Web Foundations · Course Guide
Web Development for Kids in Stittsville & Ottawa: Why Building Real Websites Matters
Why learning HTML and CSS gives kids creative agency, digital literacy, and authentic pride in building real-world projects from scratch.
📍 In-Person Classes in Stittsville, Ottawa & 🌐 Live Online Anywhere
Whether your family prefers an intimate physical classroom setting in Stittsville, Ottawa or the comfort of a live interactive online classroom from home anywhere, ReaderNook offers ultra-small class sizes with dedicated instructor mentorship.
- In-Person Cohorts (Stittsville, Ottawa): Strict cap of 3 students per class for maximum hands-on attention and personalized guidance.
- Live Online Cohorts: Small groups with a maximum of 6 students with real-time screen sharing and collaborative debugging.
- Zero Homework Anxiety: All required building, testing, and concept mastery happen in class.
Why Learn Build Your First Website?
The web is the primary medium through which modern society learns, communicates, and works. Yet most children interact with the web purely as passive consumers—clicking links, scrolling feeds, and watching streaming media. Learning HTML and CSS demystifies the browser canvas. It transforms the screen into a digital workshop where students realize that every web page in the world is simply a structured text document styled with intentional design rules.
Building a personal website from scratch gives children an unparalleled sense of authentic ownership. Unlike walled-garden visual drag-and-drop website builders that hide underlying principles behind complex interfaces, writing clean HTML tags and CSS rules teaches fundamental concepts: document hierarchies, visual syntax, and systematic styling.
Skills Your Child Will Practise
- HTML Document Architecture: Understanding <!doctype html>, semantic headers, paragraphs, lists, and links.
- Visual Design with CSS: Selectors, color hex codes, modern typography, padding, and the CSS Box Model.
- Responsive Card Layouts: Flexbox multi-column cards that naturally adapt between mobile and desktop viewports.
- Accessibility & Media: Vector illustrations, image alt attributes, and keyboard-navigable links.
- Quality Assurance: Inspecting page layouts with browser Developer Tools and testing multi-page site navigation.
The Course Journey
The course has six live one-hour meetings. Chapters are learning units: a chapter may span meetings, with time for practice, questions and saving work. Optional extensions depend on readiness and available time.
| Module | Focus & Learning Objectives | Tangible Evidence of Learning |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 01 | Launch Your First Web Page Create, save, and edit an HTML page; use a heading and paragraphs. | Open a locally saved page and explain one HTML element. |
| Chapter 02 | Add Images, Links & a Navigation Route Add sections, lists, descriptive links, and an image with suitable alternative text. | Follow a working link and explain the image alternative. |
| Chapter 03 | Style Your Page with Color, Fonts & Space Link a stylesheet; apply selectors, colors, fonts, and spacing. | Change a shared rule and explain which elements it affects. |
| Chapter 04 | Build a Layout That Works on Any Screen Group content; use a simple flexible layout and comfortable reading widths. | Resize the window and check for horizontal overflow. |
| Chapter 05 | Connect Two Pages Into a Real Website Create a second page, consistent navigation, and a shared stylesheet. | Navigate both directions and use the keyboard to reach links. |
| Chapter 06 | Ship & Showcase — Live Review Day Use a checklist, fix issues, and explain design and code choices. | Demonstrate the site and make a small independent edit. |
Course Details at a Glance
Target Age & Readiness
Recommended Age: 10+
Prerequisites: Comfortable typing, opening files, and using a browser. No coding experience needed.
Class Format & Schedule
Duration: 6 weekly sessions × 60 minutes
Tuition: See the current total price for your chosen class on the registration page before booking.
Equipment & Tools
Equipment: A laptop, a plain-text code editor, and a web browser. Complete the editor setup with your teacher before class.
Work Preservation: All projects are saved locally on the student's computer.
Takeaway Creation
Project Outcome: A two-page website about a hobby, interest, or imaginary organization.
Ready to showcase to family, teachers, and friends.
Frequently Asked Questions for Parents
Got questions about enrolling, class structure, or student readiness? Here are the most common questions Ottawa parents ask us:
Where are in-person classes located?
Classes are held in Stittsville, Ottawa, offering convenient access for families across Stittsville, Kanata, Richmond, Munster, Carp, and West Ottawa.
Can students join online instead of in-person?
Yes! We run live, interactive online sessions with small groups (up to 6 students) with real-time screen sharing, live debugging, and collaborative guidance for learners anywhere.
What is the recommended age and readiness?
Recommended for ages 10+. Students should be comfortable typing and opening files. No prior programming experience is required.
Are proprietary tools or paid software required?
No. We teach using standard open web technologies: a lightweight code editor and any modern web browser. All student work is saved locally on their machine.
Is there homework between sessions?
No. All required building, testing, and concept practice occur within the 60-minute class time. Optional exploration is provided for curious students without any homework pressure.
What does the student take away at completion?
A complete, self-authored multi-page website with linked pages, styled cards, responsive layouts, and accessible images that opens in any browser.
Ready for Your Child to Become a Creator?
Choose from currently available dates and teaching modes. Groups have a maximum of 3 learners in person or 6 online.