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Coding has become much more mainstream and accessible to people of all ages recently. Coding is a great activity for kids to learn about logic, problem solving, creatvity and persistence. It can even be the beginning a future career! Because coding has become so popular, the amount of coding toys out there has skyrocketed. In this blog post, we’ll go over our To 10 Coding Toys for Kids, just in time for the holiday season.

We’ll give you a description of each coding toy, why we love it, and the suggested age range for each one.

Top 10 Coding Toys for Kids

Think & Learn Code-a-Pillar

Age Range: 3-6 years old

Code-a-Pillar is a great way to introduce coding and coding concepts to young children. The Code-a-pillar has a motorized head and 8 connectable segments. Each segment codes the Code-a-pillar to do a different action. Kids can put the segments together in endless combinations for the Code-a-Pillar to follow. Each segment lighst up as the action happens, as does the motorized head. There are also fun sound effects to go along with the lights. It comes with a start and finish target so you can code the Code-a-Piillar to avoid obstacles and make it to the finish line. You can buy more segments separately if you lose any, or if you’d just like to have even more options!

This toy is a tactile and fun way to introduce coding concepts like sequencing, critical thinking, logic and problem solving for young kiddos. We think it’s a wonderful option for young coders!

Robot Turtles

Age Range: 4 years old+

Robot Turtles is an awesome screen-free way for kids to learn about coding. Kids guide their turtles through mazes to reach the jewels and learn about sequencing and logic along the way. Kids code their turtles using cards, and they’ll need an adult to help them play. This means you’ll get in on the fun too and get to spend some quality time with your kids! We also love this board game because it is one of the few coding board games geared towards younger kids.

Osmo

Age Range: 5-10 years old

If you’ve read any of our other posts, you may have already seen Osmo listed as a favorite of ours. We’ve included it on this list because it really is one of the best coding toys out there. Kids (and adults) of all ages love it. It works with an iPad or a Kindle Fiire Tablet, so if you don’t have one of those, you’ll need to get one in order to use it. Kids use physical tiles to code Awbie through the game. They can see the consequences of the physical tiles on the screen and they’ll learn about logic and sequencing while they play. The complexity of the game increases as their skills improve, and, as a bonus, there are lots of other games kids can play on Osmo, besides ones to learn about coding. You can check out our full review of Osmo here.

Wonder Workshop Dash

Age Range: 6 years old+

The Wonder Workshop Dash robot comes charged and ready to go straight from the box. It’s a great option if you want to introduce coding to your kids, but you’re not ready for them to be online yet. Kids can give the Dash Robot voice commands, as well as use the free apps to code their robot from computers, tablets or smart phones. Kids can learn all about loops, events, conditionals and sequencing with the Dash robot. You can even add more to the Dash robot with Building Build Brick Extensions!

Lego Boost Creative Tool Box

Age Range: 7-12 years old

This Lego set comes with 847 pieces that kids can build and rebuild into 5 different robots! Kids will need access to a tablet or phone in order to code their robots. Kids can build and code Vernie the Robot to dance and play the Guitar4000 (another robot they can build). They can also build and code Frankie the Cat, the Autobuilder and M.T.R.4 (Multi-Tooled Rover 4). Kids will be able to expand their coding knowledge by including distance, tilt and color sensor technologies into their creations. It offers a lot of different projects and challenges for kids who are ready for some interactive coding experience.

Sphero

Age Range: 8 years old+

Sphero is a robotic ball that uses both block coding and JavaScript. There are a few different types of Spheros to choose from: Sphero Mini, Sphero SPRK+, and Sphero Bolt. The Sphero Mini is a wonderful budget-friendly option. The other two choices cost more, but they are larger and have more coding options. Using the Sphero Edu app, kids can program the ball to move, roll, avoid obstacles, as well as program the gyroscope, accelerometer, motor encoders and LED lights (some the the sensor options are not available on the Sphere Mini). The app has different programs kids can work through, but the are also able to create programs all on their own. To learn more about getting started with Sphero, click here.

Makey Makey

Age Range: 8 years old+

Makey Makey is a super fun way for kids to bring coding and engineering concepts to life, and is especially great for kids who like hands on projects. Kids can create tons of cool projects like turning bananas into touchpads, crafting their own video game controller, making musical circuits with items around the house, and pretty much anything else they can think of! There is no software to install and it works with Mac, Windows, and Chromebook. There are also thousands of guides on the Makey Makey website to help your kid if they get stuck, or need some inspiration!

Snap Circuts Teach Tech Mech 5

Age Range: 10 years old+

This is another coding robot that teaches kids about coding and engineering with hands on projects. Once kids make the robot, they can code it to throw, kick, lift, draw and more! The robot is coded by attaching coding butttons to the coding wheel of the robot. One aspect that sets it apart from other robots, is that you don’t need a computer or an app to code the robot. You do it all throught the coding pieces and the coding wheel.

Makeblock mBot Coding Robot Kit

Age Range: 8-12 years old

This is the last coding robot we’re going to include on our list of the top coding toys for kids. We decided to include it because it offers kids a lot of different activities and ways to improve their coding skills. After they build the robot (which takes about an hour and only 1 screw), they can use it as a remote control car with 3 different functions, play programming games, and program with mBot. There are 3 free mBot apps to use with the robot, as well as online tutorials and coding cards included with your purchase. Kids can program mBot with Scratch and Arduino C, so it’s great for beginners and those who are farther along in their coding journey.

imagiCharm

Age Range: 8-14 years old+

imagiCharm is a smart accessory that lets kids code on their smart phones and brings their designs to life on the charm. Designed by female engineers in Sweden to encourage kids to get coding, it’s a small accessory kids can wear on their backpacks, bags or use as a keychain. Kids learn to code in Python using the free imagiCharm mobile app. Kids use the app to program their pixel designs and then they get displayed on their imagiCharm. It’s a creative and fun way to get kids coding in Python.

Conclusion

They’re are a lot of coding toys out there, and we hope our list of the Top 10 Coding Toys for Kids has been a helpful way for you to narrow down the selection. Since Coder Kids started in 2016, we’ve been able to try out tons of different coding toys and activities for kids, and we know what kids like and what toys actually help them learn, as well as which ones grab their attention for only a few minutes and then stay in the corner.

The options we listed above are sure to capture their attention and boost their coding skills. Let us know if the comments if you’ve used any of these toys or if we missed one of your favorites!

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