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I'm considering the same with my kids but not done it yet yet. Scratch seems like a pretty good start. If they prefer seeing something more physical rather than

by Fred27 8y ago

I'm considering the same with my kids but not done it yet yet. Scratch seems like a pretty good start. If they prefer seeing something more physical rather than an animated cat, the BBC Microbit can be programmed to do blinkenlights in the same way.

dunham 8y ago
The LEGO boost robot kit also uses the scratch language if you want something physical and your kid is big on LEGO’s. In addition to scratch, there are a few games like “LEGO fix the factory”, “lightbot jr”, and even “human resource machine” (my five year old can only handle the first few levels though). The dragon box apps are also fun if you want to give your kid exposure to algebra and geometry concepts. For pre-5, the new Kahn app looks nice. (Our kid already knew the material by the time it came out, but still has fun with it.)
- Fred27 8y ago
  Lego Boost or WeDo is on the shortlist for an upcoming birthday present. Boost looks more "fun" but fairly single-purpose. e.g. Some of the command are specific to one model. It seems a bit like the more modern Lego sets where pieces are complex. Cooler models but less flexibility. WeDo is intended for schools and looks better in that there are simpler block and a more free-form goal to it. It reminds me more of the sets we probably had when we were kids - i.e. just bricks and your imagination.
  - dunham 8y ago
    Out of the box the Boost runs you through the base models with some build-specific commands. We've been through most of those builds. They also have some bases for building your own creations, and they have completely free-form programming. (Scroll to the right and tap on the swirly looking thing in a window - it's not particularly discoverable, but kids are surprisingly good at exploring all the corners of UIs.) They've also added some builds that combine other modern lego sets with boost. I wasn't aware of WeDo, or I would have taken a look at it. I was looking for something to motorize legos and to expose my five year old to programming (if he was interested) and mindstorms seemed too complex/expensive. It looks like boost may have more motors than WeDo (and the motors can be used as rotation sensors), 800 lego parts, some pre-designed builds (he's enjoyed the robot, cat, and truck thing). However, the "control hub" is a bit bigger on Boost (it contains two of the motors), which effects the size of things you build with it. I probably would have still chosen Boost if I'd known about WeDo.

by Fred27 8y ago

dunham 8y ago

The LEGO boost robot kit also uses the scratch language if you want something physical and your kid is big on LEGO’s. In addition to scratch, there are a few games like “LEGO fix the factory”, “lightbot jr”, and even “human resource machine” (my five year old can only handle the first few levels though). The dragon box apps are also fun if you want to give your kid exposure to algebra and geometry concepts. For pre-5, the new Kahn app looks nice. (Our kid already knew the material by the time it came out, but still has fun with it.)

Fred27 8y ago
Lego Boost or WeDo is on the shortlist for an upcoming birthday present. Boost looks more "fun" but fairly single-purpose. e.g. Some of the command are specific to one model. It seems a bit like the more modern Lego sets where pieces are complex. Cooler models but less flexibility. WeDo is intended for schools and looks better in that there are simpler block and a more free-form goal to it. It reminds me more of the sets we probably had when we were kids - i.e. just bricks and your imagination.
- dunham 8y ago
  Out of the box the Boost runs you through the base models with some build-specific commands. We've been through most of those builds. They also have some bases for building your own creations, and they have completely free-form programming. (Scroll to the right and tap on the swirly looking thing in a window - it's not particularly discoverable, but kids are surprisingly good at exploring all the corners of UIs.) They've also added some builds that combine other modern lego sets with boost. I wasn't aware of WeDo, or I would have taken a look at it. I was looking for something to motorize legos and to expose my five year old to programming (if he was interested) and mindstorms seemed too complex/expensive. It looks like boost may have more motors than WeDo (and the motors can be used as rotation sensors), 800 lego parts, some pre-designed builds (he's enjoyed the robot, cat, and truck thing). However, the "control hub" is a bit bigger on Boost (it contains two of the motors), which effects the size of things you build with it. I probably would have still chosen Boost if I'd known about WeDo.