BitsboxCoding Subscription Box for Kids Ages 6-12 | STEM Education

Bitsbox is a clever, well-designed program to teach an actual programming language. We stopped our subscription after the 4th installment and have no regrets for trying it out.What We Like About Bitsbox:* Kids are learning a programming language with real-world applicability* Beautifully designed materials delivered in a box that lights up our kids' eyes when it shows up* Step-by-step instructions about how to develop each app* A unique QR code technique to transfer an app from a web browser to a mobile device* Includes extra material for parents, encouraging engagement togetherConcerns:* Having to use a text-based editor instead of a visual programming interface is, in our opinion, a limitation. If a child has good typing skills, this is less of a deal--and it might not be a problem for you. I've just seen how they engage longer in visual programming environments. And if they're preparing for something like Mindstorms, learning in a visual environment with blocks is a helpful thing to get used to.* There are other ways to learn programming that are free. Personally, I think Bitsbox is a little overpriced for the value in comparison to other options. However, there are a couple different pricing options on the website that we didn't catch onto when we started.Our bottom-line:Our 9 year old prefers MIT's Scratch. It has a visual programming interface, it's fun, and you can take someone else's program and "see inside it", which is to say "you can learn from their code". You can re-mix someone else's program, which is an interesting learning technique. And she enjoys the community aspect of Scratch.Our 7 year old prefers Bitsbox! Despite his just typing in what he's seeing in the code provided, he enjoys the games and when we work together on Bitsbox projects, I think he's picking up on some little things.Where Bitsbox shines is the step-by-step learning process, which is not nearly as strong with Scratch. If you don't mind the Bitsbox subscription fee, do both! The key is that the kids ultimately find that programming is fun and engaging.UPDATE: My 7 year old wanted to jump back into Bitsbox this week. We started tweaking a game and came across a coding issue we couldn't solve. I sent a support email to Bitsbox and literally less than 5 minutes, someone got back to us with a clarifying question. We answered the question, she reviewed the code, and replied promptly explaining the issue in a way we could understand, with an offer for further help. So impressive! I'll suggest that's why Bitsbox may be worth paying for. Good job, Bitsbox! I wish I could share the name of the person who provided the great support but I'm pretty sure it's against Review policy guidelines. But thank you!

My kids have worked a bit with Hour of Code through their school and liked it, so when I came across Bitsbox, I thought it would be a great way to continue to develop their interest in coding. When I showed them the Bitsbox website and asked if they were interested, my 12yo was sort of "meh" about it but my 8yo was really excited. When the first box arrived, the 8yo built her first app "Doggleheads" where you can make a dog's head bobble back and forth on its body like a bobblehead. When the 12yo saw it, he immediately wanted to try it too. They spent the next two hours coding and giggling over the set of apps included with the first box. When they were done with their creations, we were able to scan the QR code on the screen to send the apps to friends and family.The first box included a getting started guide, a guide for parents, a bunch of full-color cards with apps the kids can code, and an "Apper Keeper" binder where you can keep the app cards. All you have to do is go to the website included, type in a 4-digit code for the app you want to build, and then follow the step-by-step instructions for coding the app. I think the part I love the most is that it's super simple to figure out, but with a basic foundation kids can really go nuts and customize the apps to the limit of their own creativity. My 8yo was happy mixing and matching different dog heads and bodies while my 12yo figured out how to make the dogs run around the screen, sing Christmas songs, and even explode when they ran into each other (these were not part of the instructions!) My 8yo was slower with coding because you have to type in each command and she's not as confident using a keyboard. This is different from Hour of Code which mostly uses visual blocks of code that kids move around rather than type in. But my 12yo was very quick and liked the speed and freedom of typing in whatever commands he wanted. For both of them, having the program indicate where they made an error was really helpful, and this helped show them the importance of precision with code where even a missing comma can make the entire program not work.Compared to the $400+ local in-person coding classes I was also considering, the monthly subscription cost of Bitsbox is a great deal and the kids really didn't need any help figuring things out on their own. The only downside was they ran out of new apps to code in the first few days so are anxiously waiting for the next month's box. We would completely recommend trying it out!

both my grandkids, age 11, enjoyed learning about the bitsbox experience this past week. my granddaughter is a high achiever and skipped over the more simple apps. however, she got ahead of herself and could not finish the app, until we went back to the beginning and followed the steps.our grandson has a little bit of a development issue and he followed the steps completely. he was very excited when he was had finished his apps. he loved sending them by email to his family.we are all looking forward to doing the next session next week.This is an update:I think there are 6 complete box sets. I bought 3 box sets, since I was using them to teach my grandchildren while school was out for summer. Each box includes several lessons. And, yes, each lesson and each box builds on each other. We understood and was able to keep up through most of the 3rd box. Near the end of the 3rd box, the lesson challenges started getting really hard for us. Our grandkids are 11 1/2 years old. They really enjoyed the experience anyway, but I need someone to teach me the rest! There is a lot to remember and I was very impressed that the kids retained so much from one week to the next. I had to borrow their chrome books to make it easier to see. There are a lot of good things that they learn like math, recognition, memory, and reasoning. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed our time together. Also, don’t expect to do more than a few lessons per sitting if you have younger children. Have fun!