A platform where kids aged 8 to 14 code a video game, model in 3D and write Python
The project
Learning Buddies is a technology platform for kids aged 8 to 14, in Spanish. Here the courses are called adventures and their projects, missions. No theory: each mission is short videos and something the kid finishes with their own hands. They are guided by Kai, who narrates each lesson over the screen recording and sometimes appears full screen to explain something specific. They code a video game in Scratch, model in 3D with TinkerCAD and write real Python. It is not a company: it is my own project, and to a large extent it is where I show what I can do with AI by doing it instead of talking about it. Today it is in production.
The challenge
- A kid should be able to come in, watch a video and start creating with no friction: nothing to install and no account required at the door.
- Save each kid's progress reliably, so it isn't lost even if they switch devices.
- All of it without servers of my own or an infrastructure budget, and complying with data protection for minors from day one.
What I built
The whole platform, from idea to deploy
A static site, fast and well indexed. No heavy framework and no build: you edit it and serve it. I built all of it with Claude Code, which was part of the exercise — to find out how far AI-led development really goes today, not just in talk.
Python that runs inside the browser
In the third mission the kid writes Python in an editor inside the lesson itself, hits "Run" and sees the drawing instantly. The interpreter runs in their browser: there is nothing to install, there is no server running strangers' code and no account in another tool is needed. The lesson is laid out in three columns — instructions, editor and result — so you see what you write and what it draws at the same time.
Errors a kid can understand
Python errors are translated into Spanish and look at the code to get it right: they tell apart, for example, "you're missing indentation" from "you have too much". And a 20-second limit cuts off infinite loops before they freeze the tab.
Accounts, progress and play
An automatic anonymous session, so you can start with no barriers. The first lessons of each mission are open; from there on you need a free account, which an adult opens. It is placed on purpose at the moment when the kid has already achieved something, not at the door, and the anonymous progress is kept when they sign up. Points, levels and badges live in the cloud and sync on their own.
Measurement to decide with data
I instrumented the site to see what really happens: how many start a mission, how many finish it and where they drop off. That measurement is what tells me whether the product hooks them, instead of guessing.
Where it stands
- In production, with the adventure "Laboratorio de Monstruos" open and free: three missions (Scratch, TinkerCAD and Python) and 32 lessons, about two and a half hours of video and practice.
- A second complete adventure, "El taller de Santa y sus amigos", on hold until December. Together the two add up to 53 lessons.
- A database with strict security rules and cookie consent, designed from the start for minors' data.
- Third prize at the GoPitch Awards of GoDigital 2026, the innovation conference of Cámara Valencia, in October 2026. The ten startups in the Despega acceleration program competed. Las Provincias reported it.
- MVP in validation: nothing is charged yet. The website announces a subscription of 24 € a month starting in March 2027, with a new adventure every month, and for now it collects the email of anyone who wants to be notified.
