We get a lot of questions about what robots and other materials are the best for helping kids to code.
Robot Mouse is our favorite coding toy for Kindergartners, and it can be used in increasingly difficult challenges for lower elementary students.
Computer programming is all about giving the computer clear instructions. Using Robot Mouse, students program instructions using the buttons on Robot Mouse’s back.
Pros:
It’s a great way for young kids to learn coding concepts without screen time.
The mouse actually moves! Sometimes Robot Turtles and other board games aren’t as exciting to students because they don’t move.
It comes with a set of tiles you can configure into mazes of increasing difficulty.
There aren't too many small pieces. The most critical part (the robot) is big and easy for small hands to manipulate.
It’s not too expensive ($37.78 on Amazon).
Cons:
If you want to do anything beyond mazes, you need to create your own supplementary materials. The makers of BeeBot, its similar competitor, has a variety of mats you can use (e.g., Alphabet grid), so that students can program word mazes and other awesome challenges.
I’ve purchased this as a present for basically every 4-6 year-old that I know. Kids like experimenting with the mouse. Some of our students really love “pranking” people by programming the mouse to sneak up on people!
Note: We buy all our stuff on Amazon. If you buy something off one of our links, we get credit from Amazon to buy more stuff for our classrooms! We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.