Jacob’s Ladder to Success!

                                   Jacob’s Ladder to Success!

Featured Maker Jacob loves making games and wants to be a game developer when he grows up, which is something he also does outside of school! He is seven years old and in the 2nd grade. His favorite subjects in school are math and science because, “There’s a lot of steps to learn and they’re fun, in science there’s lots of cool experiments you can do!”

Jacob is from New Jersey and wants to spread the joy of coding to everyone! We were lucky enough to sit down with Jacob and learn about his experience with coding, as well as why he likes to code!

How did you get introduced to Tynker and how long have you been coding?  My brother learned about Tynker in his Gifted and Talented class at school and then he’s interested in the robots Dot and Dash. Then, I got Dot on my birthday and he got Dash for his birthday and he still needs to teach me how to code. It’s been really fun with my brother. I’ve been coding since this March, March 20 this year.

How have your coding skills improved since you started using Tynker? I needed some help, but now I know most stuff about coding and I also have a lot of ideas for games.

How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? I was about to edit one of my games and then I was like, “What the heck is this? I’m getting featured?!” Because I saw the words “Featured” and “Tynker.com.” I was so surprised!

Where do you get the idea for your favorite project? I made a series called Pixel Boy and Mario was in it and then I made Pixel Boy Mario Adventures and thought, “Hmm, I should create some other games!” And then I thought of making other games, and I was calling those games “Jacob’s Arcade.”

How do you get inspiration for your projects? I just get it from other games I make sometimes, but sometimes I get from the community. I think the community is fun!  

Why do you like to code? Because there’s lots of things you can make with coding, you can’t make everything, but you can make a lot of stuff and that’s what makes it fun!

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? I publish it and then show someone.  

What is your favorite project you’ve made so far? I would say the newest Daddy Kong. I’ve only finished Daddy Kong level 2. 

                                                                     “Daddy Kong: Level 1” 

What are you planning to make next? I’m working on the different levels of Daddy Kong. I think I’m still on level 3. I’m planning to make maybe 10 levels.

                                                                    “Daddy Kong: Level 2”

What’s your favorite thing you can do in Tynker? Make projects, because making more projects can give me even more ideas!

How do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future? I think that it’s prepared me good because my mom told me that some jobs involve coding and making games involves coding too.

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yeah, I really do! They might get ideas for stuff, it’s fun!

What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker? If they want to do something I’d tell them what blocks to use to do that thing.

Tonya, Jacob’s mom, is so impressed with everything that Jacob does with his coding. When asked how she feels about it she told us, “I think it’s excellent, especially him being younger, I didn’t think he would be as into it as my oldest, but he seems to be just as driven and just as interested in it as my oldest and I think it’s cool.” She likes the passion that Jacob has at such a young age and supports him in any way that she can. “I think it helps him in other areas, like not giving up on the coding, I think it’s helped him with in school work, like math strategies, or any task at home…He learns how to be calm and focused and basically not give up in certain situations.”

Perseverance is something that Tonya loves to see drive Jacob: “I like that it makes him determined. He isn’t discouraged, like how other kids would give up, he wants to keep going until he learns how to do it, so that’s what I like most about it.” Tonya wants to make sure that her children are better prepared for the future. “Yeah, I think it helps him to stay focused and I just like that they’re interested in things that’s more educational and helps with their brain and thinking and not just silly stuff. They like Minecraft, but I like the fact that coding helps them with other areas as far as education-wise.”

Thank you Jacob and Tonya for coordinating this meeting with us and letting us get to know you better! We are excited to see Jacob’s upcoming projects! Happy coding!