Our Year 1/2 classrooms were buzzing with creativity this week as we welcomed the team from Open Zone for a hands-on workshop in the world of digital animation. The children stepped into the roles of directors, animators, and coders, discovering that with a little bit of technology, they can bring almost anything to life!

The session began with the magic of ChatterKids, where the children learned how to give a voice to their favorite teddy bears and drawings. By simply drawing a line for a mouth and recording their own voices, they saw firsthand how digital tools can transform a static image into a talking character.

As their confidence grew, so did their stories. Using Puppet Pals, the children moved into the world of digital puppetry. They experimented with:

• Narrative Sequencing: Learning how to start, develop, and end a story.
• Character Interaction: Managing multiple characters on screen at once.
• Voice Acting: Playing with different tones and speeds to give their puppets personality.

The highlight for many was the introduction to ScratchJr. This wasn’t just about moving pictures; it was the children’s first foray into the world of computational thinking. By snapping together colorful coding blocks, they learned how to “program” their characters to move, jump, and interact.

It was wonderful to see the resilience on display as the children “debugged” their code—figuring out exactly which block was needed to make their character finish a race or perform a dance.

The best part? The creative journey doesn’t have to end at the school gates. The apps used—ChatterKids, Puppet Pals, and ScratchJr—are all free to download on most tablets and iPads.

We encourage you to ask your children to show you what they’ve learned. Whether it’s making a piece of fruit talk or coding a mini-adventure, the skills they practiced today are the building blocks of the digital future.