Coding activity
Robot Parent
Parent becomes a robot that only follows exact instructions! Child gives step-by-step directions to walk across the room or make a sandwich.
Materials and setup
- index cards
- markers
- open space
- simple task items (cup, sandwich supplies)
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Parent becomes a robot that only follows exact instructions! Child gives step-by-step directions to walk across the room or make a sandwich.
Steps
- Stand up tall and hold your arms out stiff like a robot. Grown-up says: 'I'm a robot now! I only do exactly what you tell me!'
- Start simple: child guides the robot to walk to a toy. 'Take 3 steps forward. Turn right.'
- Robot follows instructions literally (walk into a wall if told to go forward without turning!).
- Everyone laughs when instructions go wrong — that's learning!
- Try a harder challenge: guide the robot to pick up a cup and bring it to the table.
- Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.
- Draw the robot and its path on one page; color the start green and the end red.
Learning objectives
- Break tasks into simple, sequential instructions
- Understand that computers follow instructions exactly as given
- Practice giving clear, specific directional commands
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Program the robot parent to complete tasks using precise commands. Write instructions on cards, test them, and debug when something goes wrong!
Steps
- Parent is the robot. Child writes or draws commands on cards: forward, backward, turn left, turn right, pick up, put down.
- Child arranges command cards in order to create a 'program.'
- Robot executes the cards one at a time, exactly as written.
- When something goes wrong (robot walks into a chair), child 'debugs' by rearranging or adding cards.
- Challenge: write a program to make the robot make a peanut butter sandwich!
- Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.
Learning objectives
- Write sequential commands using an instruction set
- Debug a program by identifying and fixing incorrect instructions
- Understand that programs are sequences of precise instructions
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Program the robot parent using a written programming language with loops and conditionals. Write programs on paper, add IF statements and REPEAT loops, and handle increasingly complex multi-room challenges.
Steps
- Create a command reference card with commands: FORWARD(n), TURN_LEFT, TURN_RIGHT, PICK_UP(item), PUT_DOWN(item), IF(condition) THEN(action), REPEAT(n) DO(action).
- Challenge 1: Write a program to navigate the robot from the living room to the kitchen, pick up a specific item, and bring it back. Use exact step counts.
- Challenge 2: Add an IF statement. Example: 'IF door is closed THEN OPEN door.' Place obstacles the robot might encounter.
- Challenge 3: Use REPEAT loops. Instead of writing FORWARD 1 five times, write REPEAT(5) DO(FORWARD 1).
- Challenge 4: Combine loops and conditionals for a complex task. Program the robot to clean up 3 toys from the floor: REPEAT(3) DO(FIND toy, PICK_UP toy, WALK to bin, PUT_DOWN toy).
- After each challenge, count how many lines your program used. Can you solve it in fewer lines by using more loops?
- In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.
Learning objectives
- Write programs using a structured command language with defined syntax
- Apply loops (REPEAT) to reduce repetition in sequential instructions
- Use conditional statements (IF-THEN) to handle variable conditions in a program
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Design a robot programming language from scratch. Define command syntax, create a reference manual, write programs in your language, and have others test them by executing the commands. Debug programs by tracing through execution step by step.
Steps
- Design your own programming language with at least 10 commands. Include: movement commands, object interaction, conditionals (IF/ELSE), loops (WHILE, FOR), and variables (SET score = 0).
- Write Program 1: a simple obstacle course navigation using your language (10-15 lines).
- Write Program 2: a more complex task using variables and loops — like a robot that counts objects in a room (SET count = 0, WHILE objects_remain DO(PICK_UP, count = count + 1)).
- If bugs occur, trace through the program line by line on paper, writing the state of each variable after each step. Fix the bugs and retest.
- In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.
Learning objectives
- Design a programming language with consistent syntax including variables, loops, and conditionals
- Write technical documentation (a language reference manual) that enables others to use the language
- Debug programs through systematic line-by-line tracing and state tracking
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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