Is the only way to keep practicing python methods,functions, etc. Is too create your own activities/homework w/ them?

Hi Allen,

Good question! There are a few things you can do if you want more practice with Python, beyond just following the challenges.

Games and Challenges

There are a few sites online that have coding challenges you can try. One fun, beginner-friendly one is a kind of game, called checkIO, where you can unlock levels (and thus new geography in the game) by solving challenges. They start with easy ones, and they get progressively more difficult as the levels go up.

Quite a few more online challenge sites exist, though. This particular YouTube video by Giles McMullen has a good high-level overview (and reviews) of a number of them, with links to the various ones in the description box of the video.

Personal Projects

Another question to ask yourself is why you wanted to learn Python in the first place. If it's because there is a specific project you'd eventually like to put together, or a specific skill you want to be able to showcase to an employer, perhaps focusing on a personal project would be a good idea. If the complexity of your dream project is too advanced for where you are right now, there might still be smaller bits of functionality that you could take on right now, and later add them into a bigger project once you're further along.

Another idea is to see if you can replicate functionality that already exists somewhere else, maybe even in a different programming language, just as practice. For example, I am currently trying to replicate the functionality of a simple website that already exists online, that converts regular letters into Greek letters as you type. The idea is not new, but the challenge of trying to code it myself from scratch, rather than just copying the original code, has been quite a learning experience!

GitHub/Open Source

You could also find a python project you like in GitHub, and see if they are open to contributions. One place you could start is MunGell's awesome-for-beginners list, where a number of beginner-friendly projects are identified by programming language.

First Timers Only is also a great site to get you going on Open Source projects if you've never done it before.

Anyway, I hope this gives you a few ideas. I'm sure you'll be able to find lots to keep you busy if you keep your eyes open for opportunities! I'm also interested in hearing what other people might suggest!