Looking for a great holiday gift for your child? Check out these amazing robots! We are Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase a product from this page, we will receive a percentage of the same from Amazon, at no cost to you.
Coding Critters
The original Coding Critters are recommended for ages 4 and up. We use them for ages 3-6. They come with a storybook, a mini-pet, and several accessories. You can choose from a rabbit, dog, cat, or stegosaurus.
Coding Critters MagiCoders
These robots are recommended for ages 4+, but we think they would be great for ages 3-6. They include a magic wand, which you use for programming the magical robots, plus a storybook and several fun accessories. You can choose from a unicorn or dragon. These robots are pretty popular with kids in our Little Learners Lab.
Coding Critters Go Pets
Go Pets are very simple robots that follow black lines. They’re very cute and come with some basic coding challenges in a storybook, plus several puzzle cards you can use to make a path for them to follow. The manufacturer recommends them for ages 4-7, but we think they are better for ages 3-5. You can choose from a fox, narwhal, or chameleon.
Code & Go Robot Mouse
This is a very simple robot “mouse” recommended for ages 4+, but we use it for ages 3-6. Kids push buttons on the back of the mouse to program it to go in different directions, turn, and make noises.
Makeblock mTiny
mTiny is a cute little robot. It’s meant for ages 4+ and we agree with that age range. It comes with a controller that can be used with instruction cards to code it, or with the joystick to control it. The robot also comes with a bunch of themed map blocks and a storybook.
Botley 2.0
We have used Botley 1.0 in many of our camps for kids in grades K-2, and this improved version is even better. Kids control Botley with a remote controller that they use to send commands (basic coding) such as move forward, turn right, and turn left. The robot comes with some basic accessories.
Makeblock mBot
We just started using this robot with our grade 3+ kids. It’s a neat little robot that kids can not only code, but they actually have to put it together. It even comes with a nice screwdriver (that’s a HUGE deal for us!). Once it’s assembled, kids can use one of 3 apps (Android and iOS, but not Kindle) to control and/or program the robot. There are extension kits you can also purchase to change the configuration of the robot. We really like this one, and think it’s a great value.
Dash & Dot
These are the OG robots in our robotics program, and we still use them as much as possible. Both robots have great personalities. Dash is mobile, and Dot is not. They’re recommended for ages 6+, and that age is fine for just driving Dash around, but we usually don’t use them until 2nd grade for coding because of the reading required. Kids usually enjoy them through about 5th grade. There are several apps for these robots, and one reason we like them so much is that the apps work on Kindles. You can no longer buy Dot from Amazon but can purchase it directly from the manufacturer. These robots are very well-made. We still have some of the robots we purchased 5+ years ago and used with hundreds of kids!
Cue
Cue is another well-made robot and looks like it might be an older sibling of Dash. It is recommended for ages 10 and we agree with that range. We usually use Cue with our grade 6+ kids. Cue is programmable with multiple languages. If you have an upper elementary child looking for a robot, this is the one we recommend.