Coding Can Be Fun and Playful - Minecraft Coding Class at Hunter Elementary

GIANT coding classes are a staple and a perfect example of our commitment to teaching kids about STEAM and innovation. These classes give kids the perfect opportunity to tap into their creativity while also learning problem solving and STEM based skills. In addition, instructors find that these classes have a uniquely collaborative energy that many wouldn’t expect from coding.

This year at Hunter Elementary, we introduced a new coding class that embodies all aforementioned qualities, but with an extra exciting foundation…all classes are based in Minecraft!

If you haven’t already heard of Minecraft, it is an incredibly popular “sandbox” style game, meaning that players have the freedom to essentially play and build however they please.

Our Minecraft class at Hunter is tailored for children ages 5 to 8. Participants are encouraged to play as they learn to code. Instructors use an application called Minecraft Education and provide the young coders with specific prompts such as creating your own business in Minecraft, making personalized Minecraft games, creating different themes within the game, and more!

Instructor and coding expert Aaron Toplin says of the class, “They’re super mutually supportive and collaborative, which is cool. Maybe one or two of them had done some coding before the class, but they were all really into the various coding block programs that we used. They turned out to be really adept and really crushing a lot of the coding challenges.”

Toplin also added, “More recently, most of them have been more focused on building projects in Minecraft. So, for example, one kid is building a giant bridge, one kid is building a series of optical illusions, and one kid is building a bunch of towers.”

The possibilities with coding classes are endless, and we are so excited to see what this particular class accomplishes by the end of the year!