Kids & middle school
The best preparation for a world full of AI may be a childhood full of people: singing, building, arguing, dancing, and asking "why?"
A few principles for parents and grandparents
- Do it together. The value is in the shared activity — the band, the cast, the team — more than the skill itself.
- Hands before screens. Real instruments, real paint, real books first; apps as helpers.
- Let them be bad at it. Struggle is the lesson. A machine that does it for them takes the lesson away.
- Talk about the big questions. Kids love "what's fair?" and "what's real?" conversations.
- STEM still counts. Robotics club is great — it's teamwork too. Just don't let it be the only thing.
Little kids (roughly K–5)
Carnegie Hall Musical Explorers & Link Up
Free school music programs for K–2 and grades 3–5; ask your school about them.
Visit site →PLATO lesson plans
Philosophy discussions for young children, often starting from a picture book.
Visit site →Odyssey of the Mind
Team creative problem-solving competition — part theater, part invention.
Visit site →Interlochen Arts Camp (grades 3–6)
Summer arts camp with a junior division for younger kids.
Visit site →Middle school (grades 6–8)
Middle school is when a lot of kids quit music and art. It's also when debate, theater and history projects can grab them for life.
National History Day (Junior Division)
Grades 6–8 compete in the Junior Division with papers, exhibits, documentaries, performances or websites.
Visit site →National Speech & Debate Association
Middle school speech and debate programs and competitions.
Visit site →Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
Summer and online courses for advanced students, including humanities and writing.
Visit site →Online classes & supplies
Outschool
Small-group live online classes for ages 3–18 — music, art, debate, history, philosophy clubs.
Visit site →Some class and shop links on this page may be affiliate links. If you buy through one, this site may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. How that works.
For older teens, see the summer programs page.
Questions people ask
What should young kids learn instead of coding?
Not instead — alongside. This site suggests making sure kids also get music, art, dance, reading, history and plenty of time talking and playing with others. There's no research consensus on an ideal mix.
What are good humanities activities for middle schoolers?
National History Day (Junior Division), speech and debate, school music ensembles and theater, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (from grade 7), and summer camps such as AileyCamp or language villages.