ScratchJr
ScratchJr is a free introductory programming language that allows young children (ages 5-7) to create their own interactive stories and games. Its interface uses building blocks and graphics to simplify coding concepts.
visual-programming
blockbased
introductory
kids
stories
games
ScratchJr: Free Introductory Programming Language for Kids
ScratchJr is a free introductory programming language that allows young children (ages 5-7) to create their own interactive stories and games. Its interface uses building blocks and graphics to simplify coding concepts.
What is ScratchJr?
ScratchJr is a free introductory visual programming language designed by MIT Media Lab specifically for children ages 5-7 to learn basic coding concepts. It features a graphical programming interface using building block style command blocks that snap together to control characters and backgrounds. Children can create their own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and artwork.
The interface uses icons, colors, and shapes to simplify complex coding ideas like sequences, loops, events, parallelism, conditionals, and variables. No reading skills are required. As children snap together program blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing, they gain an understanding of how computer programs work. ScratchJr fosters creative thinking, reasoning, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
ScratchJr projects can be uploaded online to the ScratchJr website to share with others around the world. It is available as a free app for both iPad and Android tablets. ScratchJr provides a fun first step into computer programming and sets the foundation for creating with more complex programming languages like Scratch.
ScratchJr Features
Features
- Visual programming interface
- Touch screen capability
- Block-based coding
- Animations and interactive stories
- Creative learning
- Collaborative projects
- Supports multiple languages
Pricing
- Free
Pros
Engages young learners
Develops computational thinking
Easy to use interface
Promotes creativity
Great for beginners
Free and accessible
Cons
Limited capabilities compared to Scratch
Requires adult guidance
Only available as mobile app
Not suitable for advanced users
Official Links
The Best ScratchJr Alternatives
Top Education & Reference and Programming Languages and other similar apps like ScratchJr
Here are some alternatives to ScratchJr:
Suggest an alternative ❐
Scratch
Scratch is a free visual programming language and online community developed by the MIT Media Lab. It allows users to create interactive stories, games, animations, music, art, and more using a simple drag-and-drop interface.With Scratch, you snap together colorful programming blocks like puzzle pieces to build programs. There is no...
TurboWarp
TurboWarp is an open-source web browser that is based on the Firefox codebase but focuses more on user privacy and faster speeds. It is developed by the UXP project which aims to create a lightweight yet feature-rich web browser.Some key features of TurboWarp include:Blocks ads, trackers and cryptominers by default...
Scratux
Scratux is a free, open source penetration testing and vulnerability assessment tool based on Kali Linux. It provides a graphical user interface and automation tools to simplify the process of security testing for network administrators, IT professionals, and security researchers.Some key features of Scratux include:Easy to use graphical interface for...
Snap!
Snap! is a visual, blocks-based programming language and website targeted primarily at children and teens to introduce them to coding concepts. It builds on Scratch and allows users to create interactive stories, games, and animations using drag-and-drop blocks.Some key features of Snap! include:A blocks-based interface that allows users to snap...
Tynker
Tynker is an educational programming platform used to teach children coding skills and concepts through game creation, visual programming, and interactive courses. It uses a intuitive, block-based interface that allows kids to drag and drop blocks of code to create games, apps, mods, and more without needing to learn syntax.Key...
CodeMonkey
CodeMonkey is an educational game-based environment where kids learn to code without any prior experience. It offers a complete course pathway for learning real coding languages like CoffeeScript, JavaScript, Python, Lua and more. CodeMonkey's guided, hands-on lessons teach core coding basics like functions, loops, variables and object oriented programming.By completing...
Web Cartoon Maker
Web Cartoon Maker is a user-friendly animation software that enables anyone to create 2D cartoon videos right in their web browser, without needing to download any programs or have prior animation experience.With an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, Web Cartoon Maker makes it simple to craft entertaining cartoons using pre-made templates of...
Cyberix3D
Cyberix3D is a powerful, free, and open source 3D creation suite. It provides a complete set of tools for modeling, sculpting, texturing, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and game creation. Some key features of Cyberix3D include:Intuitive interface and workflows for 3D artistsAdvanced polygon, NURBS and...
Tommy the Turtle
Tommy the Turtle is an award-winning educational game designed to help young children aged 3-6 years build foundational learning skills. Children join Tommy the turtle and his group of animal friends, including Ellie the elephant, Zack the zebra, and Leo the lion cub, on fun adventures that teach a range...
Toontalk
Toontalk is a unique graphical programming language designed specifically to teach coding and computational thinking skills to children. It utilizes a 3D interactive animated environment featuring cartoon robots, birds, boxes, and other objects that users directly manipulate to create programs.Some key features that make Toontalk ideal for introducing kids to...
Run Marco!
Run Marco! is a virtual assistant software designed to help individuals and teams work more efficiently. It combines the power of artificial intelligence with natural language processing to understand user requests and complete tasks automatically.Some key features of Run Marco! include:Scheduling meetings and managing calendarsSetting reminders for upcoming tasks and...
Blue by MIT
Blue by MIT is an open-source visual programming language and environment designed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab. It is targeted towards students in grades 6-8 who are new to programming.The goal of Blue is to make programming more accessible and engaging for novices. It uses...
SnapCode
SnapCode is a mobile app developed by Snap Inc., the creators of Snapchat. It serves as an easy tool for Snapchat users to generate custom Snapcodes and read Snapcodes created by others.At its core, SnapCode is a QR code generator and reader designed specifically for Snapchat content and profiles. After...
Kodeclik
Kodeclik is a free and open-source collaborative code editor designed for agile development teams. It allows multiple developers to edit code files together in real-time with char and voice communication built-in to discuss changes as they happen.Key features of Kodeclik include:Real-time collaborative editing of code filesIntegrated chat and voice communicationCode...
The Infinite Arcade
The Infinite Arcade is a innovative cloud gaming service designed for fans of classic arcade, console, and computer games. It utilizes advanced emulation technology and cloud streaming to give users instant access to a growing library of over 1,000 retro titles without the need for downloads or specialized gaming hardware.With...
