– Mitchel Resnick, Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab.

We often hear from parents who would like their kids to experiment with coding, but they don’t know where to start. The options can seem a little overwhelming, but we almost always encourage our parents to start their kids with Scratch. Read on to find out why, and for a sneak preview of our own introduction to creative coding for kids, Start with Scratch. 

What is Scratch?

Scratch is a block-based visual programming language developed by MIT. Designed for kids 7-16 years old, kids can use Scratch to program their own interactive stories, games and animations. This is primarily done through dragging, dropping and connecting blocks together to form sequences – making it effortless for those who aren’t proficient with using keyboards to start coding. So basically, Scratch is all the fun of coding with none of the hassle of typing!  

Why Scratch?

For beginners who have no coding experience, Scratch is a great launchpad. Here’s why:

• Visual, block-based programming allows kids to see their code in action and learn concepts without having to type actual code.
• Helps kids learn to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively.
• Makes kids unafraid of failing by lowering the barriers for experimentation and iteration.
• Hosts a collaborative community of young coders, where kids can learn from each other and inspire each other.

Here’s a simple maze game that any kid, who has learnt the basics of Scratch, can create, using basic programming concepts.

Now check out the kind of game kids can create when they’ve learnt more advanced programming concepts and apply it to their projects. Pretty cool, huh?

The Saturday Kids Pedagogy

At Saturday Kids, our students don’t just learn to code – they code to learn.

No lectures, no memorisation, no one right answer. Like real life, we’re all about trying things out yourself, failing, figuring what went wrong and trying again. These are the skills and mindset that will last a lifetime, and how we learn in real life.

We’re all about equipping kids to learn how to learn, and for kids ages 7-10 Start with Scratch is the best way to jump in.

Because the kids who learn to learn become curious, inventive, resourceful human beings who solve real world problems to make a meaningful impact.

The post Start Your Child’s Coding Adventure with Scratch! appeared first on Saturday Kids | Coding, Digital Literacy for Kids & Parents.

One step at a time.

That’s usually the answer when we need to deal with big problems. Let’s tackle things one step at a time.

In this case, we teach kids to take on big questions and problems one straw at a time!

For kids ages 7-10, Marvelous Machines and Mechanisms is a fun-packed, play-based, hands-on introduction to the world of robotics, hardware, and engineering!  Build structures using Strawbees and then program it with a micro-controller known as the Quirkbot!  

Build amazing inventions like these:

With basically just straws:

… But how?!?

Let’s find out. We take you behind the scenes below with Swe & Shawn, our curriculum developers (or Rocket Launchers as we call them) who designed this beginner-friendly camp.

Swe:

“It started with the product team playing with and testing out different toys earlier in January. We found that we enjoyed Strawbees a lot. It has a lot of potential…you can teach physics, molecular structure, mechanics.

You can build a lot of things with it and there’s a lot of versatility in terms of learning objectives and outcomes.

The best part is that it’s so easy!”

It really is! Here’s our 3 step guide to building your first structure with Strawbees:

Step 1: Grab a straw (any plastic one will do, we use 100% recyclable and reusable straws because, duh.), grab a Strawbee and join ’em up.

Step 2: This is what a Quirkbot looks like. It’s a mini microcontroller board which can be programmed and used with various LEDs, sensors, and motors to build a robot.

Step 3: Use a simple block-based interface similar to Scratch to program your Quirkbot.

Step 4: Straws + Strawbees + Quirkbot = Tada! You’ve just built your own robot.

Swe:

“It’s really easy to prototype. You can build a model of something interesting like the Art Science Museum even. You just need straws of different lengths, the connectors are all provided in the kit.

I’ve found that kids really enjoy the challenge of building something like a catapult and trying to get it working.

It gets kids thinking about what they want to build, and trying to figure out how to get there.”

Shawn:

“A machine is basically a bunch of moving parts put together. It’s about figuring out how each part works and then how to get them working all together.

Your Strawbees structure is the same – you start with simple cubes and triangles, you put them all together to create a machine, and then you program the Quirkbot to get the parts to move.”

Swe:

“We cover a bit of structural engineering in this course, and we obviously touch on the programming aspects with servos, input output, LEDs. But it’s essentially a very broad-based introduction to STEAM (that’s Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, Math).”

Shawn:

“We want kids to be able to apply what they learnt in Scratch to something really fun that challenges their creativity and at the same time, has real-life applications.

In this course, their creativity really is the limit.”

Marvelous Machines and Mechanisms runs as holiday camp for kids ages 7-14 with or without prior coding experience, and it’s designed to get ’em excited about the wonderful world of robotics, engineering and programming. 

PS: No straws were harmed in the making of this course. All straws used are 100% recyclable and were reused, many, many times.

The post Behind the Scenes: Let’s Take It One Straw At A Time appeared first on Saturday Kids | Coding, Digital Literacy for Kids & Parents.

Earlier in September, we launched CITCx – interdisciplinary tech scholarships for Code in the Community graduates, formulated with the aim of expanding the exposure kids from disadvantaged backgrounds receive to the intersections of tech and real world topics in STEM.

In this pilot, 60 CITCx scholars completed a 3 day bootcamp – adapted from our new camp Code Explorers 1: Science and the Natural World, which synergises kids’ curiosity about science with the possibilities of code. In each class, kids code up Scratch projects that visualise and process what they’ve learned about topics like marine waste, the digestive system, and clean energy. In the process, they develop creativity, their capacity for self-directed learning, and a growth mindset to take on the world’s big questions as set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. (Shoutout to our sister ed-tech company Doyobi for developing this new curriculum as part of their mission to help kids grow into original thinkers with a sense of purpose.)

Curious what that actually looks like? Hear from Owen, a 15 year old from our first batch of CITCx scholars (and scroll down to the end of the post for a sneak peek from the classroom).

“I enjoy the hands-on stuff for science in school. If we just learn the theory, it may be very boring, because we don’t know how it works in real life.

But when we do practicals, we get to have real-life experience about how things work, and here we actually get to do hands-on stuff such as coding and learn how does things get invented in real life, instead of just using it.”

  – Owen, 15

Scholarships that bridge the digital literacy gap, deepen opportunity, and widen access.

Beyond the mandatory 10 hours of digital literacy Singaporean kids complete in school, opportunities to learn how to code and programme are typically priced out of reach for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. With most commercial coding classes for kids averaging around $40 an hour, and often requiring access to hardware that families might not be able to afford, the road towards bridging the digital literacy gap is long.

But with CITCx, we’re taking baby steps to level out the playing field, because we can’t afford to leave any child behind.

What we’ve learned from the first 3 years of running Code in the Community is this:

1. While digital literacy is not an examinable subject – it is more urgent than ever.
2. For most kids, learning about tech requires ongoing input, practice, and coaching.
3. Access to high-touch programmes and to hardware is the heart of the issue.

With that, it’s feedback like this from our pilot that affirms we’re doing something right – even when our goals seem daunting, and our efforts like a drop in the ocean.

“I know what being on the wrong side of the Gini coefficient means and feels like. I’m living in it. Under such circumstances, learning something educational and useful such as coding is a godsend to the underprivileged in the community. ”

-Buddy, CITC parent

Get involved: Together, let’s leave no child behind.

Our goal to bridge the digital literacy gap is a lofty one, and we can’t do it alone.

This pilot was personally sponsored by Caesar Sengupta who heads Google’s Next Billion Users initiative, and the next run of CITCx (December 2020) will be funded by Skyscanner – an organisation that’s remained ever committed to social impact, even through the challenges posed to the travel industry by the pandemic.

We’re excited to harness the collective strength of community to enable kids from all backgrounds to use technology to shape a better future for themselves and others. And as CITCx grows and scales, we’re seeking organisations, companies, and sponsors who care as much about making digital literacy accessible to under-privileged kids as we do. If that describes you, we’d love you to reach out.

In the meantime, check out our 2020 Impact Report, and sneak a peek into our first run of CITCx below.

The post Introducing CITCx : Interdisciplinary Tech Scholarships for Code in the Community graduates appeared first on Saturday Kids | Coding, Digital Literacy for Kids & Parents.

We believe kids learn best when they’re having fun and motivated by their own interests, and our course progression map below is designed to reflect this. Read on for a short primer about choosing the right coding camp for your curious kid.

As beginners, kids can either build a solid foundation in the programming concepts suitable for kids their age, or explore the world of tech more broadly with our other courses which introduce kids to other elements of tech – such as hardware – while incorporating a little bit of code.

After completing the prerequisites for their age group, kids can then move on to intermediate courses to explore their interests and a world of possibility, with code as their medium. Whether they’re into LEGO, game design, robotics or more – with the basics, they can now go where their curiosities in tech take them.

That said, at Saturday Kids, we believe the learning that’s done in the classroom is just the start. We’ve had kids who’ve returned to the fold as teaching assistants, as volunteers for our social impact programme Code in the Community, and nothing makes us happier than seeing the kids we’ve taught go on to pursue big dreams and make the world a better place using what they’ve learned during their time with us.

So, where do I start?

For Preschoolers ages 5-6:

Our coding courses for preschoolers focus on tangible, non-screen programming as a way of getting kids curious about the potential of tech and its presence in the world.

Start with Bees & Bubs: Buzz with Beebot & Scratch Jr which introduces kids to the role of tech in the world and guides them through creative projects both on and off the screen. Then, progress to Tiny Travellers: Adventures on Code Island, which builds on preschoolers’ digital literacy and prepares them to take on the challenges of block-based programming.

For 7-10 year olds:

To build a solid foundation in basic coding concepts, we recommend kids begin with Start with Scratch which provides them a baseline of introductory programming knowledge. They then apply the basics to their own creative projects as they code up their own games and animations which they showcase on the last day of class.

Alternatively, kids can start off by exploring the world of tech more broadly in our hands-on course Marvelous Machines and Mechanisms, which combines engineering, robotics and code, as kids tinker with Strawbees and the Quirkbot.

Having completed our pre-requisite course in Scratch, kids can then choose from a wide variety of courses that integrate code with various disciplines like Invent the Future with LEGO, based on their own interests, curiosities, and preferences.

For 11-14 year olds:

Pre-teens with no experience can get started by building their own app with Thunkable, programming their own mods in Minecraft, or learning the basics in Python.

With a foundation in Python, kids can then explore their interests in cryptography, get handy tinkering with micro:bit, and then take on our most advanced courses for their age group.

Perhaps you’d like a little more guidance – consider these factors.

1. Breadth vs. Depth

With breadth, kids gain exposure to different fields and learn a little bit of everything. With depth, they gain mastery and subject expertise. There’s no right or wrong answer. At the end of the day, it really boils down to your child’s learning objectives. Knowing whether they’re seeking an introduction to code and its possibilities or to pursue a single programming language in depth will help you scope out which path they should take at this point of time.

2. Theory vs. Application

Our courses are designed to combine theory and application. Whether it’s learning about human-centered design  in our  App Architects or debugging a Scratch project, the emphasis is always applying theoretical knowledge. Kids generally learn better when they can visualise what they’re trying to create. Asking your child what they want to be able to create, or whether they’re uncertain about any of the programming concepts they’ve been exposed to can help guide their choice of course and learning path.

3. Putting This In Context

Coding is relevant and useful to the extent that it can be applied across multiple areas. Learning therefore takes place both by learning additional concepts (depth) and applying them in different fields (breadth). Examples of concepts could include variable assignment, conditionals, iteration, whereas examples of different fields could include robotics & hardware, creative computing, animation, and game design.

Once kids complete the pre-requisites for beginners, possibilities open up for kids to apply foundational coding concepts in complex ways, with the creative application process enabling kids to reinforce and deepen their learning.

With all this in mind, there’s plenty for your kids to discover at Saturday Kids – and absolutely no reason why kids can’t learn and have fun at the same time. Every kid is unique and has different interests; if you’d like a personalised recommendation for your curious kid, shoot us an email or give us a ring at +65 3159 0980 – we’re always happy to chat.

The post Let’s Talk about Course Progression: Choosing a Coding Camp for your Kid appeared first on Saturday Kids | Coding, Digital Literacy for Kids & Parents.

That’s Quinten all the way on the left, celebrating the last day of class at Code in the Community with his team!

Just 12 years old, Quinten has big dreams of using his coding superpowers to give back, and has already started to do so by volunteering as a teaching assistant for Code in the Community which brings free coding classes to kids from lower-income families.

But enough from us – let’s hear from him!

Hey Quinten! How did you get started with coding?

“I love playing video games, as most kids my age do. But beyond that I really wanted to figure out how they were developed and engineered, so then I started getting into coding.”

What does coding mean to you?

“Telling your computer to do certain things… I’d say coding is using logic to create something that works – stuff that people can use – on multiple devices.

There’s no point in creating something that no one will enjoy using.”

Can you tell us about a coding project that you enjoyed creating?

“I made my sister this music player thing  on Scratch because she wanted to listen to music and we didn’t have Spotify, so I got a few songs and put them onto Scratch. Unfortunately there was a song upload limit!”

How do you deal with problems that crop up when you’re coding?

Quinten at home

“I try to stop and think of what I did wrong. But sometimes if it’s a really big problem, I have a small mental breakdown. If it’s a type error then I look it up and try to find out what’s wrong, and sometimes I just have to re-write the whole thing because of that single error. “

If you could invent anything in the world with your coding superpowers, what would it be?

“I’d invent a cheaper cochlear implant, for people who are deaf like me, but under-privileged. 

The problem is that people who are under-privileged don’t have the ability to afford a device like the cochlear implant which is very expensive, so they might need to go for cheaper options that don’t work as well. So I’d like to create a cheap option that works just as well as the expensive option.

It’s a very big step, and will take some time, but maybe I could be the first.”

If you could set 1 rule for people all over the world, what would it be?

“You’re not allowed to give up.

If you’re stuck on something, just shut down your computer and don’t look at it for the rest of the day. Have a good sleep, then open it again. Calm down, research your problem, and once it’s solved, relish the satisfaction of having solved it by yourself and the fact that you didn’t give up. Even if it wasn’t what you expected, it still works. Anything that works, works – that’s the first step. And then you improve it.

There’s no such thing as the best, only better.”

Do you have any advice for kids who want to start coding?

“Start with Scratch! Don’t try to jump straight to the complicated stuff. Once you’re confident with Scratch, create custom blocks, incorporate scripts in Scratch and then move on. Once you get the hang of the complexity of Scratch, then it gets easier to pick up other things.

Oh, and be logical! Think out of the box. Think what would happen if I did this or that? What’s the possible outcome? Think through your options before you start coding.”

. . .

At Saturday Kids, our students don’t just learn to code. They code to learn. If you have a story to share about your kid’s experience with us, we’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch at hello@saturdaykids.com.

The post Kids of Saturday Kids: Quinten Buwalda – a 12 year old coder with big dreams and a big heart! appeared first on Saturday Kids | Coding, Digital Literacy for Kids & Parents.