Maker Kids Studio — Live & Online

Online Design Classes for Kids: Create, Not Consume

Live, small-group design education for ages 8–12 (young teens welcome in private mentoring). Your child turns their own idea into a real app prototype — online design classes for kids from the team behind our in-studio programs in seven US cities.

5.0 · 2,500+ Google reviews across our studios

See the program
Explore private mentoring
  • Ages 8–12
  • Live teachers never videos
  • Small cohorts
  • No experience needed
  • Real final project
online design bootcamp for kids
Smiling girl drawing with colored pencils
Online Design Classes for Kids: Create, Not Consume
8 weeks
one live session a week, never pre-recorded
Ages 8–12
complete beginners welcome
1 prototype
every child builds and presents their own
2 formats
small-group cohort or 1-on-1 mentoring

Taught by the KraftStories studio team, trusted for creative workshops by

  • Google
  • Disney
  • Apple
  • Figma
  • Spotify

Two ways to learn

Choose your child's path

Same curriculum philosophy, same live teachers — pick the format that fits your family.

Most popular

Design Bootcamp

8-week live cohort · Fall 2026

A structured, calm path from first sketch to a finished mobile-app prototype, in a small group where every child is seen and heard.

  • Weekly live sessions — project-based, never follow-along busywork
  • Small cohort — feedback and presenting practice each week
  • Final showcase — your child presents their own app prototype
  • AI, taught thoughtfully — a thinking tool to question, not a shortcut
$199full 8-week program
Choose a cohort — $199

Pick your day and time, then checkout

Private Mentoring

1-on-1 · Flexible schedule

The same design education, tailored to one child — their pace, their portfolio. Projects follow what drives them: graphic design, digital art and illustration, game and character design, animation, or web design.

  • 1-on-1 live sessions with a design mentor
  • Custom pace & projects — games, apps, art, whatever drives them
  • Pick your times — weekly or twice-weekly, any time zone
  • Parent recap after every session
from $89per session · packs available
Book a free trial call

20 minutes, no card needed — we match the mentor first

Design Bootcamp Private Mentoring
Format Small live cohort 1-on-1 live
Schedule Fixed weekly session, 8 weeks You choose, week by week
Best for Kids who grow with peers & presenting Busy schedules, deeper personal focus
Outcome App prototype + group showcase Personal portfolio, at their pace
Price $199 total from $89 / session

More than one kind of design

What kind of design do they learn?

Design here is broader than decorating — kids work across the core creative disciplines, matched to their age and interests.

Graphic design

Visual storytelling, layout, and color schemes — how images and words work together so an idea lands.

Digital art & illustration

Digital drawing and sketching — turning imagination into characters, scenes, and images others respond to.

Interface & web design

How screens and pages guide real people — the thinking behind tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Figma, taught kid-friendly with simple tools first.

Creative technology

Gentle, guided exposure to AI and design tools — using tech to create, not just consume.

The design bootcamp, week by week

From first sketch to final app prototype

Every session has a clear purpose — playful invention to human-centered design to a project they proudly present.

  1. Big Ideas Begin

    Imagination becomes sketches others can understand and respond to.

  2. Design Is More Than Decoration

    Finding what isn't working — for a person, an animal, a system — and improving it.

  3. Designing for Real People

    Empathy challenges: designing for someone else's needs, not just your own taste.

  4. Art, Emotion & Meaning

    Why some designs make us feel something — color, layout, and how to do it on purpose.

  5. Storytelling & App Thinking

    Turning an idea that matters into the plan for a real app.

  6. From Sketches to Digital Screens

    Interface design: their drawings become real screens.

  7. AI as a Creative Thinking Tool

    Something to question, guide, and use thoughtfully — not a shortcut that replaces judgment.

  8. From Ideas to Real Concepts

    Final prototype, practiced presentation, proud showcase.

Kids who finish hungry for more continue in mentoring at their own pace — vector graphics, digital drawing, game development basics, or Adobe Photoshop concepts in more advanced lessons.

From real sessions

What class actually looks like

Sketches, screens, and the moment an idea becomes something they can show.

Sketch to screen — interface week
Sketch to screen — interface week
Empathy challenge: design for another life
Empathy challenge: design for another life
Child drawing Earth on blue paper
Big ideas week — where projects begin
kid summer camp
Showcase day — presenting their prototype

What they keep

Five things your child walks away with

Not just an app — real life skills and habits of thinking that outlast any tool or software.

Creative confidence

Their ideas matter — and they can turn them into things others respond to.

Structured problem-solving

Find what's not working and improve it, step by step.

Empathy & responsibility

Good design starts with understanding another life — and owning your impact.

Communication

Weekly show-and-explain builds calm, real public-speaking comfort.

Judgment about technology

Screen time spent creating and questioning — not consuming.

Parents on the program

Seen, heard, and proud of what they made

★ 5.0 average across 2,500+ Google reviews of KraftStories studios and programs

Is this your family?

This is for you if…

  • You want your child prepared for technology — without letting technology raise them.
  • You want future-ready skills grounded in care, curiosity, and real craft.
  • You want confidence without constant performance, comparison, or pressure to be perfect.
  • You want your child to explain their thinking — not just finish an assignment.

Enroll

Pick a plan and save your spot

Live teaching, materials, weekly feedback, and the final showcase are all included.

Fall cohort

Design Bootcamp

8-week live cohort · ages 8–12

$199

·
  • Weekly live small-group session
  • All 8 weeks + final showcase
  • Parent progress notes
Choose a cohort

Starts September · limited seats

Mentoring — Single

1-on-1 · try it out

$89 / session

·
  • 60 minutes, one-on-one
  • Any time zone, you pick times
  • Recap after the session
Book a free trial call

Free 20-min trial call first · then buy in one click

Mentoring — 4 Pack

1-on-1 · a month of momentum

$329

Save $27
  • Four 60-minute sessions
  • Personal project plan
  • Recaps + next-step guidance
Book a free trial call

Most chosen · after your trial call

Mentoring — 8 Pack

1-on-1 · portfolio depth

$599

Save $113
  • Eight 60-minute sessions
  • Finished portfolio piece
  • Priority scheduling
Book a free trial call

Best value per session · after your trial call

Questions first? Send them here

Ready to enroll in the bootcamp? Use Enroll now above — checkout takes a minute. This form is for mentoring and anything you want to ask first.

  • We reply within one business day
  • Free 20-min mentoring trial call
  • No card needed to ask

Questions

Parents usually ask

What ages are the online design classes for?

Ages 8–12, built for complete beginners — and older kids and young teens are welcome in private mentoring, where projects grow with the student. No design, art, or technology experience required; curiosity is the only prerequisite.

Are the classes live or pre-recorded?

Every class is live with a real teacher — small groups in the bootcamp, one-on-one in private mentoring. Nothing is pre-recorded, and kids get feedback on their actual work every week.

What does my child make in the design bootcamp?

Over 8 weeks, they turn their own idea into a real mobile app prototype — sketches, screens, story — and present it at a final showcase. It becomes the first piece of a design portfolio they can be proud of.

Do kids need design software like Photoshop or Illustrator?

No. We start with simple, kid-friendly tools and teach the ideas behind professional graphic design software — layout, color, vector thinking — so those programs make sense when they're ready. A computer or tablet with a camera and internet is all you need.

Does the schedule work around school?

Yes. Bootcamp cohorts meet once a week at after-school-friendly times, and private mentoring is scheduled entirely around your family — any time zone. Missed bootcamp weeks have a catch-up path.

Bootcamp or mentoring — how do we choose?

If your child grows around peers and enjoys sharing, start with the bootcamp. If schedules are tight or they want to go deep on one interest — game design, illustration, animation, web design — start with the free mentoring trial call.

Give them screen time that builds something

Fall cohort seats are limited so every child is seen. Private mentoring starts any week.

Choose a cohort — $199
Ask a question first

Timing wrong? Join the waitlist