Connor’s Constantly Creating in Tynker!

An aspiring paleontologist, 8-year-old Connor is extremely active – both outside and within the Tynker community! Connor hails from Arkansas and loves to run, jump, and climb in his free time. When he’s not moving around outside, Connor can be found playing with his cats, building with LEGOs, or coding.

In addition to his other hobbies, Connor has published several outstanding projects in Tynker – “Pokemon Animation,” “Tamagotchi,” and “Hide N Seek Minecraft” are just a few of his stellar projects. We talked to Connor to see how he has created so many popular projects!

Where did you get the idea for “Hide N Seek Minecraft”? I got the idea from “Minecraft Minigame.” It took me about a day to make it.

How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? Really excited and proud of myself!

What is your favorite project you’ve made so far? Tamagotchi. I like everything about it!

“Tamagotchi”

How do you get inspiration for your projects? I get inspiration from community projects. Also, when I think of something I like, I’ll try to code it.

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? I show it to someone else – usually my mom, dad, or one of my brothers. If there are bugs, I debug it. And then if I think it’s good enough, I publish it.

What’s your favorite thing to do in Tynker? Code!

How did you get introduced to coding? I got introduced to coding by my oldest brother. I’ve been coding for about a year.

Why do you like to code? I think it’s really fun! I love the trial and error in coding.

“Minecraft I Found a Dungeon”

What is your favorite way to use code? I like to use code to make games. My favorite code block is “switch to costume _____.”

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yes, because you can learn from coding and it’s fun.

What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker? Make your first code, learn from your mistakes, and make more codes with what you’ve learned. And do the Tynker tutorial!

Connor’s mom, Amanda, has enjoyed watching Connor challenge himself by coding complex projects. “He struggled with coding initially, but has stuck with it and learned so much. It’s really amazing to see some of the codes he develops at such a young age.”

Amanda has observed Connor’s growth as a coder and understands the importance of learning to code early. “It is beneficial to him that he has learned that when we create – be it through coding, through art, composition, or any other method – it is a process and we often must make changes or adjustments during the creative process.” Amanda has noticed Connor’s improved level of patience, citing how Connor “no longer expects a finished product the first time through” and now “understands that projects often need revision before they are completed.”

Amanda also wanted to credit Tynker for helping teach Connor. She thinks that Tynker is “wonderful” and is “created in a way that my child was able to start coding when he was only 7 years old and learn skills that will continue to help him throughout his life.”

Thank you for continuing to encourage Connor’s coding, Amanda! We’re happy to provide Connor with the tools to code and are thankful for the marvelous projects he’s published to the community. Your work has been a great inspiration to us, Connor – we’re eagerly awaiting future projects!