Coding is Fun is a new weekend computer programming (coding) meetup sponsored by the PTO of TAOTS.  The goal of the meetup is to give parents and kids dedicated time to explore and create with computer code, in a meetup-style environment, with the support of volunteer mentors.  The primary tool is Scratch: A visual, block-based, programming tool from MIT that helps kids learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential 21st century skills.

Each meetup will have a theme and the goal is for everyone to get experience with the core computational thinking concepts (sequences, loops, parallelism, events, conditionals, operators, and data) while having fun.  Some of the themes planned are games, story-telling, computer art, simple machines and sensors.

Meetup Format

The goal is to meet twice per month on Saturday morning at TAOTS from 10am-12pm starting November 1, 2014. At least one parent must attend with their child (this is not a drop off event).  Note: Although some instruction is planned, this is not a dedicated programming class — it is intended to be a fun, creative, educational activity for parents and kids.  No programming experience is required by the child or parent.  There is no cost to attend the meetup — just bring your creativity and curiosity!

How to Participate

Initial meetups are limited to 20 TAOTS children (grades 3-5) along with their parents.  If you are interested, please complete the online interest form by October 12th.

view the meetup flyer