Choose by readiness

Suggested starting points, not age limits or curriculum certification. Use prior experience and a short explanation from the pupil to choose a set. Temple and Aegean are Beta.

1 · Jungle

Ages 6–11 · US grades 1–5

Sequences first, then repeats and decisions. Start with short routes; introduce later challenges when pupils can predict a loop.

Christmas offers seasonal practice with familiar commands.

2 · Lost Temple

Ages 8–14 · US grades 3–8, by chapter

1–8: tools and familiar control flow.
9–22: memory and counters; usually ages 10–12, grades 5–6.
23–40: routines and shared memory; usually ages 11–14, grades 6–8.

Ready when: pupils can trace a repeat and an if/else. Later chapters need confident variable tracing.

3 · Clockwork Aegean

Secondary extension · ages 14+ · US grades 9+

40 lessons across five scenes.
1–8: work orders and inputs.
9–16: local notes and shared records.
17–24: useful returned numbers.

Prepared ages 11–14 / grades 6–8 may try the guided opening with support. It is not a general primary-school recommendation.

Aegean · advanced strand

25–40 · optional advanced extension

25–26 introduce waiting callers. 27–32 explore smaller nested jobs and stopping at zero. 33–40 combine local measurements with returned recursive results. Teachers can stop at 24 or select scenes directly.

Ready when: pupils can explain call/return, keep separate values for separate calls, and show why a process stops.

Check understanding, not just the exit

A successful route shows that a program works. It does not prove the pupil understands a routine or variable. Ask for one small change and an explanation:

All displayed settings (A/B, plus C for zero work and D for one layer) must pass with one unchanged program. Visible learning checks credit useful calls and consumed values; reaching the exit alone does not complete these lessons. These checks support observation, but a short supplied-program exercise still does not prove independent mastery.

Revised lessons and advanced block help are available in English and Greek. Other languages retain translated controls and use English for revised lesson text.

European classroom context

There is no single European grade mapping. These are curriculum comparisons, not claims that a whole set is required at that stage.

Sources and limits · checked 10 September 2026

These recommendations are our teaching judgment from the implemented tasks and the sources below. They have not been validated through classroom trials. Standards describe expectations, not the youngest age at which a child can learn something.

Teaching the restoration adventure

Temple and Aegean retain 40 lessons each. Their adventure cards show completed levels out of 40 alongside the Beta label. In the adventure picker, the blue-domed observatory and bronze armillary identify Clockwork Aegean; Winter remains in the separate Christmas section below the three story adventures. The brush, lantern, crank and mallet perform reusable actions; the measuring cord reads visible numeric measurements. New tool demonstrations appear at Temple 6 and 25 and Aegean 20. Preview their pockets before teaching. Active targets and numbered clues use artwork reserved for the path; decorative objects use separate silhouettes at consistent sizes. Ask pupils to count marked jobs, not scenery.

The illustrated backpack separates tools, shared memory, routine cards and the journey. Parameters and local notes remain in the execution panel. Direct lesson entry supplies equipment without requiring earlier acquisition levels; restarting restores the authored state. Older programs remain downloadable in the backpack when a puzzle changes.

Short story beats connect the Temple machine to an island search and an unknown-destination cliffhanger. They can be replayed or skipped and are not assessment tasks. Keep the existing readiness guidance: both sets remain Beta and Aegean 25–40 remains an optional advanced extension.

Living scenery and attention

Jungle’s original animals return; Temple has living owls, geckos and cistern frogs, while Aegean has gulls, cats, tortoises and fish. These animals are decorative. Giraffes feed beside trees, crocodiles submerge and resurface, and geckos and tortoises pause between short gestures. None of these actions requires waiting or a timed command. Their movement never changes a condition, blocks a tile, supplies a number or counts as a repair. The stone owl remains a statue. Temple’s six chamber floors are surrounded by tropical ferns, roots, moss and leaf litter, with denser growth around ruin edges. Aegean’s five districts use distinct courtyard, harbour, garden, shrine and terrace materials, retaining Mediterranean flowers. Occasional dark floor collapses in Temple 24, 27, 37 and 39 are off-route scenery; they require no jump, tool or repair. Ground planting forms irregular clusters around props and banks. These patches do not mark steps, conditions or repair jobs; trace the playable tiles instead.

At Jungle 8, ask pupils to identify the broken wooden bridge section and its landing tile. The crocodile in the lake adds atmosphere; the jump is determined by the bridge, with no timing or animal interaction. Device reduced motion freezes wildlife in a deliberate idle pose. Existing readiness, age and grade guidance, pacing, level counts and learning checks remain applicable.