Coding for Kids
Meet our newest Featured Maker and Coding Cup winner, 12-year-old Sama from California! Sama likes dance, martial arts, and theater. Awesome! Sama recently spoke with us about her experience coding with Tynker.
What was your favorite thing about Coding Cup?
I think it was really fun how it was ranking based- it was interesting.
So what did your team look like?
I made them all look the same, and the team name was called Bubble Bananas.
How did you get introduced to Tynker and how long have you been coding?
I think my friend, she used to do Tynker. And I was kind of interested in coding, so like, “Let’s try it out.” And I think I’ve been doing it for two years.
How did you learn to use Tynker when first starting out? What were some of your favorite Tynker courses or tutorials?
I think there was one called Cody’s Haunted Mansion or something. And that was helpful to get to know the basics. It was really helpful.
So how did you feel when you found out that you were a featured maker?
I was kind of surprised.
Why do you like to code?
I think there are just so many things you can do with code. It’s like there’s so many possibilities, and I like that.
What is your favorite way to use code? Do you have a favorite code block?
In general, my favorite code block would be the If Else block. It’s so handy.
So what’s the best thing about Tynker?
I like how there are a bunch of different courses that you can choose from.
How do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future?
I think to code, you really need to use your brain. You have to use logic to figure out how things work and how to put them together, and I think that’ll be helpful.
Do you think other kids should try coding? If so, why is that?
Definitely. It’s a lot of fun and yeah, it’s a fun experience to get to make these things. And when you see what you’ve done, it’s like, “Wow.”
What advice would you give to kids just starting out with Tynker?
I think I’d say don’t be afraid to try and do new things. Try and experiment with something. If you’re afraid it might not work well, there’s only kind of one way to find out.
We spoke with Sama’s dad about Sama learning to code.
How do you feel about Sama learning to code? How does it feel to see the coding projects that she is making?
It’s fun. And, well, kind of don’t always want to say this in front of her, but she, well, always impresses me with what she does because you don’t always expect that kind of quality from your kids, at least, at that age. So then, yeah, for this Coding Cup, when she did her team, and she was winning so many games, I was like, “Hey, how is your team doing so well so quickly?” And then she was like, “Oh, here’s my code.” I was like, “Oh.” To see how quickly she jumped, well, from nothing to that level, it still impresses me. There are things they do that you don’t always expect.
What benefits do you think coding has for your child? What benefits besides the skills of learning to code does it help her learn?
For some of the questions you were asking, I was holding myself back not to answer for her. And I’m glad I did because this one I think she answered better than me. It was the problem-solving, I guess, to figure
it out, to get it done in little blocks. Because it’s not something that’s isolated to programming. So it’s yeah, I guess breaking down big problems into small pieces, so it applies to all problems.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us about coding with Tynker. We can’t wait to see what Sama creates next – HAPPY CODING!
LEARN TO CODE WITH TYNKER
