WFMW: The Mom Dad I'm Bored Edition - Scratch!

This is my first Works for me Wednesday post, so please be gentle.

This week's Works for me Wednesday theme is "Mom Dad I'm Bored!" Now Rocks in my Dryer might not want me hijacking the name, but this one is worth sharing. So my choices are to either hijack the name, or hijack Mrs. At Home's blog.

Scratch is an interactive learning program from MIT. For those who remember Turtle Logo, this is a modern version of the same. The idea is to train kids early in some of the fundamentals of computer programming, but to do it in a very simple way. For my 7-year old, I tried Turtle Logo for awhile, which she thought was fun, but it's actually not long before the geometry gets in the way of the programming.

With Scratch, you're given a stage where you place actors. You also have a scripts area where you begin to put your programs together. But in the programming, you don't have to deal with an odd or cryptic syntax, or have to remember the correct punctuation for a while loop - you drag building blocks from a toolbox of available commands into the script area. On the left is a a script I wrote in about 17 seconds. Whe

The Scratch website has lots and lots of scripts that others have uploaded. I have a friend whose kids wrote a pong game on the weekends. There are lots of videos to explain how to do stuff. And the thing is, there are plenty of event handlers to make games with a little more work. But for younger kids, you'll want to stick with simple animations explaining from the very basics - it does precisely what you tell it to, sequences of events, and control structures.

For more Works for me Wednesdays, be sure to visit Rocks in my Dryer.