Coding for Kids

I was working at a different school than my usual one yesterday, and they had a coding competition for kindergartners and first graders and it was kind of awesome. They had these little guys called Bee-Bots that they use to teach kids problem-solving and basic coding skills. The kids had to quickly program the Bee-Bots to follow a series of commands, rolling around on an actual physical map mat, getting from point A to B to C. Whichever class' team completed the task the fastest was the winner. Up until now, I had only seen coding taught to young kids with ScratchJr, but I like these Bee-Bots better for younger grades.

While I'm one of those people that really thinks kids under five should have limited access to swipe devices because they can affect their brain development, I love the idea of the Bee-Bots and similar physical toys that kids can use to the develop problem-solving skills; they will become the basis of building coding skills in the future. There's nothing passive about using the bots, and they're not on a screen. They're real objects that the kids can program with simple buttons and commands to then physically do things, which can be empowering and exciting. The kids learned how to code that day, and I learned something about teaching them how to code. Win win.