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🧸 Lesson 5.3: ScratchJr — Coding for Ages 5–7

Got a little one who wants to do what the big kids are doing, but can't read the blocks yet? ScratchJr is Scratch's younger sibling: picture blocks, big buttons, and no reading needed. In this lesson you'll learn it in minutes and discover how to coach a five-year-old coder.

📚 What You'll Learn

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Explain what ScratchJr is and how it differs from Scratch
  • Recognize the six color-coded block categories and read a script left to right
  • Build a tap-to-talk character with a recorded sound, then a two-page story
  • Run short, playful coding sessions that suit a 4–7-year-old's attention span
  • Decide when your child is ready to move up to full Scratch

Estimated Time: 35 minutes  •  Project: “My Pet Says Hi” + a two-page story

Ages 4–5 (lap-sitting) Ages 5–6 Ages 6–7
In This Lesson

🎬 Meet ScratchJr

ScratchJr is a free app for children about 5 to 7, on iPads, Android tablets, and Chromebooks. Kids snap blocks together just like in Scratch, but every block is a picture, so a child who can't read yet can still code.

The ScratchJr website homepage, describing a free introductory programming app for young children ages 5 to 7.
Figure 1: The ScratchJr website, with download links and guides for parents and teachers.

By the end of this lesson you'll have built this: tap the pet, and it hops, grows, and says hello in your child's own recorded voice.

💡 Before you start

Install ScratchJr from your tablet's app store (free, no ads or in-app purchases). Open it, tap the house icon, then the big + to start a new project.

🎓 Learn It: How ScratchJr differs from Scratch

The big ideas carry over: events start scripts, blocks run in order, loops repeat. What changes is everything that would trip up a small child.

ScratchScratchJr
Block directionStack top to bottomSnap side by side, read left to right like a sentence
ReadingEvery block has wordsBlocks show pictures; only a few, like “Say,” take typed words
DeviceComputer browserMade for tablets: tap and drag with a finger
Numbers“Steps” (tiny units)Grid squares a child can count
SharingOnline communityProjects stay on the device, with no public community

That last row is a quiet gift for parents: no comments, followers, or strangers. (The community safety habits from Lesson 5.2 can wait until your child moves up to Scratch.)

🎓 Learn It: Six colors of picture blocks

Tap a colored button on the left of the block area and that category's blocks slide into view. Color tells you what a block does:

  • 🟡 Triggering
  • 🔵 Motion
  • 🟣 Looks
  • 🟢 Sound
  • 🟠 Control
  • 🔴 End
ColorWhat it doesBlocks you'll use most
🟡 TriggeringStarts a scriptStart on Green Flag, Start on Tap, Start on Bump (touching another character)
🔵 MotionMoves the characterMove right/left/up/down, Turn, Hop, Go Home
🟣 LooksChanges how it looksSay, Grow, Shrink, Reset Size, Hide, Show
🟢 SoundMakes noisePop, plus sounds you record
🟠 ControlTiming and repetitionWait, Set Speed, Repeat
🔴 EndCaps the scriptEnd, Repeat Forever, Go to Page

The small number under a Motion block counts grid squares. Tap the grid button above the stage, and “Move right 3” becomes something a child can count with a finger.

🎨 Watch out: the colors don't match Scratch

In Scratch, green is Operators and sound is pink. In ScratchJr, green is Sound and yellow starts things. Kids won't care, but it can confuse you when switching apps. Trust the pictures.

🛠️ Try It: “My Pet Says Hi”

Build this yourself first (about ten minutes) so you know where everything is before you sit down with your child.

  1. Pick or make a pet

    Tap the + beside the character list and choose an animal, or tap the paintbrush to draw one. The paint editor's camera tool fills a shape with a photo. Kids love putting their own face on a character.

  2. Start on tap

    Tap the yellow button and drag Start on Tap (a finger touching a character) into the script area. The script now runs whenever someone taps the pet.

  3. Hop and grow

    From blue, drag Hop so it snaps onto the right side of the trigger. From purple, snap Grow on after it. Tap the pet to test.

  4. Record a sound

    Tap green, then the microphone block. Press record, say “Hi! I'm your pet!” (or bark, or giggle), stop, and accept it. Snap the new sound block on after Grow.

  5. Shrink back and end

    Add a purple Shrink so the pet returns to normal size (otherwise it grows with every tap), then cap the row with the red End block.

✅ Tap the pet!

It hops, puffs up, says hi in a real voice, and settles back down: an event, a sequence, and a sound, the same thinking as your first Scratch cat laid out sideways.

🛠️ Try It: A two-page story

A ScratchJr project can have up to four pages, like a picture book, each with its own background and characters.

  1. Add page 2

    Tap the + in the page strip on the right. Pick a background for the new page and add a character.

  2. On page 1, turn the page

    Back on page 1, give the pet a green-flag script that ends with Go to Page, which appears in the red End category once a second page exists.

  3. On page 2, say hello

    Give page 2's character a green-flag script too. When the story turns to a page, that page's green-flag scripts start.

Press the green flag and watch the story play across two pages.

🐛 Common problems & fixes

What you seeLikely causeFix
Tapping the pet does nothingScript starts with Green Flag, or a block isn't snapped onUse Start on Tap; drag blocks until they click into one row
The pet keeps getting biggerGrow with no ShrinkAdd Shrink (same number) or Reset Size at the end
The pet walks off the stageMoves add up each runStart the row with the blue Go Home block
Recording is silentNo microphone permissionAllow the microphone for ScratchJr in the tablet's settings
A block “vanished”It was dragged back onto the palette, which deletes itDrag a fresh one out; no harm done

🌱 Growth mindset: wobbly is what learning looks like

Your five-year-old will drop blocks in the wrong spot, and you may find sideways rows odd after weeks of Scratch. That's experimenting, not failing. When a script flops, laugh: “Whoa, that's not what we planned! What should we try?” A child who hears that at five learns that surprises are interesting, not scary.

💬 Teach It: Coding with a very young child

Five-year-olds have short attention, fingers still learning to drag, and huge imaginations. Plan around all three.

Keep sessions short: 10–15 minutes

Stop while it's still fun, ideally after a big laugh, and they'll ask to do it again tomorrow.

Tell the story first, then code it

Before touching the tablet, ask for a tiny story out loud: who is in it and what happens. Then turn each event into a block.

“So the puppy jumps, gets really big, and barks. Which picture looks like jumping? …Yes, the hop! What comes next?”

You read, they tap

You read anything with words aloud. They tap, drag, and press the green flag. Keep your hands in your lap; if a drag keeps missing, steady the tablet rather than doing it for them.

Let them record silly sounds

The microphone is the most motivating feature in the app. Burps, animal noises, “I'm a dinosaur!”: hearing their own voice come out of a character they coded is pure magic.

“You made the puppy do that! You told it what to do, and it listened. That's what coders do.”

👶 Ages 4–5

Sit them on your lap like a shared picture book. You set up the character; they pick from two or three blocks you point to and do all the tapping. One trigger plus two blocks is plenty.

👧 Ages 5–6

They drag and snap while you sit beside them. Build “My Pet Says Hi” together, then ask, “What else could it do when you tap it?” Count grid squares together for Move blocks.

🧒 Ages 6–7

Give a goal, not steps: “Make a story with two pages.” Let them draw characters and try Repeat or Start on Bump, then read their row back to you, left to right.

🌟 End with a show

Use full-screen mode and have them “perform” their story for the family, tapping the pet on cue. Applause and an encore beat any sticker chart.

🚀 When to move up to Scratch

Readiness matters more than age, though most kids are ready around 7 or 8. Look for comfortable reading of short labels, a mouse or trackpad they can handle, and requests ScratchJr can't meet (like keeping score). When you switch, bridge it: “Remember the yellow start blocks? In Scratch they're Events, and the blocks stack like a tower.” Then start with Lesson 1.3's moving, talking cat.

🎯 Quick Check

Question 1: How are blocks arranged in a ScratchJr script?

Question 2: You want the pet to react when your child touches it on the screen. Which block starts the script?

Question 3: What's the best length for a ScratchJr session with a 5-year-old?

📓 Learning Journal

Take five minutes to write it down

A notebook or a sticky note on the fridge works. Your notes will help you plan the next session.

  1. Key concepts: How is a ScratchJr row like a Scratch stack, and how is it different?
  2. What clicked: Did counting grid squares or hearing a recorded voice make a coding idea feel simpler?
  3. Questions & confusion: What tripped you up (the mismatched colors, pages, the microphone)? Check it before your child sits down.
  4. Ideas to try: Jot down one tiny story your child could turn into a two-page project.
  5. Progress & feelings: How did it feel to keep your hands in your lap, and what made your child laugh?

💡 Teach It tip: Young kids can journal too. Have them draw their pet and what it did, and write their words underneath. Months later, those drawings show how they grew.

Summary

🎓 Key Takeaways

  • ScratchJr is a free tablet app for ages 5–7 with picture blocks, so no reading is needed.
  • Blocks snap into a horizontal row read left to right, in six colors: yellow Triggering, blue Motion, purple Looks, green Sound, orange Control, red End.
  • Projects have up to four pages, turned with Go to Page, and stay on the device.
  • Coach in 10–15-minute sessions: story first, you read, they tap, lots of silly sounds.
  • Move up to Scratch around 7–8, when reading is comfortable and they want more.

🏅 What You've Accomplished

  • Built a tap-to-talk pet with a recorded sound
  • Made a two-page story with Go to Page
  • Planned a coaching style for a very young child

📋 Before the Next Lesson

  • Install ScratchJr on a tablet your child can use
  • Do one 10-minute “My Pet Says Hi” session together
  • Write your journal entry

❓ Common Questions at This Stage

My child is 4. Is that too young for ScratchJr?

Not if you're sitting together. Keep it very short and focus on tapping and recording sounds. If it isn't fun yet, try again in a few months.

We don't have a tablet. Can we use ScratchJr on a laptop?

ScratchJr is built for tablets and Chromebooks. On a regular computer, use full Scratch and follow the Ages 5–7 tips in each lesson: you read, they choose and press the green flag.

My 6-year-old wants to use Scratch like an older sibling. Should I say no?

No need. Let them try; if it frustrates them, offer ScratchJr as “your own coding app.” The concepts are the same, so time in either counts.

🔭 Looking Ahead

In the course finale, Lesson 5.4: What Comes After Scratch, you'll map the road ahead: going deeper in Scratch, coding real-world gadgets, and the bridge from blocks to typed languages like Python.

💛 Encouragement for the Journey

You learned to make coding fit a child who can't even read yet. That flexibility is the heart of great teaching, and your little one is lucky to have you as their first coding buddy.

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