Homeschool Coding Curriculum: Scratch Lesson & Activity
Teach your child the foundations of coding and computer programming in your homeschool coding curriculum with this step-by-step Scratch coding lesson plan and activity. This 1-hour lesson plan is perfect for beginners ages 8-12.
Learning to code can prepare your child for a career in computer science, but, more importantly, it teaches important skills like problem-solving and computational thinking that can be applied to any career.
- What is Scratch coding?
- Why use Scratch in your homeschool coding curriculum?
- Scratch homeschool coding lesson plan: Fun with Foosball
Homeschool Coding Curriculum: What is Scratch coding?
Scratch is a free block coding application, developed by the MIT Media Lab. Scratch coding is its own programming language and online community and is easier to use than traditional programming languages because it consists of graphical blocks that snap together. You can find this language used in all kinds of settings including homes, schools, libraries, and more.
Scratch is available in most web browsers (not supported in Internet Explorer) and as a desktop application. The Scratch desktop application allows you to create projects without an internet connection.
Scratch is designed especially for kids ages 8 to 16. Younger children can also try ScratchJr, a simplified version of Scratch designed for ages 5 to 7.
We use Scratch in our coding curriculum because it’s the perfect way for younger kids to develop their problem-solving, communication, and reasoning skills. They are able to create and share their own interactive stories, animations, and games. It’s a perfect stepping stone to computer programming and coding languages.
Why use Scratch in your homeschool coding curriculum?
As homeschoolers, choosing a homeschool curriculum tailored to your child while meeting educational requirements is crucial. Computer programming, or coding, is becoming more popular among homeschool parents, but it can be difficult to teach.
Even if you know nothing about programming or coding languages, Scratch is easy to understand for parents and drag and drop for kids. It simple to add to your homeschool coding curriculum and helps students build thinking and computational skills while allowing them to be creative and have fun. If you find that your child has a passion for coding, they can enroll in online coding classes or after-school programs that fit your homeschool schedule.
Scratch even provides parents and educators with Scratch tutorials, coding cards, and starter projects that you can add to your homeschool coding curriculum and lesson plans.
Best of all, Scratch is and always will be free. The team at MIT Media Lab is committed to keeping it that way so that all students have access.
Scratch Homeschool Coding Curriculum & Lesson Plan: Fun with Foosball
Download our 1-hour Scratch lesson plan for students with beginners or no coding experience. Kids can code a fun foosball game where player scores by reaching the goal while avoiding an opponent blocking it. This lesson plan is best in homeschool coding curriculum for kids ages 8-12.
What you need for your Homeschool Coding Curriculum Lesson:
Final project: Fun with Foosball – Homeschool Coding Curriculum Lesson!
There you have it. A simple and fun Scratch coding foosball game that you can add to any homeschool coding curriculum. As a homeschool parent, you can teach a lesson that is fun for the family and your kids will love!
If your child is interested in learning more about Scratch, CodeWizardsHQ’s coding classes for kids starts with Scratch in their homeschool coding program for kids in grades 3-5.
Complete this project and share your Foosball game with us on Facebook and Twitter. Happy coding!
Download the Homeschool Coding Curriculum – scratch foosball lesson files and let’s start.
Step 1: Start by creating a creating a new project
- Create an account at https://scratch.mit.edu/
- Click “Create” to start a new project
- Click “Untitled” and rename your project “Fun With Foosball”
Step 2: Setup your game sprites
- Add a background
- Add your player’s image
- Add opponent player image
You can download the images in our scratch foosball lesson files.
Step 3: Move your player with the arrow keys
- Move the player up, down, left, and right
Step 4: Move opponent player to block the goal
- Add a goal image
- Move the opponent player up and down forever
Step 5: Win or Lose the Game
- Score a goal
- Game over
