Description: BeeBot is a programmable robot designed for early years and primary education. Shaped like a bee, it features directional buttons on its back that children can use to input sequences of commands. BeeBot moves in response to these commands, helping children learn about distance, direction, and sequencing in a handson way.

Origin: Italy

Guidance: Introduce BeeBot through fun activities like maze challenges or storytelling adventures. Encourage children to predict BeeBot's movements before executing their programs and to reflect on any unexpected outcomes. Emphasize the importance of clear and precise instructions.

As the world becomes increasingly digital, there is a growing emphasis on introducing children to programming concepts from an early age. Programming toys serve as a playful and interactive way to acquaint children with the fundamentals of coding, logic, and problemsolving. In this guide, we will explore some popular programming toys for early childhood education from around the world.

Description: Cubetto is a screenfree programming toy designed for children aged 3 and up. It consists of a friendly wooden robot, a control board, and colorful coding blocks. Children arrange the blocks on the control board to create sequences of instructions for Cubetto to follow. This tactile approach to programming helps young children develop computational thinking skills without the need for screens or literacy.

Early childhood programming toys from around the world offer engaging and developmentally appropriate ways to introduce young children to computational thinking and coding concepts. By providing handson experiences with these toys, children can develop problemsolving skills, logical reasoning, and creativity that will serve them well in an increasingly digital world.

Guidance: Start with the basic coding challenges provided in the Matatalab kit, then encourage children to design their own activities and challenges. Foster a growth mindset by celebrating mistakes as opportunities for learning and improvement. Encourage perseverance and resilience when faced with coding challenges.

Description: Matatalab is a handson coding robot kit designed to introduce children aged 4 and up to basic programming concepts. It features a robotic car and various command blocks that children can use to create sequences of instructions. Matatalab offers different levels of complexity, allowing children to progress from simple commands to more advanced coding concepts.

Exploring Foreign Early Childhood Programming Toys

Guidance: Encourage children to experiment with different sequences of instructions to see how Cubetto responds. Ask openended questions to prompt critical thinking and problemsolving, such as "What happens if we add a loop to this sequence?" or "How can we make Cubetto reach the treasure using the fewest steps?"

Introduction:

Guidance: Encourage openended exploration with KIBO, allowing children to express their creativity through programming. Provide opportunities for collaborative projects where children can work together to solve problems and create interactive stories or artworks using KIBO's capabilities.

Origin: China

Origin: United Kingdom

Origin: United States

Description: KIBO is a robot kit specifically designed for young children aged 4 to 7. It consists of wooden blocks with barcodes that children can scan to create sequences of commands. By combining different action, condition, and loop blocks, children can program KIBO to perform various tasks, such as moving, singing, or drawing.