Coding for Kids
Meet our newest Featured Maker, 4th grader Cooper from Canada! He likes to read and play Dungeons & Dragons. When he grows up, he wants to be a video game designer. Cooper spoke with us about his experience coding with Tynker:
How did you get introduced to Tynker?
Think I’ve been coding for six months and my dad showed me!
How did you learn to use Tynker?
First thing I did was Mythicraft.
Have your coding skills improved since you started using Tynker?
When I started, I didn’t know what to do. Just reading everything, trying out what to do. Now I can kind of code good things!
How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured?
Amazing!
What’s your favorite project you’ve made so far?
Probably my Chopper game because it was a game kit and I had to learn how to code it.
How do you get inspiration for your projects?
I look at the beginner and intermediate courses.
Why do you like to code?
I like to code because I think you’ll help me become a game designer!
What’s the best thing about Tynker?
That you can add sounds to your things!
Do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future?
If I want to be a game designer, it will help me!
Do you think other kids should try coding?
100% because it’s fun!
What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker?
I recommend starting out with Tynker Junior!
What’s your favorite subject in school?
Math or reading. I like math because I’m good at it, and it makes sense.
Bonus: What’s a fun fact about you?
I like to dream stories in my head!
Parent Questions
Cooper’s mother, Laurel, spoke with us about her son learning to code with Tynker:
Chris and I were both very excited and surprised to find that he had published something because we have three kids, and I believe we have the family version of Tynker. We weren’t really watching to see what Cooper was doing, and he was just figuring things out and then suddenly he published his finished project. Wow, so we were thrilled.
How do you support Cooper’s coding endeavors?
We noticed on Tynker that our kids are all very interested in Minecraft, and Cooper is interested in Minecraft too. And so we thought this is a really fun one because they could see something that they created and integrated into their Minecraft.
So it was trying to do some of the things that we know they already like to do and sort of blowing it up for them and making it, you know, bigger than what they thought. That’s what Tynker does, you know, with some of the gaming type things that they do, just adds another dimension to it.
What benefits do you think coding has for him?
Well, he is certainly able to follow through programs and screens and functions really well. What I like about coding, I think the technical skills are sequential thinking. And then it becomes conceptual thinking, and I’m really impressed that they can do that at such a young age.
They can break down tasks into even smaller tasks, and then put things together into a sequence. And then you can see execution on the screen, and I find that that’s what’s really impressive to me, that’s something that I never did as a kid, and I’m just thrilled that my kids can do it.
Do you feel that he’s better prepared for the future?
I certainly do. I think we are focused more on technology and technology-based skill sets, and this is one thing that you know we’re not finding in the school system. And so we’re very excited that this is something that they can do off-hours. It’s engaging their brain.
It’s fun because they can see it result in something that they love, and it’s giving them a lot of micro and macro skill sets to use in their future. I think there’s lots of transferable skills, as well as direct skills, that you know a game designer would want to use. But I think there’s lots of transferable skills that they’re learning at a much earlier age as a result of a program like Tynker.
Thank you!
We want to thank Cooper and his mother for taking the time to speak with us about coding with Tynker. We can’t wait to see what Cooper creates next – HAPPY CODING!
