Count with a loop

```
steps = 0
```
Start at 0
The robot wants to count its steps. First it makes a box with 0 inside. Nothing is counted yet. A box used this way is a counter.
set steps to 0
repeat 3 times
add 1 to steps
say steps

Add 1 each turn
Put steps = steps + 1 inside a loop. Each turn adds 1. The loop runs 3 times, so steps ends at 3. say(steps) runs once, after the loop.
1. 10
  start
2. 21
  turn 1
3. 32
  turn 2
4. 43
  turn 3
Watch the box
Write the number after each turn. It goes 0, then 1, 2 and 3. The last number is what the robot says.
set steps to 0
repeat 4 times
move right
add 1 to steps
say steps

The robot counts as it walks
Now the loop has two lines inside. Each turn, the robot moves right and adds 1. It walks 4 squares, so it says 4.
say after the loop
says 3 once
say inside the loop
says 1, 2, 3
Where say goes
Where you put say matters. After the loop, it says one number at the end. Inside the loop, it says a number every turn.

Goal: Your child learns to use a loop to add to a variable, and to tell the number it ends on.

Have your child write the number in the box on paper after each turn of the loop.
Ask: is say inside the loop or after it? How many numbers will it say?
The labs ask your child to predict a count, fix a broken counter, then build one. Ask where each block lives: before, inside or after the loop.

Away from the screen: Act out claps = 0, then repeat 4: clap and add 1. Your child claps and counts out loud, then says the final number.

Coding · Variables and a First Program