Get the tools. Then build.
Parent + teen, 60–90 minutes. Free accounts first — GitHub, Student Pack, Cursor, Cloudflare. Tick them on your checklist when each one is done.
Before you click anything
These keep teens safe and bills under control.
- Parent owns billing. No credit cards on teen accounts.
- Each teen gets their own GitHub, Cursor, and Cloudflare login.
- Don’t host friends’ kids under your cloud login.
- Turn on GitHub 2FA and keep recovery codes where the parent can find them.
- Keep student ID photos out of public repos.
Who pays / what’s free
One map for parents — free first, parent-billed only if you choose.
- Youth Cocoon progress — free for families on this program.
- GitHub — free account; Student Pack adds free student perks (no card).
- Cursor Hobby — free plan; optional Pro is parent-billed for the household, never on a teen card.
- Cloudflare Free — free Pages/Workers for day-one hosting in Canada.
- ESP32 kit (Chip to Ship) — one-time hardware cost; parent buys; teen does not need a store account.
- Domains / paid APIs / Railway — skip at start; parent only, with a spend cap, if a later project truly needs them.
Rule of thumb: if a signup asks for a credit card on a teen login, stop and switch to a parent-owned billing account — or stay on the free plan.
Want practice with real teen categories (phone, food, outings, gas when driving)? Open the Money Path and the budget lab on Dashboard.
Register & get access
Do these in order. Open each link in a new tab, finish the step, then come back.
01
Parent-controlled email
Create or reuse a Gmail the parent can open. School board mail helps with Student Pack proof, but personal email is better as the primary login (board filters often block verification links).
Later, add the school email as a secondary address on GitHub when applying for the Pack.
Create Gmail
02
GitHub account
Teen signs up at GitHub. Pick a username they’re okay showing on a portfolio.
- Verify the personal email
- Enable two-factor authentication (parent helps store recovery codes)
- Optional: add and verify school email
Create GitHub account
03
GitHub Student Developer Pack
Apply early — approval can take hours to a few days. Ontario high schoolers 13+ qualify.
- Prefer board email (
@tdsb.on.ca, @ocdsb.ca, @peelschools.org, French boards like @csviamonde.ca, etc.)
- If email fails: dated student card, current report card, or time-stamped school portal screenshot (name + enrollment year)
- Homeschool: letter on official letterhead or ministry/board confirmation
If the school domain is unrecognized, contact GitHub Education Support with the school name, website, and email domain.
Apply for Student Pack
04
Cursor (Hobby)
Download Cursor, sign in with GitHub or email, stay on the free Hobby plan. No card required.
- The old free student Pro year is closed to new signups
- If limits hurt later: one parent-billed Pro seat per household — not one per friend
Download Cursor
05
Cloudflare Free
This is day-one hosting. Create a Free account — Pages for sites, Workers later for simple APIs.
- Skip “Cloudflare for Students” Workers Paid — that’s US / 18+ / .edu only
- Free plan in Canada is still excellent for this path
Create Cloudflare account
06
Railway (skip for now)
Do not make Railway day-one hosting. Use Cloudflare first. Come back only if a project needs Postgres or an always-on service — then a parent Hobby/Pro with a spend cap.
- Free trial / Free plan credits are tiny
- Facilitators host this curriculum on Railway Pro — not other families’ apps
Mark it done, then ship
Tick Setup on Dashboard (or the guest checklist). Then open the 4-week path and ship Week 1.
- Tick setup tasks — email, GitHub, Pack, Cursor, Cloudflare.
- Grab the starter — customize in Cursor, push to GitHub.
- Deploy on Cloudflare Pages — share the live URL with family.
Running a setup night?
Use the facilitator agenda — same stack, timed for a group.