COURSE CURRICULUM
WHEN:
- Thursdays (December 8 to March 13th)
- 3:45 pm – 4:45 pm ( Ages 5–8)
WHERE:
274 Garfield Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215
🎯 Course Overview
This hands-on course invites young creators to explore the world of making, tinkering, and early coding.
Through playful experiments, students learn how logic, creativity, and problem-solving connect — whether they’re building a cardboard machine, programming a robot, or inventing a story sequence.
💡 Focus: thinking like a maker — trying, testing, fixing, and celebrating each small success.
🧩 Core Pillars
🧠 Logic before syntax: Kids grasp cause and effect before typing code.
✋ Tactile learning: Building and storytelling make abstract ideas real.
🔁 Iterative thinking: Try → fail → fix → celebrate.
📚 Session Breakdown
1️⃣ What Is a Maker?
🧠 Theme: Curiosity & Exploration
Students create imaginary “machines” from craft materials and learn how every idea starts with a question.
➡️ Concept: Cause & Effect
2️⃣ Patterns Everywhere
🎵 Theme: Recognizing repetition and order
Through music, movement, and design, students recognize repetition — the roots of coding loops.
➡️ Concept: Loops
3️⃣ Sequencing Stories
📖 Theme: Order of actions matters
Children arrange story steps and play “Robot Games” to practice step-by-step logic.
➡️ Concept: Sequencing
4️⃣ Debug the Robot
🪛 Theme: Problem-solving through play
Mistakes become fun as kids fix coding errors in silly robot challenges.
➡️ Concept: Debugging
5️⃣ Building Simple Machines
⚙️ Theme: Engineering thinking
Students use levers, wheels, and pulleys to build inventions and learn how machines “follow rules.”
➡️ Concept: Engineering Logic
6️⃣ Coding Comes Alive
💻 Theme: Digital introduction
Students use ScratchJr or Bee-Bot to move robots and characters — connecting the physical and digital worlds.
➡️ Concept: Commands & Directions
7️⃣ Loops in Motion
🔄 Theme: Repetition
Movement, music, and mechanics meet in this exploration of efficiency and pattern-based thinking.
➡️ Concept: Loops & Automation
8️⃣ If…Then Logic
🌤️ Theme: Conditional thinking
Kids play “If it’s raining, open your umbrella!” and create smart projects that respond to touch or sound.
➡️ Concept: Conditional Logic
9️⃣ Build a Mini Robot
🤖 Theme: Integration
Teams design, code, and test robots using beginner kits like LEGO Spike or Edison.
➡️ Concept: Integration & Iteration
🔟 Maker Showcase
🎉 Theme: Creativity & Sharing
Students present their favorite creations and earn a special Inventor Badge.
➡️ Concept: Reflection & Communication
🧰 Materials Checklist
🧱 LEGO bricks, cardboard, craft sticks, rubber bands
🐝 Bee-Bot or ScratchJr app
🔷 Pattern blocks or beads
⬆️ Printable coding arrows & command cards
✏️ Markers, scissors, tape, glue
💡 Optional: LEGO Spike, Dash, or Edison robotics kits
👨👩👧 Parent Takeaway
By the end of this course, children understand how ideas turn into creations — both physical and digital.
They develop STEM thinking, teamwork, and resilience, gaining the confidence to make things work in the real world.
