Thames & Kosmos Kids First Coding & Robotics, Kids Science Kit, Learning Resources for Coding and Physical Engineering, STEM Toys for Science Experiments, Age 4-8

Almost perfect coding for young children
Bought as a present for my young son. This is a really good fun introduction to coding and robotics.To make it work you use cards to ‘code’ the robot. Place them in a card ‘track’ and the robot reads them, then you place the robot on the grid-map, built like a jigsaw of large card squares. The robot calibrates itself before heading off, and continually calibrates itself on the squares, so there’s no veering off course.There are bricks which you use to build different robot characters and its friends. The instructions are also a storybook which keeps children engaged. I downloaded the instructions from the manufacturers website before buying. Batteries last well.Positives:Cards make coding very easy and visual.Different robot designs keep things interesting and fun.The different sounds, movements and lights are cute and fun.The robot continuously checks and stays on course, so this is fine for playing on a table.Really good instructions.Negatives:The cards are too thin. They become disconnected too easily on anything but a hard surface.

Coding concepts without adding to screen time!
Great way to introduce coding concepts to young kids. Many models and tracks to make, woth detailed instructions and guide book to help your little one explore the power of programming. Within minutes my 5yr old was learning how to fix bugs in his programs and even creating his own unique ones. We picked this toy as we wanted him to learn in a more hands on way, rather than pushing buttons on a controller/ipad. This pack also seemed the most comprehensive in its scope e.g. directional movements, lights/sounds, mechanical interactions, for loops, logic statements. The only negative point is that the grey track used to hold the coding cards is paper thin and very flimsy, in contrast to the good build quality of the rest of the set.

First of all, I took a bit of a leap on this one because we had mixed results with another kit from the same company (the candy claw machine). It was VERY complex and it ended up my wife and I had to do the bulk of the construction. I worried this would be similarly challenging, bit it is PERFECT for younger kids (I’d say < 8 but even a 10 year old would probably have a blast). And once the physical construction is done that's where the real fun begins. The kit comes with two different types of cards that fit together like jigsaw pieces: programming cards and map cards. You use the former to "program" the bot and the latter to let it "execute" that program from its memory. It's worth mentioning I've had a number of false starts getting my kids (7 and 5) into the basics of coding. Typically the teaching tools I've found are either non-intuitive to a kid, or if they are the principles they impart are often non-transferable. If the lessons gleaned are entirely internal to the game or tool, what good is that? Within 20 minutes of beginning to lay out their programs, my kids were immediately learning highly transferable lessons about syntax, object orientation, debugging, trimming sequences to make them shorter without sacrificing functionality, etc. And all without the need for a complicated tablet app or any such thing. Everything you need comes with the kit. The construction feels hardy enough to withstand even the most brutish kids and the whole thing has the feel of a toy to them. Both of my kids are on Scratch almost every day (haven't quite made the leap to Python with my oldest), but I dare say this kit more efficiently taught them the most foundational and transferable principles of coding of any tool I've seen yet. Don't be scared of the price tag. Many dozens of lessons and experiments will keep the insights running for quite a while. This thing is worth every penny!My sense is if your kid is in Grade 4+, you can probably just skip straight to a real language. There will be struggles, but they may as well learn a real language at that point. The insights about syntax and debugging and such will just come from experience. But for younger kids this is the best tool I've ever seen for teaching the foundations of coding, bar none.

One must be very careful with the carton pieces as these are subject to damages. Not fully understand how much damage could thes carton take before it will not work properly anylonger.Good luck!