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Online Scratch Class · Detroit · Ages 8 to 10

Online Scratch class
for kids in Detroit.

A one-month online Scratch class for Detroit kids ages 8 to 10. Your child builds four playable games at home, each a small machine they made work, and Matt reviews every one on video.

$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 Detroit 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 Detroit parents look online

The case for doing this from home.

Detroit is a city where a lot of families have a direct relationship with how things get built, and that instinct transfers to software better than people expect. A game is a machine: parts that have to fit, behaviour you can tune, and a thing that either runs or does not. A child who likes taking things apart usually likes this, and the month ends with four machines they made work.

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
ServingDetroit, MI 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 Detroit 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 Detroit 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 Detroit

The practical answers

Any computer with a web browser and an internet connection. Scratch is free and runs in the browser, so there is nothing to buy or install. A mouse makes dragging blocks easier than a trackpad or tablet.

No. Our in-person locations are in Northern California, so for Detroit families this class is entirely online.

Usually very well. Scratch is dragging and testing rather than reading and writing, so a child who learns by pulling something apart gets to do exactly that. They do need to read well enough to follow a video.

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, Detroit?

If your child likes taking things apart, a game is the next thing to take apart and put back together. Book a call and Matt will hand them the first one.

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