Screen-Free Coding for Kids: Thames & Kosmos Product Review

In our technology age, the demand for coding and programming skills continues to increase. Our kids will not all end up in careers where they need this knowledge, but any young scholar will benefit from the critical thinking and problem-solving that goes into working with computers. Coding is also a lot of fun and can bring a fresh new dimension to any curriculum.

I have been interested in adding coding to our homeschool schedule for a while but was hesitant about where to start. There are several apps available to introduce kids to coding, but I did not want to introduce another screen time activity. After their daily dose of What’s in the Bible? and some Meet the Phonics, we’ve ready to turn off the screens and play!

There are many screen-free options to introduce coding. Most are essentially card games that teach step-by-step sequences. These fun activities cover the basic concepts and terminology, but they lack one very real problem that programmers face when working with actual computers. When a child creates a code with cards and then attempts to follow it, it’s too easy to stray from the code. If a child is working his own code and encounters an error, he may correct it without even realizing it. He may also make an error when reading the code and think a perfectly good code is incorrect. A computer will never do this; it will run the exact code the programming gives every time. De-bugging the code — discovering and correcting errors — is a critical programming skill and must be included in any serious attempt to teach kids how to work with computers.

We needed a compromise — something that incorporated an actual working computer while still giving my kids the screen-free time I was looking for. Then along came Sammy, the perfect solution! This little peanut butter and jelly sandwich (allergy safe, of course!) is actually a robot that your kids both build and program. The child writes programs with code cards which the robot reads by driving over them and scanning them with an optical sensor. No tablet, phone, or computer involved. Then it cunningly executes exactly what its program tells it to do, including movement, sound, lights, and interactions with other objects all built by your resident future robotic engineers.

What We Love About This Product

• It teaches the basics of software and hardware. My kids’ LEGO experience has given them all the prep they need to build the robots and their “friends” in this kit, which includes using gears, axles, and motors. They have also discovered that both the code and the machines sometimes require trouble-shooting if a scenario doesn’t play out as excepted. My younger son especially loves building the robots and other simple machines and experimenting with how they interact.
• It includes everything you need to get coding with your kids — no prior experience or knowledge necessary. They literally provide directions for how to install the batteries, so as a parent or teacher, you can learn right alongside your kids.
• The manual includes six different story lines with building instructions and step-by-step coding challenges. The various scenarios and characters keep our kids coming back to see what new ideas will pop up with each lesson.

• The materials included extend into advanced coding concepts, such as “if/else” scenarios and subroutines, making this a serious course in understanding how computers work and providing a foundation for many different careers in computer science and information technology.
• This little robot has an incredible range of commands, characters, and scenarios. Each chapter ends by challenging your young coder to create a custom program in order to accomplish certain tasks. The open-ended format encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and boundless creativity.
• The challenge pack available adds eight new robots your child can program to perform a wide variety of tasks.

Check out our YouTube below for a step-by-step demo from my little coders, and post your questions or recommendations in the comments below!