Best Scratch Coding Resources 2023

Scratch coding books are a great way to introduce kids to the amazing Scratch coding platform that gives you the ability to build projects that make your ideas come to life.

Code your own projects and share them with others.

Scratch coding projects can be as simple or as complex as you want, and they can be used to explore a wide range of topics and concepts.

For example, you might create a Scratch game in which the player has to navigate a character through a maze, or they might create an animation that tells a story using characters and scenery that they have designed themselves. The possibilities are endless with Scratch coding!

You can see existing Scratch projects online and use them as inspiration for your own Scratch projects.

You can even see Scratch projects that are trending, browse by Scratch project categories, and join Scratch studios of like-minded makers.

Scratch Coding For Kids

What Is Scratch Coding

Scratch is a coding platform designed primarily for kids 8-16 years old but used by people of all ages for making digital products online.

Scratch has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface where users can create interactive digital projects using text, images, and sounds.

Examples of digital projects include art, games, animations, music, stories, and other interactive experiences.

• Scratch Games: Kids can create simple games, such as platformers, puzzle games, and arcade games, using Scratch’s built-in tools and blocks.
• Scratch Animations: Kids can create animations, such as short films or cartoons, using Scratch’s animation and drawing tools.
• Interactive Scratch Stories: Kids can create interactive stories, such as choose-your-own-adventure books or branching narratives, using Scratch’s control structures and variables.
• Simulations in Scratch: Kids can create simulations, such as weather forecasts or traffic models, using Scratch’s data and math blocks.
• Scratch Art Projects: Kids can create art projects, such as visualizers or generative art, using Scratch’s music and sound blocks.

It might sound daunting at first, but really it is not so difficult to start coding with Scratch.

For instance, Scratchers can add functionality like animations that happen when the user presses a key, or a score that increases when one image on the screen moves and touches another image, or a sound that plays when a user clicks a specific character.

Some of the main purposes of Scratch coding are to teach people to think creatively, work collaboratively, and reason systematically in an entertaining and engaging way.

Although you can make Scratch projects that have real-world uses other than education and entertainment, Scratch coding is different from coding in JavaScript, Python, and other programming languages because of how its visual interface is designed.

The simple visual Scratch interface consists of blocks that represent the content and functionality.

You configure the Scratch blocks with the content that you want and the values for your functionality using simple inputs, dropdowns, buttons, and forms.

This makes the Scratch coding language accessible to everyone.

It is intuitive, fun and friendly, and anyone can figure out how to work in it.

You do not need to write any Scratch code or solve any Scratch error messages or do anything like that.

Instead, the Scratch coding platform does all that for you so that you can enjoy creating.

You just drag, drop, and configure in the Scratch platform.

One great resource for learning Scratch is the Official Scratch Coding Cards.

The Official Scratch Coding Cards give your kid the opportunity to engage with Scratch and STEM topics without being in front of a screen.

Using the Scratch Coding Cards not only reinforces the important Scratch lessons and skills, but the Scratch Coding Cards also practices reading skills and is a productive and engaging activity for car rides, airplane travel, and other similar occasions.

Then when your kid is on the computer again coding with Scratch coding platform, they can apply their Scratch Coding Cards learning to make something new.

The Scratch Coding Cards is just one way to connect with the Scratch community.

The Scratch coding community has over a million users and is growing. The Scratch community has a ton a great resources that make it a fun and interactive place.

One major aspect of the Scratch coding community is the social component.

Scratch coders can share their projects online, like and favorite other people’s projects, collaborate on projects, and more.

The social aspect of Scratch coding brings coders back to the platform to see what their friends have been making in addition to what feedback they get on their own projects.

This approach allows young people to learn about engineering and software in a fun, engaging, and social manner.

As a result, Scratch coding has become the world’s largest coding community for children.

The Scratch programming experience is great for young minds because it promotes computational thinking, problem-solving skills, self-expression and collaboration.

The Scratch coding platform also offers an experience of younger kids. Kids from age 5 years old to age 7 years old should try ScratchJr.

A great way to get started is with the Official ScratchJr Book.

Scratch Coding Example

To help bring Scratch to life for you, consider this completed Scratch project that we built.

It is a Scratch game where you are the butterfly and you score points by flying into strawberries that appear in random places and move across the screen.

In the image below you see the center of the screen is a large white box with a butterfly in the upper right corner?

That means the blocks in the center white box apply to the butterfly.

The blocks in the two left sidebars are the blocks that you can choose from to put into the center white box.

The skinny sidebar on the far left is for choosing the category of blocks that you can choose from in the other left sidebar.

Taking one block collection as an example, in the center white box look at the upper left at the yellow and purple blocks.

The yellow block applies a click event to the butterfly. The yellow block comes from the yellow events category.

The click event occurs when you click the green flag to start the project. The green flag appears above the project image.

When that click event happens, it triggers the purple block.

The purple block plays a sound. It is a block from the purple sound category.

It plays the sound file named recording1, which is a recording of birds chirping after a storm that we recorded. The sound file plays until its end.

The center white box also has other block collections, too. Can you read them and understand what they do?

To see the blocks for the other characters in the game, simply click on the character below the game image on the left. It changes what you see in the center white box.

Here is a link to the completed project on Scratch.

Who Uses Scratch Coding Platform

Millions of people of all ages create projects with Scratch coding language.

People are coding with Scratch in homes, schools, museums, libraries, and community centers.

Scratch coding is designed especially for kids 8 to 16 years old and is the most popular coding platform for kids.

Although young people are the target audience, people of all ages and backgrounds are using Scratch coding.

The Scratch coding platform is available in 70 languages and used by people with a variety of backgrounds, including students, teachers, parents, programmers, developers, and even some non-technical adult users.

The main purposes of Scratch coding are education, entertainment, and creating simple animations or games.

As students grow increasingly interested in Scratch, not only do they gain the benefits but so do the people around them.

Parents and teachers also have the benefit of working with Scratch coding. Parents and teachers working with Scratch coding benefit from the creative teaching and learning that comes with teaching Scratch coding.

As students grow and mature, Scratch coding is an excellent springboard into other amazing STEM activities and coding technologies.

You can use Scratch for other purposes, like controlling robots using phones and tables, programming machines connected to sensors, and more.

For instance, the Makeblock mBot Ranger 3-in-1 Robot Kit is a coding robot building kit that is compatible with Scratch coding.

You build a remote-controlled robot and control it using Scratch coding programs that you write.

The Makeblock mBot Ranger improves creativity, imagination, logical thinking and problem-solving skills for kids of all ages above 8 years old.

One of the coolest parts of Scratch coding with robots is working with sensors.

The Makeblock mBot Ranger comes with an ultrasonic sensor, line-tracking sensor, 2 light sensors, gyroscope sensor, 12 RGB LED, buzzer, temperature sensor, Bluetooth module.

Scratch Coding Community

The Scratch community is a supportive and friendly place where you can explore Scratch projects and also get help and feedback on your projects.

Explore Scratch Projects created by other Scratchers. You can try other people’s projects, remix the projects to create your own variation, and like, comment, and add projects to your favorites list.

Explore Scratch Studios, too. Studios are collections of projects around a theme or group. It is another great way to connect with the community and see what people are making.

You can join Studios to stay up to date and connect with like-minded people. You also can create your own Scratch Studio and use it as a place to promote a theme or idea.

The Scratch discussion forums are also a great way to connect with others.

You can ask questions, offer advice, and share your experiences and what you are working on.

The Scratch wiki is another great Scratch community resource full of articles covering everything Scratch.

It gives you information about the Scratch programming language, the Scratch platform and website, the history and phenomena of Scratch coding, and so much more.

The Scratch community stats show you exactly how big this community really is.

Millions of projects, users, comments, and studios.

The Scratch community guidelines emphasize that Scratch is a friendly and welcoming community for everyone.

We welcome people of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities. Help keep Scratch a welcoming, supportive, and creative space for all by following these Community Guidelines:

Scratch Community Guidelines

The Scratch Foundation designs, develops, and moderates the Scratch coding platform and community.

Where To Start Scratch Coding

The Scratch homepage gives you all the tools and information you need to start coding with Scratch.

Sign in and create a profile.

On your profile, add a description about yourself and what you are working on.

Your profile page also lists your recent activity. It shows projects you shared and other activity you make on the Scratch platform.

Get social with Jungle Memory on Scratch and look for your profile and projects to feature on the Jungle Memory website homepage.

Here is a link to the Jungle Memory Scratch profile page.

Then visit the Scratch project ideas page and choose a tutorial, activity guide, or starter project to create your first project.

Send us a message on Scratch so that we can check out what you make!

Check out what other people are making on the Scratch explore projects page.

Scratch Coding For Intermediates

The Scratch online coding platform is an exceptional product and a perfect starting place for kids and even adults to learn about computer programming.

To inspire those of you who are considering learning Scratch and to challenge those of you who know some Scratch but want to improve you skills and tackle new problems, here are a few examples to consider for taking on the next challenge.

The intermediate-level Coding with Scratch book. With 30 project tutorials and advanced coding concepts like debugging, algorithms, functions, conditional statements, and loops.

The Code Rocket STEM coding toy for kids. Packed with over 20 projects and hands-on circuits.

Perfect for anyone who wants to learn by building real electronic circuits with immediate results regardless of whether they have any previous programming or circuits experience.

Kids can code with blocks like Scratch to learn the basics. The Code Rocket is also compatible with text-based code like C++ and therefore can serve as a wonderful entry point for someone to learn how to write text-based code instructions.

The Code Rocket STEM coding toy also comes with LED lights, buttons, and a speaker already built onto the Code Rocket.

The Code Rocket also has reference cards, a USB cable, and a carrying case.

Thames & Kosmos Robotics Smart Machines Tracks & Treads STEM Kit that won a Parent’s Choice award. This kit is a simple and fun introduction to robotics.

Build and program your own robots.

Thames & Kosmos Robotics Smart Machines Tracks & Treads STEM Kit comes with 197 building pieces.

It also has an illustrated manual with step-by-step instructions that makes it easy to learn robotics and actually build the robots.

As students become more familiar with the Scratch programming environment, they can start to explore more advanced projects that allow them to further develop their coding skills. Some additional examples of intermediate-level Scratch projects might include:

• Creating a simple platform game in which the player controls a character who can move left and right, jump, and collect items. The game might include obstacles and enemies that the player has to avoid.
• Creating an interactive quiz that tests the player’s knowledge on a specific topic. The quiz could include multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, and true/false questions.
• Creating an animation that shows a sequence of events, such as a day in the life of a character or a journey through a landscape. The animation could include music, sound effects, and dialogue to make it more engaging.
• Creating a simulation that models a real-world system, such as a weather forecast or a traffic jam. The simulation could allow the player to manipulate certain variables, such as the temperature or the number of cars on the road, to see how the system responds.

These are just a few examples of intermediate-level Scratch projects that students might enjoy creating. As students continue to learn and develop their coding skills, they can experiment with even more complex and sophisticated projects.

To wrap up this post, here are a few closing thoughts.

There are many reasons why kids should learn Scratch programming. Some of the key benefits include:

• Scratch helps kids develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills. As they create programs, kids learn to break complex tasks down into smaller, more manageable pieces, and they learn to think logically and systematically to solve problems.
• Scratch helps kids develop creativity and imagination. As they create animations, games, and other interactive projects, kids can express themselves and showcase their unique ideas and vision.
• Scratch helps kids develop computational thinking skills. As they learn to create and manipulate data, kids learn to think like a computer, which is an important skill in today’s world.
• Scratch is a fun and engaging way to learn. Kids often enjoy the challenge of creating their own programs, and they often find the process of coding to be rewarding and satisfying.

Overall, learning Scratch programming can be a valuable experience for kids, as it can help them develop a wide range of important skills and abilities.