http://codinggouter.org and http://twitter.com/codinggouter Ever wanted to find a solid way to share your love for code with your children? We did too. So we launched Coding Goûter: a monthly event where kids and parents play with a variety of programming tools and languages. And eat cakes and candies :-) Coding Goûter is not a class, is not a lesson, and has no teachers: Kids and adults discover and learn together, from each others. We have organized 10 Coding Goûters as of december 2012, most of them with a wide range of kid’s age – 5 to 14 – and constantly slightly more girls than boys. Coding Goûter is a (mostly) monthly event where kids and parents play with a variety of programming tools, algorithmic games and puzzles, development environments, and languages. 'Goûter' is French for a child’s afternoon snack or party, so we eat cakes and candies too! We love code. We do it for pleasure, we do it for money, we do it all the time or just… very occasionnally :-) We are many to have learned to code when we were kids, or teenagers, or later, but in all cases we *enjoyed* it. For some of us it’s now their job! How do we share the marvel and creativity of code with our children? It’s hard. We don’t really have time at home, because there’s always something else to do. And school? Well, it’s mostly not good. At best, there is *some* computer classes. But you know what? Classes are no fun. And it’s probably not even the best way to discover programming (Did you discover drawing in a formal class? I guess not.) Something is missing, a time for kids and parents that feels like a hackathon or a coding retreat, where you can explore, meet, fail, start over. So let’s have fun together! Coding Goûter is not school-oriented, and there's no designated teacher: * When we were young, we learned by copying code, hacking around. We draw from these experiences to recreate an environment where learning happens organically. * Letting the kids give the creative direction allows for surprises and inclusiveness. * Kids demo to others, because it beats points or badges as a reward. * We take our time, a Coding Goûter last more than 3 hours. * We are not our kids’ teachers, so we just forgo the all lets-build-a-curriculum obsession :-)

1. WE WERE SO COOL WHEN
WE WERE YOUNG!
way n
the whe
t hat’srned
w e lea ere kids
w ew

2. As par ents, it’s hard
to find time to share
what code is about
with o ur kids, so we
launched…

4. A monthly event
for kids an d parents to code together.
W ith cakes and candies :-)

5. ( Goûter is french for
a kid party inv olving snacks.
For example, a birthday party
is a «goûte r d’anniversaire» )

6. so we bring
computers and
cakes, and code
for 3 hours

8. An activ ity for the kids
a nd their parents

9. a new kind of
family time,
like going to the
museum

10. a wide range of age,
5 to 14 years old,
and interestingly
constantly slightly
more girls than boys

13. Not a class.
no lessons, no teacher

14. kids can
t hat wayther kids
teach o dults!
or… a

15. and also, we can test and
explore m any different tools
and langa ges, depending on
what the kids want to do

19. Demo is much m ore rewarding
than poi nts and badges

20. os "shows",
w e call the dem r 3 of them
and there is 2 o goûter.
durin g a Coding

25. The creative di rection comes
from the kids

26. because no t every kid want
to do the oh-so classic e
"let’s buil d a shooter gam
with aliens"

30. stay in touch
http:// codinggouter.org
http://twitter.com /codinggouter
juliendorra@ juliendorra.com
… or send me an email!