Jo jo Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I am being observed on weds morning working with reception aged children using bee bots (programmable toys). I am going to set the children different tasks and challenges requiring them to programme the bee bot, this will also involve estimating, positional lang, number, distance, directions etc. I was just wondering if any body has used these before and has any exciting ideas of how to use them? Or knows of an activity that worked well in their setting when using bee bots? Any ideas gratefully recieved. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I just spent the last half term using Beebots with my Reception class. We used them to explore position and direction, ordinal language, and estimating distances. In the first week we played circle games in groups. After showing the children how to instruct the Beebot to move forward one space, the children had to estimate how many times the Beebot had to travel to reach certain children around the circle. The programming element was very simple at this stage as there was no turning involved. They picked it up very quickly, comparing the distances and trying to work out which journeys would be longer/shorter. In week 2 we did Rosies Walk, and the Beebot was Rosie. I printed and laminated the locations in the story and laid them out on the florr. The task was for the children to work in pairs and direct Rosie from one place to the next. The more able children explored the Beebot further and found they could make it turn, so they were starting to look at more complex instruction. The less able needed more time to work on simple commands. In week 3 we did the Jolly Postman. Similar to Rosie's walk only they were looking at ordinal language, trying to deliver the letters in the right order using the story as a guide. You can invest in some floor tiles that are the right size for the Beebot but they are quite pricey and wouldn't nbe with you in time for Wednesday, but at this age I think it's easier for the children to not have grid lines to worry about and just enjoy using them! My class absolutely love them, so much that they ran the batteries out in one of them! Good luck with your observation! Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 sparklebox have got some pictures for the beebot mats. we've got jack and the beanstalk, minibeasts and hungry caterpillar ones to tie in with our topics this term Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo jo Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 Thank you both so much some great ideas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts