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TERRENCE O'BRIEN:
So I'm going to let

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you in on a little secret.

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Part of the reason I write
about technology for a living

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is because I just couldn't
cut it as a coder.

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Now, it's not that I
regret my career choice.

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I definitely don't.

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But I do regret not learning
the art of programming,

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and it's not because
I want to build

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apps or games or anything.

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It's because there's a lot of
peripheral skills you pick up.

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This is the primary reason I
want my kid to learn to code.

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I don't necessarily
want him to become

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an engineer, though certainly
wouldn't be upset if he did.

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Instead, I see coding as
a great teaching tool.

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It's a way to teach
cause and effect

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and problem-solving skills,
and mastering the logic

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behind simple routines can even
make your kid a better and more

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convincing communicator.

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So obviously, there's
plenty of reason

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to get your kid into coding.

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The next question is, how?

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Well, we've scoured the internet
and a few brick-and-mortar

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stores for some of
the best toys and kits

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to take your kid from curious
toddler to preteen inventor.

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[UPBEAT MUSIC]

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Cubetto is a great
place to start.

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It's screen-free and suitable
for children as young as three.

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It relies on simple color-coded
blocks to perform basic tasks.

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Your child just puts
them in the control board

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in the order they
want, presses a button,

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and Cubetto starts moving about.

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To really make the
most of Cubetto,

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though, you're
probably going to want

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the various adventure packs
that give you worlds to explore

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and stories to tell.

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It's a hands-on, tactile
introduction to loops,

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functions, and algorithms.

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The Kids First Coding & Robotics
kit from Thames & Kosmos

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isn't terribly
different from Cubetto.

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It comes with its own cute
little robot, this one

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in the shape of an
anthropomorphic peanut

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butter and jelly sandwich.

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Sammy and his kit are a little
more complex than Cubetto,

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which is why it's
suggested for children

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at least four years of age.

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But that complexity makes
it much more flexible.

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Sammy isn't confined
to a play mat

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or a pre-scripted storybook.

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In fact, you can even swap out
that adorable sandwich body

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for other pieces
to build a mouse

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that steals cheese or a fire
truck that puts out fire.

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[HIGH-PITCHED WHIRRING]

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Eventually, though, your
kid will grow out of all

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that screen-free business.

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And, of course, it's
unavoidable that they

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will eventually become
obsessed with Harry Potter.

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But don't worry.

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You can use this
to your advantage.

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This kit from Kano teaches
your kids that coding is magic.

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No, seriously, they build a
wand and then, using an app,

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create spells that they perform
simply by waving it around--

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and presumably using
the right incantation.

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Once they've mastered the basic
concepts behind programming,

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it's time to graduate to
something more serious.

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Sphero and littleBits
have carved out

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a name for themselves in
the world of STEM toys

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by combining simplicity
and playfulness

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with a surprising
amount of flexibility.

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While something like the Droid
Inventor Kit and the Bolt

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are appropriate for
children as young as eight,

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they they're equally
fun for an adult--

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or an adult-age child.

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And that's a great
thing because if you're

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excited about
something, it's more

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likely your child will be too.

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And keeping you,
the parent, engaged

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will make you more likely to put
effort into the whole "teaching

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your kid to code" thing.

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The littleBit kit lets
your child build their very

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own R2-D2 and customize it
to their heart's content

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with pieces that
magnetically snap together.

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Now, I personally
own some littleBits'

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stuff, though not the Droid
Inventor Kit specifically.

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And I can tell you, it's
insanely fun, flexible,

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and basically foolproof.

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Bolt doesn't have
a bunch of parts

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that you can swap in and
out, but the Sphero Edu app

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is a great way to teach kids
the basics of computer science

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using little more
than a robot ball

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with some blinking lights in it.

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Plus, the app is compatible
with basically any device

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and even works in your browser.

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Evo from Ozobot isn't much more
advanced than Sphero's Bolt

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from a technical
standpoint, but it

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takes a lot of the
skills it teaches,

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as well as those
taught by Sammy,

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and combines them into one
deceptively powerful robot.

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You may have noticed there's
a lot of robots here.

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Evo is super tiny and loaded
with a ton of sensors.

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And its unique coding
environment, OzoBlockly,

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is clean, intuitive, and
deceptively powerful.

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Plus, it has several
different modes

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that allow it to
grow with your child

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as they master key concepts.

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The granddaddy of kid coding
kits, though, is Mindstorms.

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And in many ways, it's still
the standard by which most

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other STEM toys are measured.

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We definitely recommend it
for slightly older children,

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though.

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LEGO says it's appropriate
for ages 10 and up.

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While Mindstorms is endlessly
versatile and can be used

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to build everything from
replicas of the Curiosity rover

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to robots that solve Rubik's
cubes to a chicken nugget

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vending machine, it's not
quite as beginner-friendly

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as LEGO's Boost.

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But once your child masters
manipulating something

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like littleBits, they may crave
even greater creative freedom.

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The kid who demands complete
freedom will definitely

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appreciate the micro:bit.

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This tiny, BBC-backed
computer fits

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in the palm of a child's hand.

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Think of it like a
kid-friendly Arduino.

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It's got buttons and lights,
plus Bluetooth, a compass,

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and an accelerometer.

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It even has light and
temperature sensors.

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And its unique edge connector
allows it to be hooked

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up to all sorts of accessories.

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With a little bit of
patience and creativity,

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a child can basically bring
anything they dream up to life.

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This particular kit
from Tech Will Save Us

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comes with a bunch
of extras for adding

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strings of lights, battery
power, wheels, and more.

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If your child has kept up
the coding habit long enough

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to outgrow the micro:bit,
well, then there's a good

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chance you've got
a little engineer

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or inventor in the making.

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And even if not, they'll
still have learned

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a ton of valuable skills.

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[LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC]

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[WHIRRING]

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[HIGH-PITCHED WHIRRING]

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