Fun Tech For Kids for Christmas

So it's been a hot sec since I've posted here on the ol' blog. I took a break because I didn't honestly have anything worth writing about, or let alone reading. This post should have been made about 2 weeks ago, but eh, better late than never! So on to fun tech for kids for Christmas.

Free

Free? Yea... I said it! Need some time to wrap presents? Need your kids to just stop yelling "Mom" 5,000 times? Yea, me too!

• Santa Tracker-This site is chocked full of fun activities that will keep your loved ones busy for hours! https://santatracker.google.com/ From Elf Makers to Santa Selfies, Dance Coding to Gumball Tilt games, you can find it all here. Kids from all ages can decorate, create and play on this site and get some fun out of it. And you can get some peace! Check it out!

• Kodable- Hour of Code is a global movement that happens every December to initiate a spark of fun and coding in all students across the world. This website is geared towards students in the elementary grades. I've seen so many primary classrooms across my district using this one to engage their students in coding. This could even be a fun one you do with your kiddo at home together. https://www.kodable.com/

• Winter Mad Libs- I remember growing up and doing mad libs. Once I learned the basic parts of speech it was really entertaining to see what kind of story I could create with nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. http://www.woojr.com/winter-mad-libs/

• Grinchmas- Whoo doesn't love the Grinch? (See what I did there?!) This site is completely devoted to all things Grinch and Grinchmas. From books to coloring pages and fun activities, your kids could literally have a Grinchy Field Day on this site. https://www.grinchgooddeeds.com/

Tech Toys I recommend for Holiday Gifts

1. Osmo- If you have a child about the age of 4-8, you should hop on the Osmo train. https://www.playosmo.com/en/ From numbers and letters to tangram shape building and coding, your child can experience so much with these hands on tech games. Yes I said hands on! Kids manipulate tiles and it interacts with the iPad or even iPhone. My 6 year old loves his and we continue to add sets to our kit. We started with a Genius Kit and I've since added Coding Awbie, Coding Jam, and he will be getting the Pizza Co. kit from Santa this year. He also loves the Hot Wheels Mind Racers kit that he plays with dad! Check it out!

2. Code and Go Mouse Activity Set- This fun codeable mouse is a great starter kit to coding for any early elementary student. The kit (Cheapest on Amazon) created by Learning Resources allows students to code a mouse on an activity mat. It comes with challenge/activity cards and your child must create the "maze" on the card and code the mouse according to the challenge. This really steps up problem solving and creative thinking in your student. Recommended ages 4 and up. Children can even create their own challenges and test others!

3. Beebots/Bluebots- A step up from the Code and Go Mouse is the Beebot/Bluebot. A beebot is a robot that looks like a small bee. Children put in commands on the top of the bot and it performs the functions. Activity mats can be purchased but you could easily make your own at home on butcher paper, using a clear plastic shower curtain, or even the ground. Whatever works! This could be a fun way to practice sight words at home, routinely code and practice spelling patterns, or even fluency of math facts. A bluebot is a step up from the beebot; as it is bluetooth capable. Not only does it light up, but you could download the free app on your iPad and your child could code the robot from the iPad. Recommended for ages 5 and up. This might be one of my absolute favorites!

4. Ozobots- Yet another coding robot; however it is so tiny, it could fit in your pocket. The Ozobot can be used with a wide age range of kids. I've seen these used as young as first grade all the way up through high school. Students can either use colored markers of red, green, black, and blue to code the robot to perform different commands. Or, older students, could use block coding using the Ozoblockly computer program. This is another fun favorite!

5. ThinkFun Games- Want to challenge your child but let them have fun at the same time? Want them to get off the iPad and try unplugged actitivites? Then these are for you! Thinkfun brings all kinds of awesome problem solving, coding, and computational thinking games that I find kids just love! They have so many games for all ages of learners! I've had some personal practice with a few of these and they will definitely be on the must-have list in our home soon! You can also find these games on Amazon and at some other retailers. https://www.amazon.com/slp/thinkfun-games/ogvmhd42ngqa43m

6. Spheros- Another coding gadget to add to your student's list is the Sphero. Sphero puts out several different types of products, but the Sphero Bolt is the one I've had practice with. Students can code this moving sphero using an iPad and their free app. They can either draw with their finger and have the Sphero create the shape they are drawing or use block coding. I'd recommend this gadget for students in upper elementary or middle school.

So you might be thinking, "Why so many coding gadgets?" Because coding gets a bad wrap! Honestly, somewhere along the way between the late 90's and early 2000's coding became a profession associated with math and "geeky" kids who sit and game on computers. What's so funny is I'm learning daily it really just isn't so. I'm making it my personal goal to erase the stigma that seems to go along with coding and teach anyone who will listen that coding really isn't hard. ANYONE can do it and it can be alot of fun! Also, coding teaches so many wonderful everyday skills that today's work force needs. More jobs will be created in the future that require these 21st century skills and it is our job as parents to prepare our kids for will be expected of them. In addition to that, what I love about all these games is they are not "sit and get" games. They require manipulation of a toy or tool, hands on experience, problem solving, team building, and alot of creativity!

Good luck with your holiday shopping and hopefully if you were "stuck" on something to get your child as a gift, maybe one of the above will just tickle your fancy. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!