The Aivy Academy approach
Coding and AI as one subject, taught by making
Coding is how children make their ideas real. AI is what they learn to understand, train and build with. Every session is hands-on, and every term ends with something shown to real people.
Six commitments
Coding and AI as one subject
Coding is how children make their ideas real. AI is what they learn to understand, train and build with. The balance shifts with age: Explorers mostly build and meet AI ideas through play, while Studio spends most of the term building with real AI tools.
Every session: Spark, Build, Test & Tweak, Show
Instruction stays short. Most of the time is hands-on. The last ten minutes, every child shows one thing.
The AI Moment
A five-to-ten-minute segment in every session teaches one AI idea, collected as a stamp in an AI Passport.
Levels are terms
Each level is one 10-week term. Each band has three levels, so a child can complete a band in a school year, then move up by readiness, not just by birthday.
Real things, shown to real people
Every level ends with something the child made, presented at a showcase. Projects go into a portfolio. Parents get a weekly 60-second clip and a dinner-table question.
A kid-safe AI sandbox
Under-13s never log into public AI tools; the instructor drives AI on the big screen. From Builders, students use Aivy's own sandbox: pseudonymous logins, parental consent, content filtering, logging, and a clear 'you are talking to an AI' notice.
A session, minute by minute
Instruction stays short: ten minutes at 6 to 8, fifteen at 9 to 11, twenty from 12. The rest is hands-on, and the last ten minutes every child shows one thing.
0 to 10 min
Arrive and Spark
A greeting ritual, today's mission in one sentence, and the AI Moment, often away from screens.
10 to 30 min
Build 1
Hands-on block one, usually on the floor: robots, cards, role-play.
30 to 33 min
Move and switch
A transition song. Pairs swap roles or move from the floor to the tablets.
33 to 50 min
Build 2 and Test & Tweak
ScratchJr or the second challenge. Predict, then press. The assistant records the clips.
50 to 60 min
Show
Every child shows one thing in two sentences. Stickers and passport stamps.
0 to 15 min
Arrive and Spark
Mission of the day and the AI Moment: a demo, a mini-game or a discussion.
15 to 45 min
Build 1
A guided build of the day's concept. The instructor shows once, then circulates. Predict, then run.
45 to 50 min
Break
A movement break away from screens.
50 to 78 min
Build 2 and Test & Tweak
Apply the concept to their own project. A structured playtest with a partner. Fix two things.
78 to 90 min
Show
Every child demos one feature. The assistant records 60-second clips. Stamps and stickers.
0 to 20 min
Arrive and Spark
Mission of the day and a ten-minute AI Moment: a demo on the sandbox, a verification challenge, or a discussion.
20 to 60 min
Build 1
Live coding on the big screen. Students type along, then diverge.
60 to 70 min
Break
Away from screens.
70 to 105 min
Build 2 and Test & Tweak
Their own project. Pair code review. Test the edge cases. Fix two things.
105 to 120 min
Show
Every student demos one feature and explains one line of code. The assistant records clips.
0 to 20 min
Stand-up and Spark
Team stand-ups: what is done, what is next, what is blocked. Then the AI Moment: a demo, a paper, a live evaluation.
20 to 75 min
Build sprint 1
Teams build. The mentor circulates for design reviews and unblockers.
75 to 85 min
Break
Away from screens.
85 to 135 min
Build sprint 2 and review
Build continues, with one team-to-team code review or usability session and 'explain every line' spot checks.
135 to 150 min
Demo
Each team demos progress in two minutes. The sprint board is updated.
The AI Moment
One AI idea every week
A five-to-ten-minute segment in every session teaches one AI idea: how a machine senses, how it learns from examples, why it makes mistakes, what fair means. The ideas are sequenced against the AI4K12 Five Big Ideas and aligned with the seven AI areas in the UAE school AI curriculum. Children collect them as stamps.
The stamps go into an AI Passport, and at the showcase a child can explain any of them in one sentence.
- Senses and sensors
- Learning from examples
- Machines make mistakes
- Fair or unfair
- Rules or learning
- Data about me
- Why it made that up
- Who was left out
Levels are terms
One level is one 10-week term. Every term ends with a badge, and there is a milestone every three to four sessions along the way.
Every band has three levels, so a child can complete a band in a school year and then move up to the next.
Placement is by readiness, not just by birthday. A child who already builds confidently can start at Level 2 after a placement session of 20 to 30 minutes.
Real things, shown to real people
Robot Parade
Story premieres on the big screen and live treasure-map runs.
Makers Fair
An arcade where parents play the games and children explain the AI behind them.
Launch Night
Live app demos and the Code Sense Check that unlocks AI-assisted coding.
Demo Day
Five-minute pitches with live demos to parents, mentors and invited founders.
Every project goes into your child's portfolio, and every week you get a 60-second clip of them showing their work, shared only with you.
Safe by design
A kid-safe AI sandbox
- Under 13, children never log into public AI tools. The instructor runs AI on the big screen, for the whole group to see.
- From Builders, students use Aivy's own sandbox. Logins do not use their real names and are issued only with your written consent; content is filtered and every conversation is logged.
- The sandbox always shows a clear 'you are talking to an AI' notice.
- No companion personas: every bot has a job, and AI is never presented as a friend.
- The AI models behind the sandbox can be swapped, so your child's learning never depends on one company's product.
- Students use AI to help write code only after showing, in a hand-coded Code Sense Check, that they can write it themselves.
A free Open Build session
- A free 60-minute group session where your child builds something and shows it to you.
- Monthly from launch, and after every camp. Places are limited, and waitlist families hear first.
- Not a sales pitch. If your child enjoys it, we talk about the right band and the next term.
- And after you enrol: if your child is not enjoying the term after the first session, you get your money back.
Join the founding families
We are opening our first cohorts in Dubai. Join the waitlist and we will message you first about free Open Build sessions and term dates.
Dates coming soon · Dubai, UAE