As a technology teacher, I spend a lot of time designing activities that help kids think like coders — even when they’re just starting out. But until recently, I hadn’t had the chance to see how my own kids would respond to these tools. I did a couple of tries through the years, but most of them failed, my kids were too young to understand such logic. That changed this month.

After work last week, I decided to finally pull out the Code & Go Mouse Robot—one of those robots I’ve been itching to try with my own kids. I use those all the time in my classroom/computer lab, but the one I bought for my own kids was just laying there, almost forgotten. I told myself we’d just try and play “for a few minutes.”

Well… for the next three evenings we were still coding that mouse around the room.

My daughter, who’s five and a half, completely blew me away. She zipped through all the tasks I gave her—coding the mouse through tunnels, around turns, gathering little rewards (cute ghost cards) and following directions. She didn’t need much help, just quiet focus and that proud little grin when it worked perfectly.

My four-year-old son joined in too, happily taking on the more beginner-level challenges—simple forward moves, counting blocks, a turn here, a turn there—and cheering every time the mouse reached the pumpkin (or the spider) at the end.

Honestly, it’s been the highlight of my month!

I spend so much time creating and testing technology lessons for my classroom that sometimes I forget how magical it is to see them through my own child’s eyes. I’ve been dreaming about testing my own resources with my kids—and now, it’s finally  starting to happen. I guess they are not babies anymore. That makes me both very happy and extremely sad.

Watching my kids problem-solve made me realize something that’s easy to forget as educators — children don’t need perfection, they need opportunities to explore. My daughter wasn’t afraid to try again when the mouse missed a turn, and my son celebrated every small win. Those are the same qualities we hope to build in the classroom.

Whether you’re using the Code & Go mouse robot, Bee-Bots, Botleys, or any other early robotics tool, what matters most isn’t the code itself — it’s the confidence kids build when they see their ideas come to life.

If you’ve got a coding robot tucked away in a cabinet somewhere, this is your sign: pull it out. Give your students—or your own kids—a chance to explore, no matter how young they are. The joy of discovery is contagious.

Because sometimes, the best way to test your resources… is around your own living room floor. 💛

P.S. The activity that I am talking about in this letter is a Halloween-themed resource I designed for my computer lab (and robotics club) for the Code & Go Mouse robot. Here’s a link if you’re interested: Bot Robotics | Halloween-themed Coding Activities | Code & Go Mouse, Botley, Bee