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Online Scratch Class · Portland · Ages 8 to 10

Online Scratch class
for kids in Portland.

A one-month online Scratch class for Portland kids ages 8 to 10. Not another app to consume: four games your child designs, builds, and finishes themselves.

$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 Portland 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 Portland parents look online

The case for doing this from home.

Portland parents tend to be picky about screen time, and rightly so. The distinction worth drawing is that this is not more consumption. Your child spends the month making something: sprites they choose, rules they write, a game they can hand to somebody else. It is closer to building a model than to watching one, and at the end there are four finished things with their name on them.

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
ServingPortland, OR 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 Portland 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 Portland 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 Portland

The practical answers

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

Less than parents expect. The lessons are short, and most of a session is your child building rather than watching. There is no live class to sit through and no streak to keep up. Some weeks they will do more, some less, and the month stretches to fit.

No. It is $99 charged once. There is no subscription, no renewal, and nothing to cancel. If your child wants to continue after the month, that is a separate decision you make later.

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, Portland?

One month, $99, and a child who ends it with four games they made rather than four apps they used. If it does not land, the refund window runs 48 hours past the first call.

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