10 Python Projects for Beginners Kids Can Build This Week

Once your child knows variables, if and loops, projects are where the learning really sticks. Each of these is small enough to finish in a session or two, and each has a way to make it bigger.

1. About me

name = input("What's your name? ")
print("Hello,", name)

Extend it: ask for a favourite animal and print a sentence using both answers.

2. A times-table quiz

answer = int(input("What is 7 x 8? "))
if answer == 56:
    print("Correct!")
else:
    print("Not quite - it's 56.")

Extend it: use a loop to ask all of the 7 times table.

3. Number guessing game

secret = 7
guess = 0
while guess != secret:
    guess = int(input("Guess the number (1-10): "))
print("You got it!")

Extend it: make the program say "too high" or "too low" with if, and use import random for a different secret each time.

4. Mad-libs story

animal = input("Name an animal: ")
place = input("Name a place: ")
print("One day a", animal, "walked to", place, "and sang a song.")

Extend it: add more blanks and make a longer story.

5. Countdown timer

import time

for n in range(5, 0, -1):
    print(n)
    time.sleep(1)
print("Blast off!")

Extend it: ask the player how long to count down from.

6. Dice roller

import random

roll = random.randint(1, 6)
print("You rolled a", roll)

Extend it: roll two dice and add them, or loop to roll ten times.

7. Rock, paper, scissors

import random

choices = ["rock", "paper", "scissors"]
computer = random.choice(choices)
player = input("rock, paper or scissors? ")
print("Computer chose", computer)
if player == computer:
    print("Draw!")

Extend it: add the winning rules with elif, and keep score in a variable.

8. Simple calculator

a = float(input("First number: "))
b = float(input("Second number: "))
print("Sum:", a + b)
print("Product:", a * b)

Extend it: let the user choose +, -, * or / with if.

9. Shopping list

items = []
for i in range(3):
    item = input("Add an item: ")
    items.append(item)
print("Your list:", items)

Extend it: print each item on its own line with a loop.

10. A secret code

word = input("Type a word: ")
print(word[::-1])

This prints the word backwards. Extend it: make a program that checks whether a word reads the same both ways, like "level".

How to run these sessions

Let your child predict what the program does before running it.
Encourage changing one thing at a time to see what happens.
Celebrate when something works, and treat the first error as normal.

Make it personal

The best project is one your child cares about. A cricket fan can build a scoreboard; a dinosaur lover can make a quiz about dinosaurs. When projects match interests, motivation takes care of itself. Tiny Coderz adapts each lesson to the world a child chooses for this reason.

Looking for more? See coding game ideas kids can make, or revisit the basics in Python for kids: where to start.