Kids scratch

Projects like these was a “wow” moment for me. Scratchers were building projects that rivaled the best things I had seen on Codepen. All in a visual programming language for kids!Beyond the editor, there are a bunch of other resources that help kids be productive: The Scratch website provides tutorials, a wiki, and discussion forums that kids often use to ask questions and help each other when they get stuck. The REST APIs enable third-party tooling like Turbowarp—a parallel site that can run Scratch projects 20x faster. The Scratch desktop application lets you develop Scratch projects offline. The ScratchJr tablet app provides a simplified version of the Scratch editor for young children (ages 5-7).So, no, Scratch isn’t just a programming language. It’s an ecosystem of apps, resources, and community features for giving kids a positive first experience with programming. And it’s downright impressive.Scratch at scaleLike many online activities, Scratch usage grew during the pandemic, but unlike others, it’s not slowing down: Notice that there's a cyclical usage pattern that follows the school year. It peaks in the spring and the dips in the summer, which gives us an idea of how much Scratch usage can be attributed to use in school.This recent growth has caused Scratch to break into the Tiobe index's top 20 most popular programming languages. At the time of this post (July 2022) it ranks 21st, above Typescript, Rust, Julia, and other important languages. The Tiobe index is imperfect but there's clearly something happening here.With this new popularity, Scratchers like Griffpatch, Will_Wam, and others have become mini-celebrities, collecting hundreds of thousands of followers on scratch.mit.edu and other platforms (Griffpatch has 175k+ subscribers on his Youtube channel where he posts Scratch tutorials on gamedev topics like background-scrolling and raycasting).You can find more statistics on the community statistics page and in the Scratch Annual Report. By every measure you can think of, Scratch usage is booming (worldwide!) and shows no sign of stopping.Why (I think) it worksScratch has a lot of good things going for it.It’s free (thanks to the Scratch Foundation) and the tutorials provide a gentle on-ramp,

Sprite” button.Add Motion: Drag a “move 10 steps” block from the motion category to the coding area. This will make your sprite move.Add Events: Add a “when green flag clicked” block from the events category. This block triggers the action when you start the project.Customize the Animation: Experiment with different blocks to change the look and behavior of your sprite. You can add sound, change the background, or make your sprite say something.Why Scratch is Perfect for KidsScratch is more than just a coding platform; it’s a gateway to creativity and learning. Here’s why Scratch coding is ideal for kids:1. Easy to Learn:Scratch’s block-based interface eliminates the need to type code, making it perfect for beginners. Kids can focus on the logic and flow of their programs without worrying about syntax errors. The colorful blocks are easy to understand and use, allowing kids to quickly pick up the basics of coding.2. Encourages Creativity:Scratch allows kids to bring their ideas to life. Whether they want to create a game, an animated story, or an interactive artwork, Scratch provides the tools they need to express their creativity. The platform encourages experimentation and exploration, making learning to code a fun and engaging experience.3. Fosters Problem-Solving Skills:As kids work on Scratch projects, they encounter challenges that require them to think critically and find solutions. This process of trial and error helps develop their problem-solving skills, an essential aspect of coding and life in general.4. Collaborative Learning:The Scratch online community is a space where kids can share their projects, get feedback, and learn from others. This collaborative environment encourages kids to work together, share ideas, and improve their coding skills by learning from their peers.5. Real-World Applications:Scratch introduces kids to foundational programming concepts such as loops, conditionals, variables, and events. These concepts are not only applicable to Scratch but also serve as a stepping stone to more advanced programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and beyond.Advanced Features in ScratchOnce kids are comfortable with the basics, they can explore more advanced features in Scratch:Variables: Introduce variables to store data such as scores, time, or user input. This allows for more complex and interactive projects.Broadcasting: Teach kids how to use broadcasting to send messages between sprites, coordinating actions across different parts of their project.Cloning: Show how to create multiple copies of a sprite, useful for games where many similar objects are needed (like enemies or obstacles).Custom Blocks: Encourage

While none of us were paying attention, Scratch has transformed from a programming language for kids to a massive online community of self-guided, student-programmers. Usage has doubled since the pandemic started and the language is now overtaking “real” programming languages (like Typescript and Rust) in language popularity rankings.Scratch is a big deal.If you’ve heard of Scratch, you likely know that it’s a programming language for kids that uses visual blocks like these:Like many pandemic parents, I recently introduced it to my kids. Over time, it started to catch hold and I realized that there was more beneath the surface. I decided to take a closer look and this is what I found.More than a programming languageScratch is an online programming environment, hosted at scratch.mit.edu. It uses a visual editor that looks like this:The language and editor are tailored towards making games, animations, stories, and other visual things. Scratch users (Scratchers) can create and save projects to their account and share their projects publicly.Sharing projects is where things get interesting. Scratch isn’t just a language—it’s a community.The Scratch website makes it easy to browse other people’s projects, “love” and “favorite” them, add comments, view source, and remix them as your own. You can follow other users and work together to curate collections of projects called “studios” (which can also be followed and commented on).In this way, it’s kind of like Github or Codepen, except that Scratch is for kids. The age distribution of new Scratchers peaks at 12, with the majority under 16:It was the community aspects that really drew in my kids. They would get really excited whenever somebody followed them or “loved” one of their projects. It gave them the motivation to build more ambitious things.It’s pretty impressive how ambitious the projects get. Scratchers often build copycats of “real” games like Cut the Rope, Super Mario Bros, and Terraria. Features like cloud variables allow them to make online multiplayer games, like Taco Burp (popular in my house): Me, taking out 9-year-olds, like a total boss.Someone even built Scratch inside of Scratch 😱 It was only a matter of time.Seeing

And Bill Gates offer up video lectures.Scratch Created by the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a website where kids can create interactive stories, games, and animations and then share their work with the world. Created with 8 to 16-year-olds in mind, this free community is a wonderful resource. They also have an online “Get Started” guide to make using the website easy. It includes 12 project tutorials, a parent/educator guide, downloadable activity cards, and starter projects that you and your kids can use to jumpstart creativity. If you have limited internet access or data, they even have an offline editor you can download.Scratch Jr. Have kids that are too young to use Scratch? No worries! Scratch Jr is designed specifically for ages 5 to 7 to give young kids a head-start at programming interactive stories and games. In addition to the free app, they also have a Scratch Jr website. On the website, you and your child can use printable activity cards that walk you through creating scenes in Scratch Jr. You can watch 8 sample projects to learn the functions of blocks, brainstorm ideas, and get a great visual of creative storytelling. Kids can also have fun using the Paint Editor to transform (or create) characters in the Scratch Jr Library.Robot Turtles When it comes to creating and discovering games that are both fun and educational, Thinkfun is in a league of their own. One game that they sell is Robot Turtles- “the first board game for

Melissa and Doug Scratch Art - ABC & 123 Writing Pad Regular price $7.00 USD Regular price Sale price $7.00 USD Unit price per Sale Sold out The Melissa & Doug Scratch Art ABC & 123 Writing Pad is a creative way to learn and practice the alphabet and numbers! Use the included wooden stylus to follow the arrows and scratch away the black coating while tracing and writing letters and numbers. Scratch more and reveal vibrant colors and matching pictures! The stylus stores in the cover of the 12-page spiral-bound pad, making it a fun and convenient screen-free travel activity for kids five and older and families on the go!Details12-page spiral-bound Scratch Art writing pad to help kids learn their letters and numbersIncludes a wooden writing stylus that snaps into the cover for portable, convenient, on-the-go fun and creativityScratch away the black coating on pages to reveal vibrant color underneathMakes a great gift and travel toy for kids 5 to 7, for hands-on, screen-free fun View full details