Inspired by Hour of Code, we have started a Code Club at my library. We use different Hour of Code projects each meeting. We aim for grades 2-6 and encourage an adult to stay with the child if possible. I lead the group, alongside the library's Head of IT.
We start with a video introduction to the project itself and then let the kids work at their own pace for an hour. We meet Thursday evenings from 6:15-7:15pm in my library's computer lab. This format works really well for us because we expect the kids to come in with a big range of computer science experience. Most of them have never attempted coding but we've had 1-2 who were teaching themselves how to code. We also have a display of books for them to check out after the program if they want to learn more. We take up to 15 kids a meeting. The ratio of 7ish kids to adult presenter has worked really well for us. Our goal is for kids to get help with their projects as quickly as possible so they don't get frustrated.
Here's a list of what we have done before (all of these projects are free!).
December: Minecraft Designer
January: Winter Greeting Card
March: Google Logo
If you don't have a lot of money but want to offer some coding programs, I really recommend giving the Hour of Code projects a try!
This is so great! I hadn't seen the Minecraft one before. Thanks so much for sharing!
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