New to ScratchJr visual coding and programming? This introductory video course will teach you how to follow and create your own ScratchJr coding projects.

Designed for both beginner children and adults. ScratchJr is a free, engaging programming language that uses connecting blocks to make characters walk, move, dance, and more.

This series will guide you through a number of fun projects based on coding cards, helping you master the features of the ScratchJr app and understand core coding concepts. Start here to develop an understanding and enthusiasm for coding, and learn to use technology to create rather than consume.

Alternatively, if you are looking for Coding Tutor in Hertfordshire to support your children with this, I can also help.

ScratchJr Beginner’s Coding Course

Here are all videos in the ScratchJr Beginner’s Coding Video Course. Please feel free to watch them in order or jump to a specific video that is teaching a ScratchJr coding skill or approach.

Introduction to the ScratchJr Coding Video Tutorial series for beginner children and adults

This video serves as the introductory launch for a complete ScratchJr Coding Course tutorial series, which is perfectly suited for beginner children and adults. The series is built around ScratchJr, an accessible, introductory coding language that allows users to create interactive stories and games.

Video 1: Downloading the ScratchJr App and Using the Say block

In first video of the ScratchJr course, you will learn how to get started with the ScratchJr app, from the initial download to setting up your first project. Crucially, you’ll master using the ‘Say’ block to program your character to create a speech bubble, an essential foundation for your junior coding journey.

Video 2: Using the Move block in ScratchJr

The second video of the ScratchJr course focuses on the crucial Move blocks, demonstrating how to program in ScratchJr your character to travel around the screen by moving right and down [00:43]. You will learn how to adjust the movement values and use the on-screen grid to accurately measure and reset your character’s position for precise coding [02:02].

Video 3: Using the Repeat block in ScratchJr

In this third video in the ScratchJr course, you’ll learn how to use the essential Repeat block to efficiently run a piece of code multiple times, demonstrated by making the character walk four squares toward a bus stop [01:06]. This video clearly explains how to nest the ‘Move’ block inside the ‘Repeat’ block to save time and streamline your coding commands [01:15].

Video 4: Using the Wait block and Hide block in ScratchJr

The next video focuses on simultaneous programming, teaching you how to make two characters act together using the Wait and Hide blocks [00:09]. In this part of the ScratchJr course you will learn to code a scene where the kitten walks to the bus, uses the ‘Hide’ block to ‘get on’ the bus, and the bus waits a set time before using the ‘Move’ block to drive away, all triggered by a single green flag [03:09].

Video 5: Using the Shrink block and Hide block in ScratchJr

This video introduces the exciting Shrink block, demonstrating how to make your character appear to move away by getting smaller as it walks across the city background [01:04]. In this part of the ScratchJr course you’ll also revisit the Hide block to make the character disappear as it enters a building, completing a convincing visual effect [01:16].

Video 6: Send Message and Start on Message block in ScratchJr

This par of the ScratchJr course introduces the Send Message and Start on Message blocks, which are key for making multiple characters communicate and interact in sequence [00:17]. You will learn how to code a dialogue where the teacher speaks first using a message block, and the kitten then replies, with its program starting only when that message is received [02:15].

Video 7: Using the Grow block and Repeat block in ScratchJr

This video introduces the Grow block, demonstrating how to make a character bigger, and revisits the Repeat block to execute this growth action multiple times [01:07]. In this part of the ScratchJr course you will learn to combine these blocks to create an animation where a flower appears to grow on the desk, with the repeat value adjusted for a realistic effect [01:37].

Video 8: Using the Go To Page block in ScratchJr

In this video you’ll learn how to extend your project by using the powerful Go To Page block to seamlessly transition your animation between different scenes [01:36]. This part of the ScratchJr Course demonstrates how to code the character to move across one page (the classroom) and then instantly appear on the next page (the library), allowing you to build multi-scene stories.

Video 9: Running two programs at the same time in ScratchJr

This video shows you how to run two separate programs for a single character simultaneously, which is a powerful technique for creating complex movement [00:07]. This part of the ScratchJr Course focuses on coding a basketball to move right and up and down at the very same time, simulating a successful shot into the net [01:13].

Video 10: Recording and playing your own sound in ScratchJr

This video teaches you how to make your projects interactive by recording and playing back your very own sounds using the dedicated block [00:07]. In this part of the ScratchJr course you will learn the simple steps to access the green sound category, record a custom audio clip, and then program your character to play it on stage.

Video 11: Using the Start on Bump block in ScratchJr

This video demonstrates how to use the pivotal Start on Bump block, which triggers a program when two characters touch, such as a kitten kicking a football [02:41]. In this part of the ScratchJr course you will also learn to use the Turn block to make characters rotate, giving the appearance of winding up for the kick and creating a realistic interaction between the kitten and the ball [01:38].

Video 12: Using the Repeat block and creating a nested loop in ScratchJr

The next part of ScratchJr course teaches you how to create a sophisticated nested loop by placing one Repeat block inside another, which is a key skill for building advanced programs [02:12]. You will brilliantly apply this technique to code a character doing an entire repeated dance routine, including a smaller, repeated ‘shimmy’ move, to bring a whole new level of complexity to your animations.

Video 13: Using the Wait block and Show block in ScratchJr

This video in the ScratchJr course focuses on controlling character visibility by introducing the Show block and demonstrating how to combine it with the Hide and Wait blocks [03:51]. The tutorial provides a practical example by teaching you to edit the background to include a maths problem, create a custom ‘answer’ character, and then program it to appear on a delay, revealing the solution to the calculation.

Video 14: Using the Pop block to make a sound in ScratchJr

This part of the ScratchJr course teaches you how to add sound effects using the dedicated Pop block and reinforces the use of the Wait block for precise timing [00:09]. You will learn to create a fun show-and-tell scene where a rabbit character disappears and reappears with simultaneous ‘pop’ sounds, demonstrating how to run sound and visibility programs together.

Video 15: Using the Start on Bump block in ScratchJr

This part of the ScratchJr course revisits the useful Start on Bump and Hide blocks to create a fun interaction where one character deletes another [00:13]. You will learn to code the kitten to move towards a custom character (the letter ‘A’) on the whiteboard, making the letter disappear the moment the characters collide, simulating the act of erasing it [02:16].

Video 16: Using the Set Speed block in ScratchJr

Next in the ScratchJr course I introduce the essential Set Speed block to you, which allows you to control how quickly a character moves across the screen [00:06]. You will learn to use this block to organise a fun race between three characters, easily copying the movement code between them but adjusting each one’s speed to create a clear winner [02:20].

Video 17: Using the Hide and Move block in ScratchJr

This video demonstrates how to combine the Hide block with the Move block to create the fun effect of a character hiding behind an object, such as a tree in the park [00:08]. In this part of the ScratchJr Course you will learn to code the kitten to move across and up the screen to reach the tree, and then instantly disappear, simulating a game of hide-and-seek [01:10].

Video 18: Using the Repeat Forever block in ScratchJr

This video teaches you how to create an endless interaction by combining the Repeat Forever block with the Start on Bump and Wait blocks [00:10]. In this part of the ScratchJr Course you will learn to program a game of tag where one character moves towards and ‘tags’ the other, which instantly triggers the second character to chase back, with the entire sequence looping continuously thanks to the ‘Repeat Forever’ block [01:43].

Video 19: Using the Start on Tap block in ScratchJr

This part of the ScratchJr Course introduces the interactive Start on Tap block, which allows a program to begin only when the user physically taps the character on the screen [01:55]. You will learn to combine this with the Move block to create a scene where a storm cloud moves on its own, but the kitten only runs to shelter when you tap them, demonstrating a great use of user-controlled events [02:45].

Video 20: Using multiple Move blocks in ScratchJr

This video teaches you how to run two Move blocks simultaneously by starting them both with the green flag, which makes the character move diagonally [00:06]. In this part of the ScratchJr course you will learn to code the kitten to move right and down at the same time, creating the effect of walking along the diagonal path of the river, showing how to execute parallel commands for complex motion [01:05].

Video 21: Using the Start on Tap block in ScratchJr

This video revisits the interactive Start on Tap block, showing you how to program a character’s actions to be user-initiated [00:10]. In this part of the ScratchJr Course you will learn to code a peach character to “wiggle” using the Right Turn and Left Turn blocks, and then fall down using the Down Movement block, all triggered simply by tapping the peach on the screen [01:11].

Video 22: Combing the Move and Hide block in ScratchJr

This video teaches you how to combine the Start on Tap block with the Hide block to create a user-controlled disappearance effect [00:05]. In this party of the ScratchJr Course you will learn to program a peach to briefly turn (as if being eaten) and then vanish when you tap it, illustrating how to use interactive coding for effects like consuming an item in a game [01:21].

Video 23: Using the Stop block in ScratchJr

This part of the ScratchJr course introduces the Stop block, a handy tool that allows you to pause a program while it is running [00:09]. You will learn to use the Repeat Forever block to make a character, like the kitten, loop its movement continuously (downwards in this case) and then use the separate Stop block to halt the action at any moment during the loop [01:12].

Video 24: Using the Start on Tap block ion ScratchJr 

This part of the ScratchJr course revisits the efficient technique of copying code between characters and utilizes the interactive Start on Tap block [00:07]. You will learn to program a single tree to wobble and Grow when tapped, and then drag that exact code onto a second tree, allowing you to control the growth of multiple trees simply by tapping them on the screen [01:47].

Video 25: Creating a conversation in ScratchJr

This video focuses on creating a conversation between characters by revisiting the Send Message block and introducing the Start on Message block [00:08]. In this part of the ScratchJr Course you will learn to program two characters, Kitten and Penguin, so that Penguin starts the dialogue, and Kitten only responds after receiving Penguin’s message, ensuring a controlled, sequential conversation [01:43].

Video 26: Using the Shrink and Hide block in ScratchJr

This video teaches you how to combine the Shrink and Hide blocks to create the effect of a character entering a location and disappearing [00:08]. In this part of the ScratchJr Course you will learn to program the kitten to move across the screen towards a shop, gradually shrink in size as it approaches the door, and then fully disappear using the Hide block, simulating a trip to the grocery store [01:09].

End of the Course: Congratulations and what is next?

This video marks the end of the ScratchJr Coding Follow Along Video Tutorial series for beginners.

Congratulates for completing the course, I hope you will continue your coding journey by checking out the main ScratchJr website for more activities and resources, and also the other ScratchJr Project I have created.

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