Vivian Gets Inspiration for Projects from Her Favorite Books!

Nine-year-old Vivian, who is starting 4th grade this fall, lives and codes in San Jose, California! When asked about her hobbies, she told us, “I love to do Tynker on my iPad!” She also likes to perform in musicals, read, and in her words, “create and write stories about dinosaurs and animals.” She even draws pictures to accompany her stories! We noticed her exceptional projects in the Tynker community and chatted with her to learn more about why she codes.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a paleontologist because I love dinosaurs and I want to discover more dinosaur fossils.

What’s your favorite subject in school? Language arts because I love to write. I also like art class.

How did you get introduced to Tynker? I learned to code on Tynker when I was in second grade. It is an enrichment program that my school has for all the students. I did a lot of Tynker projects in 3rd grade too. I really enjoy it and I get so excited whenever we get to work on Tynker in class!

What is your favorite thing you’ve made? I like my “Don’t cut down trees” project because it has a lot of “likes” on it. But my favorite right now is the project called “Warriors Quiz” that I just finished today. It is based on some of the Warrior Cats novels written by Erin Hunter that I have been reading this year.

Do your friends Tynker? Yes! Most of my friends are from school and they do Tynker too. When I do Tynker projects in class, I can partner up with my friends.

Do you look at the Tynker community projects? Yes, a whole lot! I like to look at and play other people’s Tynker projects because it is interesting and I get ideas for my own projects.

What is your favorite project that someone else has built? “How to draw: realistic eye”

What’s your favorite feature in Tynker? It is easy to use and I can create a lot of projects for other people to see and play.

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? If I think it is good, I will publish it right away. If it is not as good, I’ll just show it to my parents.

What are you planning to make next? More “Warrior Cats” themed projects because I love cats! And maybe more projects on dinosaurs because they are my favorite too.

What’s something you want to make but don’t know how to yet? I want to make a project with actors gliding across the stage, but I don’t know how to do that yet.

How do you think learning coding now will help you in the future? I think coding helps me develop good math skills for the future.

Why do you like to code? Because it is fun and challenging! Also because I can draw out the things and characters for my projects.

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yes, because it is fun!

What advice would you give for kids starting out with Tynker? Always save your projects before you exit – otherwise, all your work will be lost!

Vivian’s mother Ange told us she’s very happy Vivian is learning to code so early!

“I think it is an excellent way for Vivian to show off her creative talents,” she said. “She has created some very impressive projects, and I am so proud of her!” Ange continued with, “Coding helps Vivian develop patience and problem-solving skills. I see Vivian planning out her projects step by step, and when she encounters a problem in her project, she patiently works it out by herself without asking for help.”

Ange thinks Tynker is “an age appropriate, user-friendly program for children to learn how to code and create projects.” She said, “I really like Tynker. I like how the users can publish their finished projects and test it out with other peers on the Tynker community. I also like how they can garner ‘likes’ on their projects; I think it really gives Vivian confidence whenever she sees a ‘like’ on her project and motivates her to create more!”

We’re so really glad coding with Tynker has become a way for Vivian to tell stories and express creativity! Thanks for your time, Ange and Vivian – we’re looking forward to seeing more of your cat projects, Vivian. Keep coding!