Why KIBO is the Best Robot for Kindergarten Students: 3 Key Benefits
Have you been tasked with trying to find the best robot for kindergarten students but are unsure if this is the right age to start teaching coding and sequencing? The truth is, this is actually the perfect time to introduce these concepts! Young children are already practicing sequencing in their everyday routines. For example, when they enter the classroom, they follow a sequence of steps:
- Go to their cubby
- Hang up their coat
- Place their backpack in their cubby
- Find their spot at their desk or table
Isn’t this just like creating a coding sequence? Even at this young age, children can begin to explore STEAM concepts and computational thinking in a fun, engaging, and age-appropriate way.
Developing these foundational skills is essential to prepare kids for the jobs of tomorrow. By introducing computer science, STEM concepts, and computational thinking alongside important soft skills—like collaboration, self-awareness, and confidence—young learners are empowered to create, not just consume technology. This mindset fosters a sense of joy and curiosity, opening up a world of possibilities for these digital natives.
3 Key Benefits to Look for When Introducing STEAM Coding and Robotics
Key Benefit 1: Why KIBO is the Best Robot for Kindergarten Students – Screen-Free Learning Experiences
KIBO offers a screen-free, developmentally appropriate robot kit that allows kindergarteners to see themselves as little engineers, regardless of their gender or socioeconomic background. At this early age, children learn best through hands-on, concrete experiences rather than abstract, on-screen representations. In one study by Dr. Marina Bers, Co-founder and Chief Scientist, found that students using KIBO performed 27% better than the screen-based group on tests measuring computational thinking skills including sequencing, understanding of loops and conditionals, and debugging. As Dr. Bers found, “Students in the tangible KIBO group scored higher across all four computational thinking categories compared to the screen-based programming group” (Pugnali et al., 2017).
KIBO’s block-based coding system transforms abstract coding concepts into tangible, physical actions. This hands-on approach helps young learners grasp programming concepts quickly, naturally, and playfully. With KIBO, children have control over the robot’s movements, sounds, and sensors, giving them the freedom to express their creativity through code.
Related Post: Innovative Ways to Integrate Coding and STEAM with Robotics Curriculum for Kindergarten Students
Key Benefit 2: Why KIBO is the Best Robot for Kindergarten Students – A Research Backed, Proven Solution
KIBO is the result of more than 20 years of early childhood STEM research, led by Dr. Marina Bers, a leading expert on early childhood computer science, and her research team at the DevTech Research Group. Dr. Bers’ extensive research demonstrates specific, powerful, positive learning outcomes for young learners when using KIBO, including:
- Enhanced sequencing skills in early childhood
- Strengthened computational thinking through hands-on tools
- Challenging and counteracting harmful gender-based STEM stereotypes
- Encouraging greater participation from underrepresented groups in STEM fields
The greatest impact of educational interventions occurs when they are made with young learners, which is the reason why Dr. Bers and her team designed KIBO. Her robotics research shows that even the youngest students can grasp complex concepts like sequencing and coding in a fun, hands-on way.
To learn more about how KIBO can teach the fundamentals of programming in an engaging way, watch Dr. Marina Bers’ Tedx Talk – Young programmers – think playgrounds, not playpens, and discover our mission to introduce coding to young children.
Related Post: Robotics in Early Childhood Education – Kindergarten Robotics Develops Computational Thinking Skills
Key 3: Why KIBO is the Best Robot for Kindergarten Students – Playful, Standards-Aligned Curriculum That Sparks Creativity and Collaboration
When paired with a fun, standards-aligned STEAM curriculum, KIBO allows young children to tell stories, create characters, and explore the world around them. Just like the KIBO robot itself, the curriculum and teacher resources are grounded in Dr. Marina Bers’ research on how young children engage with technology.
But KIBO isn’t just about coding. It also fosters social-emotional learning through small-group collaboration, builds persistence through the engineering design process, and connects to students’ interests with cross-curricular lessons.
Here are three simple, sample lessons that introduce coding to kindergarteners:
- I
ntegrating Storytelling with Coding – Consider the patterns found in Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham or Eric Carle’s the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Each page builds upon one another and sequences can easily be found. Start by reading the story in circle time:
- Ask the children what patterns they see and hear
- Have the students draw out their program in a design journal
- Have the students recreate their plan with KIBO’s hands-on programming wooden coding blocks
- Scan the blocks in their sequence
- Another student attaches their “Very Hungry Caterpillar” to the top of KIBO. And voila! The book comes alive!
- Integra
ting Math Concepts with Coding – Math problems, patterns, and sequences can be playfully taught through coding and robotics. When learning about groupings of numbers or shapes:
- Consider a number line…how many forwards does it take to the end. And if your robot rolls back, what is the answer?
- Or ask the children to develop a sequence where KIBO maneuvers to the correct answers found along the floor. They scan their sequenced blocks and navigate KIBO to the answer
Integrating Coding with the Natural World – Let’s integrate coding with weather! Ask the children to recreate different weather patterns:
- Is it a windy day? The kids can develop a sequence where their robot continually shakes, with their decorated robot’s streamers flying in the breeze.
- Is it a rainy day? They can record their voice in the robot’s sound recorder to play back rain sounds – drip drip drip! And decorate the whiteboard with big rain drops.
- Is a tornado coming? Kids can have their bot roll around the floor spinning spinning spinning!
