Coding for Kids
Meet Gabby, our newest Featured Maker and a budding young programmer from Texas. Gabby showcases her creativity in a lot of different ways — in addition to her passion for creating coding projects with Tynker, she loves to tell stories and draw people she knows. In fact, Gabby says she can pretty much draw anything!
Like every great creative, Gabby is fond of collaboration. She likes working side-by-side with her cousin in order to come up with great project ideas! In school, Gabby’s two favorite subjects are science and writing, both of which will serve her well in her aspiration to become a programmer when she grows up! We chatted with Gabby to learn all about her experiences with Tynker.
How did you get introduced to Tynker and how long have you been coding? I got introduced to Tynker about two years ago. My parents were looking for a good coding game for me and then they just found Tynker!
What are your favorite Tynker courses or tutorials? I like the tutorial with the piano!
How have your coding skills improved since you started using Tynker? It’s improved a lot because I’m using it a lot more, like the animation block!
How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? I was very happy!
What is your favorite project you’ve made so far and what do you like about it? My favorite project that I’ve made so far is Vampire Doom part one, because it has me in it, and it tells a story!
Where do you get the idea for your favorite project and how long did it take you to make? It took me about two weeks! And I got the idea of it from thinking about vampires!
How do you get inspiration for your projects? I told my cousin about Tynker and then he started playing Tynker too, and then we just keep on talking about our projects and we make ideas for each other!
Why do you like to code? Because you can use your imagination! You could make anything, really!
Do you have a favorite code block? I like the change costume block!
What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? I check it if there’s anything wrong with it and then I show my parents, and then I publish it!
What are you planning to make next? I’m making Witch Life! It’s about two witches! One is a good witch, and the other one not so much.
What’s the best thing about Tynker? You get to use your imagination and you get to do whatever you like with it!
Is there anything we should change or add to Tynker? I would recommend for Tynker to add more colors so we can have more options with what we can draw.
How do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future? So, I also want to be a writer, so I can write stuff, and I can write my books there!
Do you think other kids should try coding? Why’s that? Yes, because it’s very fun and easy once you practice it for a while! And you can see other people’s projects!. You can make anything you want and you can just be creative!
What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker? Just never ever give up, and just keep on coding!
We were also able to sit down with Gracel, Gabby’s mom, and speak with her about what she thinks about Gabby learning to code. “I’m very excited that she’s doing a lot of things I didn’t know kids her age are capable of doing. So, when I saw her projects, I was very surprised that she’s able to grasp all the concepts,” she said, “We’ve always known she’s a smart kid, but it’s amazing how she’s able to express herself. Just like she said, she writes, she has her books that she’s written, and it’s nice that she can use coding to tell her stories.”
Gracel supports her by providing anything that Gabby needs to improve or reinforce her coding. Gracel and her husband will look at her projects with her and see if there are any bugs that need fixing, or if she can be more creative with a project. Gracel says that coding has helped Gabby with her creativity, especially with her drawing.
We asked Gracel what she thinks the top benefits for Gabby learning to code have been. “Discipline and patience and never giving up,” she told us.
“I think those are good skills for children to have because kids can have the tendency to give up easily if they want results right away.” Gracel adds that she will notice that even when Gabby’s project works the first time, Gabby knows that if she changes her approach or practices more, she can achieve what she wants to. “She’s definitely better prepared for the future now,” Gracel said. “The coding knowledge, patience, and the analytical skills she learned will be very helpful.”
We want to thank Gabby and Gracel for taking the time to speak with us about their experience with Tynker! We are looking forward to more projects from Gabby – Happy Coding!
