Pre-K - 2nd Grade coding resources
Even though your child is young, getting them started playing and exploring with technology and coding is a great way to set the foundation for later in life. If you’re interested in learning more about our thoughts on teaching young kids to code, check out this blog post. Otherwise, scroll down for some great resources!
Robot Turtles
In this board game, students guide turtles through mazes, while learning the coding basics of logic and sequencing in a fun and creative way! Kids write programs with playing cards and parent get to play too!
Osmo - Coding Awbie & Osmo- Starter Kit
Children use tactile blocks to move Awbie through mazes and collect objects. Children interact with actual hand held pieces & an iPad or Fire Tablet, bringing a child's game pieces & actions to life (No WiFi necessary for game play). A hands on way to learn the fundamentals of coding! Make sure you buy the Osmo base along with this toy for the iPad for Fire Tablet 10. You can also get the Osmo Starter Kit, which includes Awbie, the Osmo base and apps for 2 additional games!
Fire Tablet 8 & Fire Tablet 10
Great touchscreen tablets in an 8 or 10 inch screen option. Fire tablets are perfect for kids just being introduced to coding. They work great with Osmo and tons of other games and apps that are perfect for this age group! We have used the Fire Tablet 7 quite a bit historically, and we think the screen is just a bit too small unless all your child is going to do is read and watch videos.
iPad
Another great touchscreen tablet option for this age group! These also work great for Osmo, games and apps for introducing kids to coding! The iPad is definitely a higher quality product than the Fire Tablet 10, but also costs 2-3 times more. For Coder Kids purposes, we have transitioned almost entirely to the cheaper Fire Tablet - but iPads do last longer.
iPad Case
Protect your investment and keep your iPad safe.
It’s never too early to get your child familiar with a laptop - if you think that keyboards are going away in the next 20 years, you don’t understand how coding and software work! If you are considering a laptop for your child, we recommend this 11-inch chromebook. They can practice typing and play online games.
This is a fun toy for children ages 3-6 to help them learn to think like coders! The code-a-pillar twist has a motorized head and 5 permanet segments. Each segment has a dial children can twist to code the code-a-pillar’s actions!
Wonder Workshop Dash Coding Robot
Dash arrives charged and ready to go out of the box. Kids can give Dash Robot voice commands and explore loops, events, conditions, and sequences with the five free apps that come with Dash Robot.
Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding
“Hello Ruby” is a fun guide for children as young as 4 years old. You don’t even need a computer to use the book and learn about coding! It’s half picture book and half activity book. It takes your children along the journey with Ruby, a little girl who goes on a fun adventure. There are also two additional Hello Ruby books which you can find here.
My First Coding Book
This book teaches coding concepts using interactive paper engineering. No computer needed for this book either! It also introduces your kids to coding terms such as algorithms, variables, and flowcharts in easy-to-follow steps.
Lightbot Jr. App
We love this app! It’s a fun way for kids to learn the fundamentals of coding that they can use on a tablet or phone! You can learn more about the Lighbot App in our blogpost, here.
A couple of other websites that we feel like we should mention, because they provide a great foundation for young coders:
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