I noticed the Kindergarten and First Graders really liked to draw while they waited their turn to use the Sphero. I decided to introduce them to Scratch Jr. Scratch and Scratch Jr are developed by MIT Media Labs and is a drop block programming environments for kids. I thought they might enjoy it better than Sphero because it does not require a lot of higher level reading and math skills. Yet it still provides them with an environment to think logically and critically, and problem solve. With Scratch Jr, they do not need to wait their turn to test out their programs. I was right, the girls took to it immediately. | |
I showed the kids how to add a background, add characters, and use the programming blocks. Then I let them explore the app and ask me questions. Click here if you want to learn more about Scratch Jr.