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Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/)

common sense media says

Graphical application gives kids a taste of programming.

parents & educators say
See all 14 reviews | Review it

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this site teaches reasoning skills and a basic understanding of programming that will serve kids well no matter what their future occupation.

Educational value: The beauty -- and the drawback -- of Scratch is that it hides the complexity of programming. Some budding computer geeks might be better off opting instead for a beginner's class in a real programming language.  But all kids can benefit from the problem-solving skills Scratch teaches.
Positive messages: The site consists mainly of tutorials and Scratch creations uploaded by users who want to show off their work. Most Scratch creations are crudely drawn (think South Park) but G-rated and occasionally quite clever.
Violence: Some Scratch animations are reminiscent of The Simpson’s Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, with stick figures clobbering one another and spilling copious amounts of red Paintshop “blood.” Still, it's pretty tame stuff compared with your typical 3D shooter.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: Some characters featured on the Scratch site talk smack, such as vowing to “kick butt” or kill each other.
Consumerism: This MIT-sponsored site is ad free.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Scratch

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about the benefits of mastering Scratch, a program that, despite a pretty good interface, will almost certainly overwhelm kids who are not mathematically inclined. Younger children especially will need adult assistance, both in getting started and understanding the program's most complex concepts.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

There are easier ways to create, say, an animated greeting card than to use a program like Scratch. Then again, most greeting card software doesn't attempt to teach programming like Scratch does. With building blocks divided into intuitive categories such as "motion" and "sound," older kids should be able to quickly knock together creations in which characters sing, dance, and talk.

Scratch is certainly easier to pick up than eToys, a similar visual programming app for kids. Where Scratch stumbles is in explaining variables, random numbers, and other mathematical concepts. Unless kids have already learned these in school, they'll need help in understanding and using them in Scratch. One other nit: Too many of the Scratch creations featured on the site load very slowly or not at all.

This review was written by Carla Thornton
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

IHeartGaming
adult
8
 
Scratch is awesome!
Like Starwarsguy said, anything bad for kids you can flag. Then it gets removed. Scratch is awesome!
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Blue-Bunny
teen, 18 years old
7
 
I love this website!
Love this website! It allows kids to free their artistic abilities and show off their creativity to the world. It's easy to figure out. It's not too complicated, like so many other similar software out there, which was a problem for me for sometime. It's also less strict, so I thought that was also a good thing. Other children's websites would automatically ban you for saying "stupid" or even "dumb", but not this. Definitely worth the download!
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bookworm_jz
kid, 13 years old
5
 
Finally! ^^
I absolutely LOVE this place. Not only do you apply problem solving and motor skills, but it's FUN! (plus, you can upload it to the site and have friend enjoy) It is very easy to catch on and is very enjoyable. My user is Creative_Soul. My games aren't the best, but I'm working on it.
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Almanac8
teen, 14 years old
8
 
Great Web Site!
I'm impressed, this Game is AMAZING! Pros and Cons time. Pros: It teaches kids how to programs animations and Games, It's incredible what people can make, some stuff is inappropriate (Like, for example, a pixelated dude getting hit by a car) But you can report it, the file sizes aren't that big, and IT'S FREE!!! Cons: You have to download it (Which is okay, as long as you ask your parents if it's okay) You also have to make an account (Which is okay too, as long as your parents help you) And that's about it. Overall, 5/5.
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Starwarsguy
kid, 10 years old
8
 
awesome website!
This website is really cool! Some kids can post bad stuff like with swears or violence,but you can easily flag them and the people over at MIT can take them off the website...other than that its great!
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MagicRabbit
kid, 12 years old
8
 
Youtube for Kids!
I love scratch- I've been doing it for a year and a half now on my account, MagicRabbit. It's a perfectly fine website as long as kids have discipline. Kids can pretty much type whatever they want, but swear words and crap are filtered out. (Most kids get past it by spelling it with symbols replacing some letters- e.g.: cr@p) As for projects, (basically the games, pictures, and animations) you still can post any content but other users WILL flag it if the Scratch Team doesn't get to it first. It's a lot like a YouTube for kids designed by M.I.T! You can 'love it' and 'favorite' a project as well as add tabs to categorize it. You also can add friends to your friends list (basically the 'subscription' button on youtube) Hop online and go there! scratch.mit.edu
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RainbowRaptor
kid, 12 years old
7
 
LOVE it!
i'm in love with this site! when i first made my account, i coudn't stop coming back even though at first i was a nobody but now i've made so much nice friends! plus it makes programming easy and fun, a 7 year old could do it! but some uploaded content may be innapropriate, it is flagged and removed immediately. btw my username there is flemzy
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solar_system_118
adult
6
 
Scratch: the limits of your imagination dissapear
I love Scratch! My username is agentch0colate. It teaches kids to easy program!
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owetre18
kid, 11 years old
10
 
Stay away from Misc.
If you think this is a good website for little kids, then you're right. This has nothing bad, at all. Unless, well, you get into the Misc. forums. One topic I have read and posted in is about going to 'second base' with their bf/gf (never clearly says what it is)
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kranda2000
kid, 11 years old
9
 
very educationall, and a great challenge
i am on this website, and at first when i got it when i was 10, it was really hard, but now, i'm good.
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TheUltimateRev ...
kid, 10 years old
7
 
Great Website!
I love it! It's really cool, it allows kids to show their creativity to the world.The controls will take some getting used to, but after a while, you'll be making all sorts of stuff.Kids can get past the swears with symbols (ex: cr@p), but they're really mild.Great website, check it out.
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30bla30
teen, 15 years old
10
 
For all ages, but some projects are iffy
I'm a member of this site and the program is just awesome. Although Inappropriate content is flagged eventually, you can still see projects with language, violence, and sexual content beforethey are flagged, but you won't actually see that stuff unless you purposely search it
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jfmlove6
kid, 11 years old
10
 
Beware
This is a great site. However, lots of personal information is shared, like pictures of yourself or your kids and ages and names. I've even seen people on the forums discussing where they live. Make sure to talk with your child about safety.
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Ritas student
kid, 12 years old
6
 
Amazing!
I LOVE Scratch! I use it all the time to code games! It's fine for I'd say bout 7 and up, you can flag projects if they're inappropriate. But, I spend practically all of my free time on that website, and I haven't seen ONE inappropriate project! However, users are subject to cyberbullying, but Scratch lets you flag comments as well as projects AND you can disable commenting. Plus, coding games and such with Scratch increases your motor and problem-solving skills, so it's educational. I'd give it a try! If you are concerned about anything, go on the website WITH your kid(s) at first to make sure it's all safe. Or tell them to tell you if they think anything is inappropriate. I REALLY recommend this! P.S. My username is Ritasstudent (same as on here but with no space).
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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
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