Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create interactive art, stories, simulations, and games – and share those creations online. Imagine, program, and share at scratch.mit.edu.

I have been working with 3rd Grade kids to introduce them to programming. While Scratch is a great tool, it is easier to start with ScratchJr – a version designed for younger kids.

Programming fundamentals and understanding logic are critical skills needed to succeed. Game programming drives kids to creating games that their friends can play and remix. It also focusses on art aspect, which is often missing in a pure STEM course.

At the end of each session, I encourage kids to demo their own creations on a projector and talk about how they built their game and the challenges they encountered. Kids also help other kids with issues and this enabled a lot of peer to peer learning. The goal is to keep the session fun and inspire the kids creativity.