I’m thinking of starting a local group for kids (8-12 yo) to learn programming using Scratch.
Do you have any pointers that I might consider?
For reference, I’m a senior developer and architect, the programming part will probably be the easiest of it all.
Get some robots. Big marketing thing and another point of fun and learning. And the results are visible IRL.
Lego Mindstorms! We did that stuff as cub scouts, but I dont think we were the ones to program the bot.
They are fun, especially with the motorized arms, but they are crazy expensive last I checked. There are cheaper options, for Arduino and microbit. But even those are not cheap. They run at at least $30, without the microbit or arduino, for a couple of motors, IR and ultrasonic sensor.
In Poland there are quite popular Proton bots. You probably can find them across Europe.
Yeah, those aren’t cheap at all. I would have to find someone else to pay for it.
Makey Makey is another fun bit of hardware for kids. Works great with scratch too, have them make their own scratch game then use makey makey to build their own controller