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Online Scratch Class · Austin · Ages 8 to 10

Online Scratch class
for kids in Austin.

A one-month online Scratch class for Austin kids ages 8 to 10. Four playable games built at home, each one reviewed on video by the teacher who assigned it.

$99 one time. No subscription, learn from home.

How it works

One call, then they are off.

There is no class to attend and nothing to install. Scratch runs in any browser, so your child in Austin works on their own schedule.

Start with a meet and greet

Your $99 month begins with a meet and greet with Matt. He helps set up your Hackingtons and Scratch accounts and gives your child their first assignment. If your child is not excited after the meeting, you have 48 hours to ask for a full refund, no questions asked.

Lessons that fit your child

Matt sends your child personalized lessons throughout the month, tailored to their age and ability level.

Personalized video reviews

Matt plays each finished game, then sends your child a personalized video review: what worked, and what to try next. Yes, he really plays it.

A weekly email for you

Every week you get a summary of the lessons Matt sent, the games your child built, and the feedback he gave. You stay in the loop without having to sit next to them.

Why Austin parents look online

The case for doing this from home.

Austin has plenty of parents who work in software and a general assumption in the air that kids here will pick up coding somehow. Somehow is doing a lot of work in that sentence. What usually gets a child started is not exposure, it is one adult paying close attention to the first thing they build. That is the whole design of this month: four games, and Matt playing and reviewing each one by name.

Key facts about the Hackingtons Online Scratch Class
Ages8 to 10, no prior coding experience needed
Price$99 USD, charged once. No subscription.
LengthOne month from the meet and greet
FormatSelf-paced at home, plus one live meet and greet
ServingAustin, TX and the surrounding area, online
InstructorMatt Highland, licensed California elementary school teacher, author of Coding for Kids: Scratch
SoftwareScratch, free and browser-based. Nothing to install.
What you needA computer with a web browser and an internet connection
RefundFull refund for 48 hours after the meet and greet

The 1 month curriculum

Four games they can actually play.

Each one is a real, playable program, not an exercise. Your child in Austin can send the link to a grandparent anywhere and it works in their browser.

Game 1

Butterfly Clicker

Click the butterflies and score as many points as you can.

Game 2

Shark Escape

A diver, a shark, and the first game you can lose.

Game 3

Maze Escape

Draw a maze, fill it with enemies, find the way out.

Game 4

Flappy Bird

The one they have played a hundred times, built from nothing.

If your child is more advanced, they can work on more challenging games. More about the curriculum.

A note from Matt

“Wow, I built that.”

I started Hackingtons in 2014 in the Bay Area, and we have taught thousands of kids to code since. The part I care about most is still the first month, the moment a kid sits back and says wow, I built that.

I play every finished game myself and record a video about it, for your child in Austin the same as for a kid in our own classroom. Not an assistant, and not generated. That is the part a video tutorial cannot do.

Matt Highland at his desk with a microphone.

Matt Highland

Co-founder, Hackingtons

  • Licensed California public elementary school teacher
  • Author of Coding for Kids: Scratch
  • Teaching kids to code since 2014

Questions from Austin

The practical answers

No. Our in-person locations are in Northern California. For Austin families this class runs entirely online, which is what it was designed for.

Camps are a week of full days in a group, usually over the summer. This is a month of short self-paced sessions at home with an individual video review of every finished game. It costs $99 once, which makes it a much cheaper way to find out whether your child is actually interested.

Usually not. A club is a group working through the same thing together. Here the lessons are picked for your child specifically, and if they arrive already comfortable in Scratch, Matt starts them further along after the meet and greet.

The meet and greet, every lesson, and Matt’s personal video reviews for thirty days. Charged once when you book. No subscription, no second charge, nothing to cancel. Your month starts on the day of the meet and greet, not the day you pay.

Full refund for 48 hours after the meet and greet, no questions asked. By then you will have met Matt and seen exactly what your child is getting. And if they run out of steam partway through, their account and all the lessons stay open for good.

No experience at all. The first lesson assumes they have never opened Scratch. Eight is the sweet spot: they need to read well enough to follow a video and be comfortable with a mouse, and that is the whole requirement.

Eight more answers, including what you need and what happens after the month, are on the main class page. Questions before booking? Email [email protected].

Ready to meet Matt, Austin?

Austin has no shortage of people who could teach your child to code and no shortage of reasons it never quite happens. $99 and one call is how it starts happening.

Book the meet and greet, $99

Full refund for 48 hours after the meet and greet, no questions asked.

Book the meet and greet, $99