Scratch Coding (Gr 1 to Gr 7): From School Dismissal to 3:45 PM
Coding sessions: Prepare your kid to take advantage of the digital age – Not just a consumer of it! This coding sessions are a strictly play-based approach to introducing coding to young students using a variety of fun themes. By the end of this coding session, students will have gained knowledge in writing long structured code sets in block-based programming (Scratch), and have enhanced their problem-solving skills and creativity.
- Introduces coding concepts through interactive, fun learning.
- Teaches basic coding skills, such as sequencing, loops, and conditionals.
- Encourages creativity and problem-solving.
This term 1 sessions (Oct to Dec 2023) build a foundation of coding and problem-solving skills. In Term 2 (Jan 2024 onward) students age 9 to 13 has the option to transition to L1 coding in the evening batch (or continue this batch). Evening batch (starting 5/6 pm) will be advanced coding session for students of that age. Students age 6 to 8 continue learning in this.
L0 Robotics: (Age 6 to 9) : From 3:45 pm to 5:00 pm
Level 0 is our ‘CURIOSITY BUILDING’ phase for next generation innovators! A strictly play based approach to introducing Robotics and Coding to elementary school students. No emphasized learning objectives, instead learning is passively obtained by playing hands on with the robots. No Jargons, No complex programming stuff. Only stories that involve robots, playing with robots, and having fun. Our Level 0 course is designed in this way, so kids won’t feel like they are in another school lesson. Instead, will feel like they are playing, while learning passively through interacting with the robots and exercise themes (stories).
Key points on Stories (Exercise Themes):
- Each day students are immersed into a story that involves a real robot.
- Most stories involve students completing a “mission”. For example, saving a robot puppy from a monster.
- Various props like colorful mats, mazes, obstacles, walls, and characters are used to help bring the story alive.
- To complete the mission or achieve the goal, students have to program a real physical robot, or build it, or both.
The advantage of physical robotics, over learning traditional STEM concepts on the computer or on paper, is that students get to see their code in action in real time right away. This gives a better understanding on the effect of coding and gives a greater level of satisfaction than one just in front of a screen.
We have a collection of various STEM Robots source from around the world. So, students get to use a different robot each month, keeping their interest and curiosity at a high. Give them exposure a wide variety of robots at a very young age.
Learning Outcome after L0 Course Completion:
- Creativity and Innovation: Comes from hands-on STEM experience, exploring different robot designs, coming up with own mods, and from using the robot’s functionalities to complete objectives (missions).
- Coding: As they complete objectives by coding robots.
- Fine Motor Skills: As they build robots from kits etc.
- Presentation and Communication: Participants will practice presenting their robot creations, explaining the design to rest of the group.
Kids can choose to do Level 0 more than once and it will remain engaging because we are always using new robotic kits. Also as kids become more comfortable and take a deeper dive into our L0 kits, they can gain an overall better understanding of the robots, and transition into Level 1 better. Note: All other levels (L1/L2) are done only once.
General Notes:
- Pre-Requisites for Level 0 classes: Kids should be able to take instruction and be able to read basic English words and sentences before attending the class. No other pre-requisites.
- Kids who are special need, who are on the spectrum etc. please do not join the class. We are offering Parent Participation Classes at our center (17720 57 Ave Surrey). Please join those instead.
- There will be non-screen (ie; no laptops/tabs etc. to rest their eyes) breaks in during the program and students play games like Jenga & Uno to manage long stay. Please pack some extra snacks if they are staying from school dismissal to 5:30 pm.
- Parents can see lot of pictures and videos of student’s classes in our facebook group (invitation only for parents) to see progression and so parents can ask better questions to their kids.
What is new in 2023-2024?
1. We are moving to a semester system to make our programs more affordable.
- Term 1: Oct 2023 to Dec 2023
- Term 2: Jan 2024 to Mar 2024
- Term 3: Apr 2024 to Jun 2024
2. Payment/Cancellation/Refund policy: Payment is done while registering for the first term and first day of each term automatically.
- TWO PAYMENT OPTIONS: PER TERM OR MONTHLY.
- PER TERM: Total three (3) payments plus registration fee. First term is payed along with registration. Jan 1st 2024 and April 1st 2024 for 2nd and 3rd terms respectively. ie; 1 payment for each of the three terms. To cancel for any reason before the next term, there is a two-week notice required. (Ex: email us at info@cloverdalerobotics.ca by March 15,2024 to cancel by end of March 2024).
- MONTHLY : Total three (9) payments. (8 payments + Initial registration as first month).
- To cancel for any reason, there is a two-week notice before the end of the month/term required. (Ex: email us at info@cloverdalerobotics.ca by March 15,2024 to cancel by end of March 2024).
- All students receive a course completion certificate at the end of the course
3. From September 2023 onward, Cloverdale Robotics prioritize Digital Arts tools for this semester. We do not teach how to draw, art theory, but more so introduce students to tools, and help them with creation techniques, so they are more self-sufficient and can create digital arts on their own. This new course will be rolled out in the Cloverdale Robotics Center only (17720 57 Ave Surrey BC) in September 2023 and as a new Course in schools from Jan 2024.
4. We provide progress reports to parents for each term. Parents can also view pictures and videos of classes, videos of activity done by students in our closed Facebook group.
5. We are including more robot build activities in the course. There are a lot more of hands on ‘robot build’ than previous year.
6. We maintain a student to teacher ratio of 12:1 so all kids can get attention. Teacher Biographies are in our team section.
7. Twenty (20) spots available. First come first served. Registration is open. Reserve your spots early.
8. We have increased the timeframe of many of the Level 0 and Level 1 robotics classes to 1.15 hour or 1:30 hours in order to accommodate more robot build sessions. So the sessions are longer. But this increases total cost of classes too. Parent participation classes and online classes will remain at 1 hour itself.
9. Status: Confirmed (From School board & School approvals received)!
CLASS DAYS:
Term 1: Oct 2023 to Dec 2023 (Current Registration) : Class Days
11 Oct 2023
18 Oct 2023
25 Oct 2023
1 Nov 2023
8 Nov 2023
15 Nov 2023
22 Nov 2023
29 Nov 2023
6 Dec 2023
13 Dec 2023
20 Dec 2023
Term 2: Jan 2024 to Mar 2024 : Class Days
10 Jan 2024
17 Jan 2024
24 Jan 2024
31 Jan 2024
7 Feb 2024
14 Feb 2024
21 Feb 2024
28 Feb 2024
6 Mar 2024
13 Mar 2024
Term 3: Apr 2024 to Jun 2024 : Class Days
3 Apr 2024
10 Apr 2024
17 Apr 2024
24 Apr 2024 (continued)
General Question:
Robotics Vs Coding Vs Digital Arts: Which course should take?
In a general sense, Robotics always involve physical objects and coding on them. There are mechanical, electronics, and coding portions in robotics. So it is a combination of multiple disciplines. Robotics is for kids who like build things, like to work on hands on things but also to code a bit etc. An engineering, experimental mindset is required. They should also have the GRIT to continue failure after failure.
Coding is for kids who are comfortable in coding. They could sit and code for long hours in front of a computer and not get bored with it.
Digital Arts is for imaginative kids. Creative types. Period. Our course does not teach them ‘arts’ we just introduce a lot of new digital tools that they can express their imagination using the new world tools. It is ideal for kids who already take art lessons somewhere else, or newbies who just to just try it out.
For more specific questions, please check our FAQ section.
