on its own or added to a coding enrolment, and the two run on separate days. The free assessment finds the specific idea your child is stuck on and sets their starting level out of twenty.
Ultimate Math, math for Grades 1 to 8 →What every program has in common
However you answer the age question, the way classes run is the same.
Once, twice or three times a week
You choose the frequency when you enrol, and you can change it later.
Every session is 60 minutes
The same in all three programs, at every frequency.
Up to six students per instructor
Small enough that every child is worked with directly in each session.
The first class is free
A full 60-minute trial class, in a real group, at no cost.
A student who is ahead can test out
Pass the check for a level and move up to the next one, at any of our centres.
Learn from home
For families outside the drive of a centre, or who would simply rather their child learned at their own desk. Junior Creator and Ultimate Innovator both run online. Junior Thinker is in person only: at five to seven, the floor robots and the hands-on work do not translate.
An online session runs the same 60 minutes with the same instructor-to-student ratio. Your child joins a live class, shares their screen when they need help, and works through the same levels as the students in the room.
It is not identical. Robotics and electronics kits are handled differently online, and a younger child in particular gets more out of being in the room. If you can get to a centre, we would tell you to.
How Learn from Home works →
Camps and short programs
Other ways in, if a weekly program is not what you are looking for right now.
- Camps · Full and half-day weeks through summer, winter and March break, plus single days when school is closed.
- After-school programs · Weekday sessions timed to the end of the school day.
- Parents' night out · An evening of supervised building and games while you have the night off.
- Birthday parties · A themed coding or robotics party hosted at one of our centres.
Moving from one program to the next
When your child outgrows a program, they carry on into the next one. Nothing restarts and nothing is repurchased: the same enrolment continues, the instructor tells you when the moment has come, and the levels pick up where the last program left off.
Junior Thinker
Ages 5 to 7
Junior Creator
Ages 7 to 14
Ultimate Innovator
Ages 14 to 18
Still not sure?
Four things parents tell us, and where each one usually leads.
“My child has never coded before”
That is how most students arrive. Every program starts from nothing, so go by age rather than by experience.
Start with your child's age →“My child already codes at school”
School coding is usually Scratch. They can test out of the levels they have covered and start further along.
Junior Creator, coding and AI for ages 7 to 14 →“My child wants to make games”
Games are where most students start. Scratch first, then Python, then something they design themselves.
Junior Creator, coding and AI for ages 7 to 14 →“My child is more interested in robots than screens”
Robotics and electronics are part of all three programs from twice a week upward, so pick by age and choose that frequency.
Start with your child's age →Hear From Parents
What Parents Say About Ultimate Coders
Find a location
19 centres across Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Schedules and prices are set by each centre and shown on its own page.
Peel and Halton
York and Toronto
British Columbia
Questions parents ask
Which program is right for a 7-year-old?
Seven is the one age that sits in both. A child who reads confidently and wants to type is ready for Junior Creator; a child who is still finding reading hard will get more out of finishing Junior Thinker first. The free trial class is the quickest way to settle it, and the instructor will tell you what they saw.
Can my child switch programs?
Yes, in either direction and at any point. Speak to the instructor or the centre and the enrolment moves across. Nothing restarts and nothing is repurchased.
Can a complete beginner start at any age?
Yes. Every program has a starting point that assumes no experience, and most students arrive with none. The exception worth knowing: a teenager completely new to coding usually starts in Junior Creator rather than Ultimate Innovator, and moves up once the fundamentals are there.
Is there an online option?
Junior Creator and Ultimate Innovator both run online, as live classes with the same instructor-to-student ratio as a class in a centre. Junior Thinker is in person only.
How much does it cost?
Prices are set by each centre and depend on whether you choose once, twice or three times a week, so they are shown on the location pages rather than here. Pick your centre from the list above to see its prices.
How long is a free trial class?
Sixty minutes, which is a full session in a real class with other students rather than a shortened demonstration. There is no cost and no obligation to enrol afterwards.
Is robotics included?
Yes. Robotics and electronics are part of all three programs from twice a week upward: floor robots for the youngest students, Arduino in the middle program, and Raspberry Pi and hardware projects for teens. It is not an add-on and there is nothing extra to pay for it.
Do you run camps in the summer?
Yes, and in winter and over March break, plus single-day camps when school is closed. They run at the centres and can be booked without enrolling in a weekly program.
Let the first class decide it
Sixty minutes, free, in a real class, and an honest answer from the instructor about which program fits.