My kids are active learners and often learn best when they are given the opportunity to explore creatively through trial and error. We’ve been playing with Dot and Dash from Wonder Workshop now for a couple weeks and my kids are loving these toys. I’ve found them brilliant tools for rewarding my children in a way that is still educational and encourages learning.
What I Love About Dot and Dash
First of all, they are just stinking cute! My kids love how the eye of each robot can be changed and will blink or twinkle. They can coordinate their movements and actions together, or they will work (and are available) individually.
Secondly, and most importantly to me, the very design of the toy rewards curiosity and allows children to get immediate feedback from the queries they ask. The app, Blockly, that is available (free) with the toy allows children to create a huge variety of actions and give Dash or Dot commands to follow. There are a lot of options that kids can experiment with so create a series of actions of their choosing.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kad9bx7A4NU[/youtube]
As you can see from this video, my kids played with moving the robot around. First in the house, where he was triggered by voice command, and then outside where he responded to clapping. The kids tested his ability to overcome obstacles and to adapt to new situations by giving him some “if this, than that” type of commands. In this case, if an obstacle is met, turn and go another direction. 90 degrees didn’t quite overcome the obstacle of the wall, but 180 degrees allowed Dash to continue his journey and make the funny noises that my kids loved.
After two weeks of play time they are still not bored with Dash and Dot and as a homeschooling mom, I can see a lot of opportunities for using these tools for STEAM activities and lesson plans. I heard talk about getting Dash to write a letter so I’ll keep you posted on how that turns out! Meanwhile, check out the #MakeWonder learning videos other parents are uploading for more fun ideas, or follow Wonder Workshop on Facebook and Twitter for creative ways to use Dash and Dot.
When kids are creating their own experiments, testing each step, and making adjustments as needed, you know you’ve stumbled onto something really awesome. Not only are they LEARNING, seriously learning, but they are also have an absolute blast doing so. Laughing, playing, and begging for more time.
I’m glad we got a chance to review Dash & Dot through the Motherhood because these robots are exactly the kinds of educational toys I adore in my home. I don’t like buying technology just to have it – but I LOVE introducing technology to my children that will challenge them.
