Squishmallow Scratch for Beginners

New class

Ages 7-11

Live Group Class

For beginners to Scratch coding. Use Squishmallows to start your Scratch Journey! Small class size for individual attention.

Kari Santos - coding Scratch and Robotics

Average rating:

4.9

Number of reviews:

(483 reviews)

Star Educator

Live video meetings

1x per week, 2 weeks

1-5 learners per class

55 min

About Learning Overview Teacher Reviews

What's included

2 live meetings

1 hrs 50 mins in-class hours

Class Experience

US Grade 2 - 5

Beginner Level

Scratch is an amazing, free, online coding platform created by MIT, which (IMO) is the best tool to get kids excited about coding! And Squishmallows are a fun way to get started!

This is for beginner "Scratchers" 
    - those who have never, ever used Scratch 
    - those who have tried it once or twice
    - those who have tried it but want a quick refresher.


I will explain how to use Scratch - how to use the editor, how to create an animation, how to program. The class is project-based. I will show how to do things, and then give the kids time to try it on their own. It's very interactive. I keep the class small so that kids can ask questions at any time, share their work, and I can help if there are problems.  And in the end, they will have an interactive project where Squishmallows talk, dance, change colors and shapes.

This class is a short Introduction to Scratch so students can take my "Game Design with Scratch" and  "Storytelling with Scratch"

Learning Goals

Students will earn how to use Scratch to build animations.
Students will learn how to add Sprites (characters), make them talk and move. They will also pick and edit a backdrop.
Students will learn how to make sequences of code, and how to create timing so that Sprites interact with each other.
Students will learn about Events and how to use them to run their code.
Students will have enough experience and confidence to start creating more projects on their own.

Other Details

Parental Guidance

We will be using Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/). An account is not neeeded, but recommended. The account can be set up before or after class.

Supply List

Please make sure your child has a Scratch account and can log into it - many kids forget their usernames and/or passwords. 

The hardest part of making a new account is coming up with a user name -- all the good ones are taken!  I recommend having the child pick two favorite words and a favorite number and combining them together.  "pizzacow17" for example. Pick a simple easy password. AND WRITE THEM DOWN SOMEWHERE!!!

Screen setup is really important in this class. I share my Scratch window on Zoom, and I expect that students can see my Scratch at the same time they work on their own Scratch window. I also ask students to share their screen when they run into difficulties so I can help them debug. This takes a good amount of screen space. Ideally a large screen on one computer (or laptop). Some students use two devices, but then they can't easily share their work with me. I don't recommend using one tablet (iPad) for the class, because the student can't see Zoom and Scratch at the same time (to the best of my knowledge). 

Also, it helps to have an adult nearby at the beginning of the first class to help set up the student's display correctly. I check in with every student at the beginning of each class and help them set up. But many students don't know how to resize windows.

External Resources

In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:

Scratch

Meet the teacher

Kari Santos - coding Scratch and Robotics

Joined March, 2020

4.9

483reviews

Star Educator

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

I have taught Scratch to over 1000 learners on OutSchool and in person, and I love introducing new kids to this great platform!
I am astounded by the creativity of my students in their Scratch projects.