Scratch: Our Favorite Kids Coding Program

Our favorite coding program for kids is called Scratch. According to their website (scratch.mit.edu), Scratch is described as a programming language and an online community where children can program and share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation with people from all over the world. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century.

Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. It is provided free of charge.

Take a look at a video game my 9-year-old son and I created together in Scratch:

After 3 years in the making, Scratch 3.0 has just been released! This new version is designed to work in any current browser and on a wide variety of devices — including touch devices like tablets. No internet? No problem. Scratch 3.0 has an offline editor called Scratch Desktop.

Scratch has always been more than a coding platform. What makes Scratch special is the global community of kids, educators, families, and organizations who are creating and sharing projects, developing tutorials and resources, and hosting in-person events, workshops, and conferences.

We love getting together and programming with our Scratch Kids Club. You should join us!