Coding for Kids
Meet 11-year-old Mason from Illinois — our newest Featured Maker! In school, Mason loves math because it’s fun and easy. But when he gets home? It’s all about gaming! Mason’s love of video games isn’t too unusual for kids his age, but his passion for designing them is what truly makes him stand out. He’d love to be a game designer when he grows up and the coding skills that he’s developing with Tynker will go a long way to making that dream a reality.
In addition to his love of coding, Mason is also a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has been doing it for over three years! With no plans to stop, Mason implements the discipline he learns from martial arts into his coding projects and his future! So, let’s sit down with Mason and see what he can teach us!
How did you get introduced to Tynker and how long have you been coding? I got introduced when a friend at my school showed me Tynker and then I started coding. Sometimes we will code together!
How did you learn how to use Tynker when you were first starting out? I learned from people on the community board!
How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? I told all my friends and family about it!
What is your favorite project you’ve made so far and what do you like about it? It’s called 4 person battle and I like that it’s four characters (fire, ice, electricity and poison) and you just attack each other. Fire is my favorite!
4 person battle
Where did you get the idea for your favorite project and how long did it take you to make? I got the idea to make it from my friend, who had this fire vs ice game, so I wanted to add electricity and poison!
How do you get inspiration for your projects? Sometimes I just think about Tynker games and project ideas just come to my mind!
Why do you like to code? It’s really fun making games that other people can play!
Do you have a favorite code block? I like the if/else block! For example, in my game, if it was your turn, then it would tell you, but if it’s not, then it would tell you it’s not your turn!
What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? I just publish it right away!
What are you planning to make next? I think just keep making updates for my 4 person battle game!
What’s the best thing about Tynker? I get to make games and show them to people!
How do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future? It will help me become a better game designer!
Do you think other kids should try coding? Yeah, because it’s really fun just making games, even if you don’t publish it, you can still play it for yourself!
What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker? I’m not sure, do your best!
Mason’s mom, Jennifer, loves to see him take interest in something that he has a lot of fun with, and can help him in his career down the road. She supports Mason in any way that she can, saying that she allows him to spend a lot of time working on coding and other aspects of gaming. “He’s done a few camps and classes, but most of it he just learns as he goes,” Jennifer says, “I think it’s helping him become a critical thinker.”
Jennifer knows that Mason will continue to cultivate his skills and that the benefits of Tynker are clear at this point. “I think it’s making him use his brain, which is something he likes to do,” Jennifer said. “You can always see that there’s a lot of thoughts churning through his head as he’s calculating and figuring things out, and so I think that’s where it’s helping him to improve his problem-solving skills.”
Jennifer is confident in a brighter future for Mason saying, “He’s learning while he’s doing it and he’s having a lot of fun, so I think it’s absolutely preparing him for his future. Tynker is a great platform for having that education disguised as fun.”
Thank you to Mason and Jennifer for taking the time to speak with us about your experience with Tynker! We can’t wait to see what Mason comes up with as he takes his coding to the next level. Happy coding!
