Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set, Screen-Free Early Coding Toy for Kids, Interactive STEM Coding Pet,Back to School,Ages 4+,83 Pieces

We received this Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set for free from Chatterbox to play with and review. I showed my 4 year old son and 8 year old twin daughters an ad for the toy and they were very excited to try it. When the packaged arrived we tore it open, eager to get started, but were disappointed to learn that we needed 3 AAA batteries to get started. It may be helpful for the manufacturers to print that on the box so if you are buying this as a gift you can be sure to include the batteries so it can be played with right away.Once we got the batteries in the robot mouse we began to assemble the tiles to make a surface for the mouse to move on. My 8 year old did this easily, choosing to make a square and using math to figure out that with 16 tiles she could make a 4X4 square, which made me happy to see she was already learning! My 4 year old, on the other hand, needed assistance to connect the tiles because the sides have either male or female connections so they have to be assembled correctly. I can see why the box says age 5 and up!Once we got the tiles assembled, we looked at the activity cards, which give suggestions for mazes to build, from simple to more difficult. We started with number one and assembled the maze. Inserting the maze walls was easy, and we used the tip in the instructions to make sure the wide edge of the cheese wedge was facing out so Colby, the robot mouse, could find it easily. Then we decided which moves the mouse would need to make and selected the coding cards. Colby has arrows to push that tell him which direction to go, an action button that you can add in for extra fun, a go button for when you've put in all the steps, and a clear button in case you want to start over. The clear button is important, especially with the long coding sequences, so you can start over if you make a mistake. That alleviated a lot of frustration. We were excited when we coded the first maze run and it worked!I think this toy is great. It's easy to use, it teaches important skills, it builds on simple activities and gradually gets more complex which, as an educator, I know is the correct way to build skills. I like the versatility of it, as well. Several configurations can be made with the tiles and maze walls, or the mouse can be programmed to go across the floor in a more free form way. It even has a separate setting for that. It's great for a variety of ages and teaches important skills that kids will definitely need in this modern world. It's very open-ended and allows for creativity, and works for a range of ages and skills. It was even fun for me, the mom, so it's a great family activity!

Just bought my 2nd and 3rd sets after having originally bought my first Code N Go mouse in 2017. That set no longer works as the batteries corroded and the mouse no longer works. I love that each square is one push of a button. Works great for reinforcing one to one correspondence, problem solving and a fun way to introduce littles to the wonderful world of STEM and coding!

It has everything it said. My kid used one at school but just one day, that was in July, it became a Christmas gift. It follow orders as it says. The box has examples of mazes / labyrinths so my kid likes to replicate them and then he makes his own mazes and sometimes he just make random moves for fun.My 2 years old also wants to use it but she is learning how it works but she enjoys it. but be careful, they are not so kind with toys at that age and may damage it.In my opinion this is a 4+ years old toy. Because they enjoy understand how it works and how it follow orders. But 3 years old and below just enjoy the mouse is moving, they don't care much about solving mazes. For a 3 years old and below I would get a remote controlled mouse.

This is a great game, and it really is a good introduction not only to programming, but to logic (and math) -- to the idea of algorithms in general. It also teaches kids the idea of "following the rules" and "what a mouse can and cannot understand" -- the kind of commands it takes. For the younger kids, even setting up the board as in the picture, is a challenge in itself, and a very useful challenge in maps/spacial orientation at that.The mouse itself is very cute; the commands are easy to implement.I did take one star off for a couple of minor annoyances:-- the mouse doesn't always precisely execute each turn, which means it may end up going off course. It's not so bad as to affect the algorithm unless you have many-many moves, but it means the mouse can run into the purple walls when there's a tight turn.-- whenever the mouse finds "cheese", it stops executing instructions, even if it had a further sequence programmed. I can see why they made it this way, but it also makes it impossible to program the "go there, get the cheese and bring it back here" kind of programs.-- kids need to remember to press "erase memory" in order to program a new sequence. I do understand this choice though -- otherwise there would be no memory at all if you think too long between adding new instructions, and that would be even more annoying.On the plus side, this is one of those games where the "puzzles" are not limited by the number of instruction cards. It's very easy for a parent (or for a kid themselves) to make up their own puzzles.Our youngest one just turned 3, and he's still struggling with the concept of programming the mouse, but he likes it and is definitely getting some idea. Our next oldest is 8, and she's already programming (in scratch and trying out python), so this is "too simple" for her, but the mouse is cute enough to keep both her attention and her 11 year old's brother, and make them interested in playing with their younger brother.On a funny note, our youngest was actually quite hesitant about touching the mouse at first (he was a bit scared of it). And even now, when it's running, he makes sure to get out of the way.

My daughter is 5 years old and she loves this. It is so simple to use that she has been able to do it all on her own. I love it because she is working her little mind. It a win win and a must buy for moms with lil ones.

Excelente Producto, a mis hijos les encanta¡¡¡