We recently held a trial lesson for TECH PARK KIDS on 12/20, so today we’d like to report on that event! The lesson focused on using Blockly, and was attended by four students in the K-6th grade range.

What’s Blockly?

Blockly is a visual programming tool developed by Google that you can use to create programs with just your mouse. You can even link it with other programming languages like Javascript and Python, so you can easily advance into developing software like professional engineers do.

Kids at this lesson used the code.org website to try out all kinds of programming centered on Blockly, and were also able to experience the self-paced learning process that’s characteristic of TECH PARK KIDS.

To start things off, we explained the basics of using Blockly.

Our theme was a game where you move birds to catch pigs. Kids had to combine blocks like "move forward," "rotate left," and "rotate right" to program their birds to catch pigs and avoid hitting the walls.

Some kids made little celebrations every time they cleared a stage.

A new challenge was introduced when kids encountered the “Repeat” block and had to think in new ways about how to use it.

Each child progressed at their own pace without the need to hurry. They could think slowly, try out ideas, and clear levels on their own.

Kids that were comfortable using computers were able to clear levels quickly. There were also stages with Star Wars and Frozen themes.

There were also some moms and dads who puzzled over the stages, but it was a time for each child to challenge themselves at their own pace.

After the event, one parent said, “I was impressed watching my child working seriously to program the movements of a familiar character. I felt strongly that I want to keep encouraging my child’s interest in programming.”

Thank you to every one who came to the event! We’ll be holding more info sessions for parents and trial activities for kids. We hope you can join us at our next events! 

What is code.org?

Code.org is an American non-profit organization backed by Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg that works to promote computer science and STEM education. Their website of the same name, code.org, is full of lessons and activities that teach programming in an easy to understand way, and we’re planning to use it as a first curriculum for kids who aren’t familiar with computers.