Last month I was busy visiting local schools ready for when Little N starts reception next year. One thing that really stood out was when a headteacher of one of the schools was talking about their use of technology, and how our children would grow up to do jobs that hadn't even been created yet, because technology is moving and developing so quickly. Even now Little N is learning about coding and he is only in nursery!
I sometimes feel like I am way behind when it comes to technology and the things our children learn, but there are lots of wonderful educational toys available nowadays that can help your children learn these skills, even if us parents haven't got a clue! One of the latest is the Cubetto from Primo, which hit the UK last month, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on one to review. It's the award-winning coding toy that children can use to learn computer programming and it's suitable for ages three and up.
Cubetto is a super cute friendly wooden robot which is powered by coding language made up of tgangible blocks, instead of looking at text on a screen. In the box you get the robot, 16 coding blocks, a programmable console and a world map with an activity book. This Montessori-approved toy is perfect for teaching children all about computer programming but without the need to be glued to a screen!
Each colourful block equates to a different action, such as move forward, turn left, turn right and function. Cubetto comes with a programming console and children use the colourful blocks to create a sequence of code to get the robot to go from one place to another. Cubetto also comes with a "world map", a lovely, bright fabric grid, and an activity book to help get started.
Cubetto doesn't need WIFI or anything additional to make it work, other than batteries. It doesn't come with batteries though, and requires six AA batteries in total so that's something to bear in mind. Make sure you are stocked up! Otherwise, it can be used straight out of the box. The activity book has lots of mini adventures and children can work through each one, getting the robot to move from one location to another using a series of code that they have programmed. If they get it wrong, it doesn't matter, as that's all part of the fun of learning!
The boys have loved using Cubetto. Little N uses a similar educational toy at nursery which I have seen on his online journal, but I think Cubetto is more fun because of the use of the map. You can get an Adventure Pack containing four more maps and books which can be bought separately to extend the fun even more! It's aimed at ages three and up, but even J - who only turned two in September - has been having a go at using it. He can't quite make it go from location to location, but he enjoys creating sequences to see what happens. Little N who recently turned four, is much better at getting Cubetto from A to B; at this rate he will be able to code before he can read!
The limited edition playset is available to buy internationally from www.primotoys.com for £159 and an Adventure Pack is available to buy for £36, containing four exciting World Maps and story books.
This looks like so much fun! What an awesome thing to teach the children - and in such a fun way too! x
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