Kearney, MO · Near Hawthorne Elementary
After-School Coding Near Hawthorne Elementary
Most programs teach kids to code. At Love to Code Academy, near Hawthorne Elementary, we teach kids to push through failure, support their teammates, and take ownership of their own growth — using technology as the environment to do it.
📍 Serving Families Near Hawthorne Elementary in Kearney, MO
Hawthorne Elementary families in Kearney, Missouri attend school in the Kearney School District R-1, and Love to Code Academy gives elementary-age students from Hawthorne a place to build coding, robotics, and esports skills while practicing persistence, teamwork, and self-control in every session. Classes run at our Northland campus on Barry Road, where kindergarten through fifth grade students work through age-appropriate projects with coaches trained to name character traits the moment they happen, not in a report sent home weeks later. Many Hawthorne Elementary families come to LTCA because their child enjoys technology but was not learning anything meaningful from unstructured screen time, and our nine-belt system turns that interest into visible, measurable growth in both skill and character. Students advance by demonstrating real progress in both areas, so parents always know exactly where their child stands and what they are working toward next. Families near Hawthorne Elementary frequently tell us the growth shows up at home first, in things like more patience with siblings or a new willingness to try again after a mistake. Every track starts with beginner-friendly tools and moves at a pace that matches your child's confidence. If your Hawthorne Elementary student needs an activity that channels their energy into something real, schedule a free trial class and see what they build.
Why Families Choose LTCA
Why families nearby choose Love to Code Academy
Technology is the environment. Character is the outcome. Every session at Love to Code Academy is structured around one controlling idea: we grow kids, not just coders. The projects students build are real. The growth that happens while building them is the point.
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One program, three tracks
Students choose Coding, Robotics, or Esports — or move between all three. Every track runs on the same character framework and the same belt progression from White to Black.
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The belt system makes growth visible
Nine belts track both technical skill and character development simultaneously. Parents always know exactly where their child stands and what specific behaviors they are working toward next.
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Coaches, not just instructors
Every LTCA coach is trained to name character traits in real time — not at end-of-semester reviews. Persistence is recognized when it happens. Teamwork is named the moment it is shown.
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Fits a busy family's schedule
After-school sessions, weekend options, and summer camps — designed for students who already have full schedules. Families in the Northland can build LTCA into any routine without conflict.
Three Tracks. One Character Framework.
Choose the track that fits your child
Every track at Love to Code Academy is built on the same foundation — the LTCA Character Framework — with ten observable traits reinforced in every session, regardless of which program your child is in.
💻 Coding
Block-based and text-based coding using Scratch, Kodable, and Microsoft MakeCode. Students build real projects and develop the persistence to debug and rebuild when something doesn't work.
Students from Hawthorne Elementary bring the curiosity and energy that LTCA coaches build on from the very first session — progressing from block-based to text-based coding as they advance.
🤖 Robotics
Hands-on building with LEGO Education and VEX Robotics. Students design, build, and compete — developing teamwork and engineering mindset through real physical challenges that can't be simulated.
Elementary students from Hawthorne Elementary discover in Robotics that building something physical — and rebuilding it when it doesn't work — is one of the most satisfying forms of problem-solving they've ever experienced.
🎮 Esports
Structured competitive gaming built around self-control, sportsmanship, and team communication. The game is the environment. Character is what we are developing in every session.
Students from Hawthorne Elementary find in Esports a competitive environment that takes their gaming seriously — and uses it as the training ground for self-control, teamwork, and strategic thinking.
The LTCA Character Framework
Character traits parents can see at home
Ten traits. Reinforced every session. Visible to parents at home. Every coach at Love to Code Academy names character traits in real time — when students show persistence, when they demonstrate teamwork, when they handle a setback with self-control. Parents in the Kearney area report seeing these changes at home first. Below are five of the ten traits developed across every LTCA session.
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Persistence
The culture of persistence at LTCA starts day one. Coaches don't rescue students when they get stuck. They observe, then name the moment a student chooses to keep going. “That right there is persistence” becomes a phrase students recognize, internalize, and eventually begin saying about each other.
Learn about Persistence⚖️
Integrity
In a program built around competition and advancement, integrity is the foundation. LTCA students learn early that a belt earned dishonestly means nothing, and coaches reinforce that the standard exists to make the milestone real. Integrity isn't taught through values posters. It is built through real moments of choice under observation.
Learn about Integrity🤝
Teamwork
In every LTCA session, teamwork is defined, observed, and named, not just encouraged. Students with assigned roles, shared outcomes, and coaches who recognize real collaboration versus performed participation develop a fundamentally different understanding of what it means to contribute to a group.
Learn about Teamwork🔥
Passion
At LTCA, passion is observed in the student who stays on a problem past the end of session, who asks what comes after Black Belt, who shows up to open lab on a day they weren't required to. Coaches name it when they see it, because named passion becomes a defining part of a student's identity.
Learn about Passion🏆
Mentorship
At LTCA, the older students are the best argument for what the program produces over time. Students in the Lab Tech pathway naturally model the character framework for younger students, not because they were told to, but because they have internalized it. Mentorship here is organic, structured, and entirely observable.
Learn about Mentorship🥋 The Belt System Makes Growth Measurable
Nine belts — White through Black — mark each student's development across both technical skill and character. Every belt has a defined identity and observable behaviors that must be demonstrated before advancement. Learn about the belt system
Also Serving Families Near
Other schools in the Kearney area
Love to Code Academy serves K–8 students from across Kearney and the surrounding Northland. Click any school below for location-specific program information tailored to that school's families.
🏫 Dogwood Elementary
Kearney School District R-1 · Kearney, MO
🏫 Kearney Elementary
Kearney School District R-1 · Kearney, MO
🏫 Southview Elementary
Kearney School District R-1 · Kearney, MO
🏫 Kearney Middle School
Kearney School District R-1 · Kearney, MO
🏫 Kearney Junior High
Kearney School District R-1 · Kearney, MO