As technology all around us becomes more prevalent and more used, so does the interest in understanding how computers work and in having our children become familiar with coding. One area in which the country faces a worker shortage is computer technicians and though I am not sure what my children will be when they grow up, I know that computer skills will probably come in handy. My son says he wants to make apps when he grows up so I decided to encourage his interest by getting him some exposure to coding through coding games for kids. Learning Resources provided a Learning Resources Code And Go Robot Mouse Activity Set in order to facilitate review.
Learning Resources Code And Go Robot Mouse Activity Set
Learning Resources is a company that as the name suggests, specializes in learning resources toys that foster a love of learning through play. Right now they have a special Learning Minutes Challenge where they share a free printable calendar with a simple and fun learning activity for each day and it gives you a chance to win free learning resources toys too!
Since Learning Resources is well know for toys that help kids have fun while they are learning, I thought would check out their toys that are designed promote STEM and coding. The Learning Resources Code and Go Robot Mouse Activity Set fit bill perfectly as it is full of coding games for kids.
It is designed for ages five and up and it is the winner of the ASTRA Best Toys for Kids 2016 – Learning Play Category. The Learning Resources Code And Go Robot Mouse Activity Set the perfect hands-on introduction to coding concepts and really great for developing problem solving skills.
The Learning Resources STEM Robot Mouse Coding Activity Set includes:
- 30 double-sided coding cards
- 10 double-sided activity cards
- Programmable Robot Mouse
- plastic cheese wedge
- 16 maze grids
- 22 maze walls
- 3 tunnels
- Activity Guide
My son is 10 and I was a little on the fence about whether it would be age appropriate for him and while I would say he is at the top end of it’s age target, he absolutely loved it. The Learning Resources Code And Go Robot Mouse Activity Set appealed to him immediately. The idea of creating mazes and having the robot mouse navigate them was something he was into right away and he opened up the box with extreme enthusiasm. It is actually perfect for kids of a variety of ages because there are a lot of skill sets that can be learned and progressed through so that they can play more complex coding games as they learn.
Coding Games For Kids
Solve A Maze
As kids work on the basics of building a maze and then using the coding cards to create a step-by-step path for Colby, the Programmable Robot Mouse, they are building hands-on coding skills. They learn to program the sequence of steps, and then watch Colby race to find the cheese! Colby lights-up, makes sounds, and features 2 speeds along with colorful buttons to match coding cards for easy programming and sequencing.
Kids can see when they have made an error in programming and they are able to try again to fix it. This can be played over and over again with more and more complex mazes as your child’s problem solving skills and ability to plan ahead improve. Once my son was good at complex mazes he liked to try to do it without the coding cards so that he really had to have a good understanding of how it worked and a good ability to think ahead in a stream of actions.
Activity Card Challenges
The double-sided activity cards can be used a challenges to test their grasp of the coding concepts and ability to follow instructions and see spatial layouts. Can they create the path on the card? Can they program Colby to reach the cheese in one try? Can they do it in under 3 minutes?
When my 12 year old daughter saw what my son was doing she wanted in on the action. They took turns designing mazes and seeing how many tries it would take to get Colby through the maze. The person with the least programming errors wins. Be prepared for rematches.
There are lots of coding games for kids that can be played with the Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set and they are all focused on making coding hands on and letting them see the results of their coding skills in a hands on way. If you are looking for more advanced computer coding language skills for kids, your child may enjoy BitsBox. I will be sharing my daughter’s thoughts on that soon. What I love about the Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set is it is actually fun and they wanted to play without me encouraging them to do it and they were learning and practicing skills all the while!
You can find out more about the set or order it at learningresources.com
Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set Giveaway
Enter for a chance to win one Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set to build hands-on coding skills. (value $59.99)
Giveaway Dates: September 6- September 17, 2017 Midnight CST
How to Enter: Enter through Gleam- just sign into the widget and click the entries you want to complete.
Email entered into the widget will be kept private. Winners announced above in the Gleam widget on September 18, 2017. Winner will be selected randomly. I will notify by email and winner must respond within 4 days or the prize will be forfeited and alternate winner will be chosen.
Do you think your child would enjoy coding games for kids? Share your favorite “Learning Through Play” experiences using the hashtag #learningresources!
If your kids are past this very beginner’s stage of coding and ready to tackle learning to create apps, they you may enjoy computer coding for kids made easy to learn.