Updated 6/4/24
November of 2020, we officially announced our partnership with TTS, which expanded and grew early learning opportunities for children everywhere. We’re all aware that hands-on learning begins early in a child’s development and that a child naturally learns through exploration and play – both extremely important qualities for STEM-based experiences.
Through our new partnership with TTS, we carry a wide range of STEM and coding offerings for young learners. One of those offerings is the Bee-Bot® Programmable Robot.
Bee-Bot is a programmable floor robot that is a must-have for any early learner. Recommended for pre-K to Grade 2, it’s a fantastic starting point for developing the basic building blocks for programming skills, understanding logical sequences, and problem-solving.
I recently had the opportunity to take Bee-Bot home with me, allowing my soon-to-be four-year-old daughter, Ruby, experience it firsthand. She had a WONDERFUL time!
Easy Implementation
As she opened the box and began exploring her new favorite robot (as she called it 😊), one thing I noticed almost immediately is the ease of use. You can literally get started in seconds! There’s no software to download, so after Bee-Bot is charged, you’re ready to go.
Now with Ruby, I did need to give her a brief rundown of what each button (up, down, left, and right) makes Bee-Bot do. Other than that, she was ready to go with little guidance along the way.
With some older learners, say ages 5-7, they might need even less guidance than she did. Nonetheless, it’s easy to catch on and use.
Who Needs a Screen, Anyway?
As a parent to a young one, I really liked the fact that Bee-Bot doesn’t require a screen in order to operate. Young learners get enough screen time as it is, so for her to be able to play and enjoy the activity on the floor was awesome. It seems that screen-free Bee-Bot allows for more creativity.
For example, there was one time where Ruby was pretending that Bee-Bot was Santa Claus, and it was traveling around on the mat delivering presents to different locations. She was using the buttons to guide Bee-Bot to where it needed to go. As stated before, she did need a little guidance, but she recognized something was wrong when it didn’t go to where she thought it should.
I thought that was cool that she came up with that idea without a screen being involved in the playing!
Cross-Curricular
Looking at Bee-Bot from an educational perspective, it’s a unique tool. One thing I really like about Bee-Bot is that it can be easily implemented for many school subjects. I think it’s becoming more and more important to find solutions that cover many different areas of study.
While some mats are included with Bee-Bot, you can certainly customize mats of your own to cover many topics.
- Cover geography with a mat that displays your state or country (or you can just go with the Bee-Bot® World Map).
- Teach history with a mat that shows different periods in history.
- Create and customize a mat that helps the learners grasp the alphabet more.
There are so many mat options that can encourage cross-curricular concepts. What are some options you can think of for a mat that may work with your students?
Flexible Purchasing Options
We like to provide you with options that best fit your classroom and environment. Take a look at all the Bee-Bot offerings. And, each Bee-Bot comes with a USB cord so that it can be charged easily and quickly.
In addition, the Bee-Bot app can supplement the floor-style programming. The downloadable app is available in both the Google Play and Apple Store. While the app is not meant to substitute the student experience with the Bee-Bot itself, it can be helpful during times when the real thing isn’t an option.
Bee-Bot provides a fun way to teach the basic foundational elements of programming, coding, and logical sequences. Early learners can take hold of their learning and learn at their own pace. When children are playing, they are learning, and I’m so thankful Bee-Bot allows for those opportunities to explore and play.
I know Ruby, my daughter, had a blast. In fact, she told me she would love one of her very own. 😊 Perhaps it could be a gift for your little one as well!
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TOPICS: IN THE CLASSROOM, Elementary School, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Homeschool, Technology, STEM, Trends, Coding, Hands-on Learning
