For grandparents and grandkids
Big projects to make together.
Step-by-step projects for a grandparent and a grandkid to make side by side. Every project here started with a request from my own grandkids: "Can we make that?" No experience needed: every click is explained, and every project has jobs for kids of different ages.
See our first project: Sword MakersHow every project works
Each project is split into short sessions, usually about half an hour, so you can stop while it's still fun. Every session follows the same four steps:
Grown-up gets ready
A short page for you, a day or two before: what to print, what to set up, and who does what.
Read together
What we're making today, and why it works, in words a five-year-old can follow.
Do together
The steps, with pictures, what you should see, and what to do if you don't.
Talk it over
Three easy questions to ask over a snack, so you know what stuck.
Projects
Sword Makers
Design, draw and code a brand-new sword for Minecraft, with its own name, battle cry and special power. Nine short sessions, about 30 minutes each.
Start hereMore projects
The next project could be your grandkid's idea. Tell us what they'd like to make.
Who it's for
Grandparents (and parents) who'd love to make something with the kids, not just watch them play, and who may never have written a line of code. If you can copy a file and follow a recipe, you can do this.
What should we make next?
The first project came from my grandkids asking, "Can we make our own sword?" The next one could come from yours. Ask your grandkids what they'd love to make with you, and send us their idea. The best ones become future books.
The idea box opens soon.