Here's Why the Sphero Bolt + is the Number One Coding Robot for Kids

This entry is part 7 of 14 in the series Product Reviews

With Christmas just around the corner Nerdbot has been getting a lot of solicits for toy articles and reviews. One of these happened to be a coding robot from Sphero, and I’m here to tell you today why I think it’s going to be a big hit this holiday season. The Sphero Bolt+ is a Coding Robot Ball for Beginners or Advanced Programmers and is great for Ages 8+. My daughter is 10 and she’s been playing with it all morning with her sister who is 4. This article will tell you more about why we fell in love with it.

Amazon’s Reasons

ENGINEERED FOR THE CLASSROOM: Includes a durable charging case with 15 BOLT+ robots, an Educator Guide, 20 challenge cards, and more.
VIVID LCD SCREEN: Promote creativity and self-expression with the programmable 128×128 pixel LCD screen with crisp visuals and 650+ vibrant graphics and playful animations. The BOLT+ LCD can also display real-time sensor data, aiding precision in code debugging.
EXCLUSIVE BOLT+ PROGRAMMING BLOCKS: Using the free Sphero Edu app, move with precision using the new Roll to Distance block, enable manual driving in the middle of your program, and customize reactions to software buttons on your programming device.
FREE TEACHER RESOURCES & LESSONS: Use the supporting educator resources to effortlessly incorporate BOLT+ into your classroom or homeschool curriculum. Explore downloadable guides and cross-curricular, standards-aligned lessons.
BEGINNER TO ADVANCED: BOLT+ is great for teachers and programmers of all levels, with three ways to program (Draw, Block, and Text programming) and lessons for introducing and going further with BOLT+.
“SHAKE TO WAKE” & BATTERY LIFE: Wireless QI charging and optimized power management ensure extended BOLT+ operation on a single charge for all-day battery life, while the “Shake to Wake” feature makes turning on BOLT+ and connecting to a device.

My Reasons

My reasons for loving this? Basically it’s because the kids love it. We charged it right out of the box and they’ve been playing with it all morning.

Easy to Use: We downloaded the app on our phones and the kids iPads and they took it from there. It’s very easy to understand and there is a “Drive” mode that lets them use it like a remote control toy.
Hours of entertainment: I’ve been able to work and write for the past 3 hours with no kids fighting in the background. I call that a big win. Especially if you work from home and keep the kids with you.
Amazing Homeschool resource: I homeschool my oldest and will be doing the same with the 4 year old when the time is right. This is a great tool to teach them coding and it’s easy enough that even I can understand the basics, so then I can relay the information to the kids in a way they can understand.
Doubles as a cat toy: This ball is great for kids AND cats! Not only does my 4 year old chase it around while pretending to be a cat, but the actual cats in the house love chasing it as well.
Setting up Obbys is fun: For those who don’t know what an Obby is, it’s the short name for obstacle course. Roblox made that term really popular for kids and my daughter tells me that she’s been setting up obbys for the Sphero and having it run through them. You can use books for walls, stuffed animals or anything you have on hand.

Where to Buy

I fully recommend this toy to anyone who wants to get their kids into coding or just wants them to learn something while doing screen time. You can pick yours up here on Amazon. You can also check out the Sphero website for more information and other fun products for coders of all skill levels.