Coding for Kids
Meet our newest Featured Maker, 13-year-old Erik from the Keystone State, Pennsylvania! Erik likes to scooter and bike on the playground but the fun doesn’t stop once he goes indoors because he also likes to code!
Erik recently walked us through his favorite projects so we could learn more about his experience coding with Tynker.
How did you get introduced to Tynker?
I found Tynker by myself in 4th grade. I’ve been coding for 3 years. I was terrible at first. I didn’t know how to use “when I receive” until 5th grade. That was my favorite piece of code, “when I receive.”
How did you learn to use Tynker when you first started?
Learning from other projects and remixing.
What are your favorite Tynker courses and tutorials?
I like them all! I think the Father’s Day Golfing was one of my favorites.
Why do you like to code?
I can make games!
How do you get inspiration for your projects?
Sometimes I get ideas from other projects or other games.
How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured?
Really happy! I’d never gotten a featured project before.
What is your favorite project you’ve made so far?
One that I’m working on that is going to be my favorite! I’m working on it with my sister (Caitlyn, who is also a Featured Maker).
Where did you get the idea for this project?
When I watched an awesome trailer, I got the idea for this game.
What do you do with a project when you’re done with it?
I publish it, and then sometimes if it has updates we will update projects. I always test it before publishing, that’s why my sister made the project called “Stop It” because she was telling them that their projects just don’t work. Most people when they update they duplicate the project but we unpublish projects, fix the code, then republish the project.
Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?
Computer programmer! I’ve known since I had a budgeting paper this past year.
What’s your favorite subject in school?
Back in elementary school, it was recess, but in middle school, it’s TechEd.
What’s the best thing about Tynker?
One of my favorite things is that I can make projects from scratch and then I can make them really good!
Is there anything we should change or add to Tynker?
You can make people not be able to remix projects. It could be a feature my sister talked about where you make it where you can or can’t remix the project, but you can still look at the code.
How do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future?
I’m going to become a computer programmer!
What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker?
I could tell them about starting by playing my sister’s demo. My sister made a demo on Tynker. I would tell them to try out the toys thing where you get to code the vehicles.
Erik’s mother, Kathy, spoke to us about her son learning to code:
I love seeing it! I love seeing both my kids coding because it’s just such a great skill. Their dad is a programmer. I just love seeing them get skills. They don’t even need to do a coding job. I just want to see them do problem-solving, tackling something.
How do you support Erik in his coding endeavors?
I will watch or play with any project they bring to me. I can’t debug in code but I can say “you spelled that wrong.” Anytime they want to learn more coding we’re open to it. But, in general, we want them to go outside and play. But sometimes it rains, it’s hot, there’s nothing to discourage them as I see it.
How can coding benefit Erik?
Problem-solving is huge but patience is also another one. You don’t get instant gratification, you have to be patient, you have to figure out how things work. Sometimes you have to go back to the beginning and not be afraid to ask for help, and that is big. Whenever they get initiative to do that and to get interested in it, that’s what I really like to see.
Do you feel that Erik is better prepared for the future?
Yes! This is something that, even if he doesn’t go into programming (but I could see him as a programmer!) Still, learning these skills will definitely help him in the future.
Thank you!
We want to thank Erik and Kathy for telling us about Erik’s coding experience with Tynker. We’re looking forward to more projects from Erik – HAPPY CODING!
