Coding for Kids
Meet Brenda, an Amazing Dancer and Coder
Brenda is nine years old and lives in Copperas Cove, Texas. In addition to being a dancer, she’s made some great projects in Tynker that were featured on the tablet app. We asked her some questions about her hobbies and why she loves coding.
What are your hobbies? I like to dance a lot and I like to code on the computer.
What kind of dancing do you do? I do all types: hip hop, lyrical, sometimes I do jazz, and sometimes I do broadway.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor-programmer. If someone needs to visualize something in the body, I can animate what they’re trying to visualize and they can find out what’s wrong for surgery.
How did you learn to code? My teacher told me about Tynker and I tried it out and I really liked it, so I do it like every weekend and every week.
Do you ever look at the projects in the Tynker community? Yeah. I like that they’re really fun and sometimes they actually have a story base to them.
What is your favorite feature in Tynker? My favorite feature is adding animated characters.
What’s your favorite project that you’ve made? My favorite thing is my ecosystem pyramid where you tap on the animals and they go into the pyramid and they tell about them.
What are you planning to make next? I’m trying to plan to make this story about a girl and a dog and they get lost in a forest and they try to find their way back home. I like telling stories.
Why do you like coding? Because it is really fun and it actually gets me into math and science and reading and writing, so I get better grades because of coding.
Do you think other kids should try coding? Yes because it actually really helps me and gets me actually focused on real things instead of fake things in life.
What advice would you give for other kids who are starting to code? Start with the basics and then work your way up to the advanced stuff. I started with the lessons and the Hour of Code, and then I worked my way up to the advanced, where I make my own.
Brenda’s mother Misty is a chemistry teacher, so she knows better than most the importance of getting kids interested in science, as well as the challenges of keeping them engaged. She says, “I love science, so it’s awesome that she’s in technology and science. It’s wonderful.” Misty says her favorite part of Brenda learning to code is when she gets to see Brenda’s projects: “She’s not just playing somebody else’s game. She gets to create with her own imagination, so it’s really good.”
It was wonderful to talk to you and see your projects, Brenda. We can’t wait to see what you’ll make next!
