Coding for Kids
Table of Contents
Announcing Our New Tynker Junior Course: Super Squad!
Animatropolis is in trouble! Do you have the coding skills to team up with the Super Squad to restore peace and justice?
In our fifth course for the Tynker Junior app, Super Squad, pre-readers will learn to use conditional statements, loops, and sequencing to retrieve stolen museum treasure while avoiding evil minions. With word-free code blocks, tap-tap-tap interactions, and friendly voice-overs, this course helps young kids learn key programming concepts and apply them to complete the challenges. Read on to learn more about this new set of adventures for pre-readers!
What Pre-Readers Will Learn
Engaging in computer science and other scientific activities at a young age helps children problem-solve more effectively–a skill set that applies to subjects outside of computer science or STEM. According to a report by Google and Gallup, “Offering early exposure and opportunities to learn CS will allow more students to learn foundational skills and consider future learning and careers in the computing fields.” Tynker Junior helps children who can’t read yet have access to this vital early exposure.
In 39 fun puzzles, this course introduces conditional logic, while building on several other coding concepts introduced in earlier courses. One of these is a block that represents a conditional statement that helps them code their program to react differently based on conditions in the scenario. For example, if there is a crate in their way, kids use their power to destroy it; if not, and a minion is in their way, they may choose to wait; if neither condition is true, they may want to step forward. The concept of conditionals can be difficult for young children to understand, but our visual block designs and scenario-driven learning–where kids apply conditionals to complete specific challenges–helps kids understand this crucial coding concept in an authentic way.
Just as with our other Tynker Junior courses, the coding concepts in Super Squad build on each other: kids progress from learning basic sequencing to more complex tasks like conditional loops, where a character should only continue performing an action until a condition is met. By the end of the course, they’ll learn how to program multiple characters to solve a challenge.
What Else is Included in Tynker Junior
Before completing this course, kids should have completed the other Tynker Junior courses, including Ocean Odyssey, Wild Rumble, Robots, and Puffball Panic. In these courses, kids learn fundamental coding skills like sequencing, pattern recognition, and numerical loops.
- Ocean Odyssey: Pre-readers assemble each resident of Treasure Cove using jigsaw-like pieces, get used to tapping the screen and putting items in top-to-bottom order, create a virtual aquarium, and use sequencing to collect spilled treasure.
- Robots!: Pre-readers get introduced to parameters and flexible sequencing as they use code blocks to make each robot match the blueprint. They’ll also build their own robot, learn about the “on tap” and “on tilt” events, and use sequencing to ride conveyor belts to get to batteries.
- Wild Rumble: Pre-readers use sequencing to help endangered animals get home and are introduced to numerical parameters as they tell the animals how many spaces to walk. They’ll also practice pattern recognition, simple loops, and delays.
- Puffball Panic: Pre-readers will use sequencing and simple loops to help the dust bunnies find socks and learn about conditional loops, including loops that repeat until something is true and while something is true.
Get Tynker Junior from the “Kids” section in the App Store (download here). For only $.99 USD/month or $9.99 USD/year, young children can learn fundamental coding concepts in a fun environment tailored especially for them. Super Squad is just one of the courses that kids will love playing! Tynker Junior is available both on the iPad and on the iPhone, so young children can practice their coding skills at home or on the go. The app works in landscape mode on iPhone 6/6 Plus and later.
With features tailored for pre-readers and the high-quality characters and animations you’ve come to associate with Tynker, young kids will love learning to code with Super Squad and the rest of our Tynker Junior courses! More courses are on the way, so be sure to stay tuned!
Beyond Tynker Junior
If kids are done with Tynker Junior, they can learn how to use Tynker Blocks and text coding in Tynker! They’ll use the skills they’ve developed in Tynker Junior–like sequencing, loops, and pattern recognition–to try Minecraft modding, create their own games and apps, use real-world programming languages in our Code Editor, and much more!
