ScratchJr
ScratchJr teaches coding basics to kids ages 5-7 through visual programming blocks. Snap blocks together to make characters move, dance, sing, and tell stories. No reading required. From MIT and Tufts University - the younger version of Scratch, which millions of older kids use. Completely free, no ads, no data collection. Available on iPad, Android tablets, and Chromebooks.
Your 5-year-old can't read yet, but they can program. ScratchJr uses colorful snap-together blocks instead of text code. Drag a "move right" block, a "jump" block, and a "say hello" block together. Press play. The character does it. That's programming.
Kids create interactive stories, animations, and simple games by arranging blocks that control characters. They can draw their own characters, record their own voices, add backgrounds, and combine everything into a project they made themselves. The pride of "I made this" is the real output.
From MIT Media Lab and Tufts University - the same team behind Scratch, which 100M+ older kids use for coding. ScratchJr is the on-ramp for ages 5-7.
Completely free. No ads. No subscriptions. No data collection. An academic project, not a business.
Available on iPads, Android tablets, and Chromebooks. Not on phones - the interface needs a larger screen.
Compared to GarageBand (music creation, Apple only), ScratchJr is coding while GarageBand is music. Both are creative tools. ScratchJr works cross-platform. GarageBand is Apple-only.
No structured curriculum - kids explore freely. Parents or teachers can guide with the free activity cards on the ScratchJr website, but the app works fine without direction. Some kids will create elaborate stories. Others will make a cat spin in circles for 20 minutes. Both are valid.
When they outgrow ScratchJr (around age 8), they graduate to Scratch - same concept, more powerful, web-based, massive online community.
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