Getting a jumpstart on your child’s coding education can be highly beneficial in the future. Fisher-Price is taking this a step further with its new Code-a-Pillar. Consider a recent article for Consumer Affairs titled “Fisher-Price wants to teach preschoolers how to code.”
Sarah D. Young of Consumer Affairs writes, “Though they may not yet be potty-trained, you can now teach preschoolers how to code. Fisher-Price’s new caterpillar bot — the ‘Code-a-Pillar’ — teaches kids the basics of coding, such as sequencing and programming. Part of the company’s Think & Learn series, which seeks to inspire critical thinking and problem solving skills in three to eight-year-olds, the Code-a-Pillar is branded as a toy for the 2035 coders. If the idea behind connected pieces which form instructions proves thrilling to your child, then who knows: you could have a potential future coder under your roof… The concept is simple enough. The caterpillar’s body features eight segments that snap together linearly, all labeled with different colors and symbols. Each segment has a different function: turn left, turn right, make a funny noise. Once the segments are connected and the start button is pressed, the smiling caterpillar will take the route that it was programmed to by the child. The caterpillar ‘code’ can be as long as you want, too, thanks to the availability of add-on segments. Fisher-Price claims the toy builds the basic skills needed to understand more complex programming languages later in life. The Code-a-Pillar also connects to a free companion app, which proposes additional programming challenges for kids to solve as they get older.”
Mashable also takes a look at the Code-a-Pillar in a recent article titled “Adorable Code-a-Pillar teaches 3-year-olds the basics of coding.” Samantha Murphy Kelly of Mashable writes, “An adorable new Fisher-Price caterpillar toy aims to teach kids the basics of coding. The company is showing off at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show the Think & Learn Code-a-Pillar, a toy that teaches kids ages 3 to 8 problem solving and sequencing. By directing the caterpillar to move in a certain pattern, it reinforces skills associated with writing code. The toy comes with eight segments which feature a unique command icon on its surface. Each command programs the Code-a-Pillar to move in a certain way (forward, left, right, spin, make a noise and so on). The segments hook together via a USB port and the kids can select the order.”
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