We are all currently in the middle of a very crazy time. Our children are not at school and we are expected to home school them, teach them and keep the entertained for some of the time (the rest of the time I’m kicking them out, sending them off to play and letting them watch Disney Plus!). Right now we are all in need of products that can help us out in our home schooling journey and it’s all very well to focus hard on the Maths, English and spelling but it’s important not to forget other aspects, such as science, geography, history and even coding! We were kindly sent Coding Critters with Bopper, Hip and Hop to review. Perfect for time at home and perfect for Easter, which is on its way.
The girls love anything bunny related, as both think they are capable of having a pet bunny! Of course, I don’t agree with this yet, so anything where they can pretend is perfect.
More About Coding Critters – Bopper, Hip and Hop
Coding Critters, Bopper, Hip and Hop are your first little coding friends. From Learning Resources, who have a vast array of educational products for children, Coding Critters are aimed at children aged 4 and over and RRPs at £40.
You need 3 x AAA batteries which are not included.
The product introduces young children to early coding and STEM thinking and underlying cause and effect. It comes with a storybook, sending Bopper, Hip and Hop on a coding adventure. Children use programming to code to Bopper to collect carrots or pull Hip and Hop along in her cart.
Bopper is straight forward to work, you use the directional arrows on Bopper’s back to programme a sequence of up to 30 steps. Coding Critters double as interactive pets as you can press Bopper’s nose and switch her to play mode.
We were also sent Coding Critters – Pair-A-Pets Adventures with Fluffy & Buffy to check out, also from Learning Resources. This retails at £7.50.
Testing Out the Products
I was really excited to test out the product with both the girls. I expected it to be more closely matched with my pre-schooler but my eldest who is 6 was pretty excited too.
We took everything out of the box and set it up. Luckily my husband had just bought some batteries, so perfect timing, as they are not included as mentioned.
The only issue we had with set up was the swing would not stay in correctly and did fall out a few times.
My girls loved the bunnies and I have to admit they are very cute. They had already started playing their imaginary games and I had to explain about the book and the programming aspect.
The book is lovely and the instructions very easy to follow.
Using the buttons on the top of Bopper, you follow the instructions in the book to make Bopper move. She does a variety of things. Like pick the carrot up and you can set her into play mode (hold her pink nose down for 2 seconds) and you can hear her eat the carrot.
You can also programme her to move left and right, forwards and backwards.
I liked the forward and backwards programming to push one of the other bunnies on the swing.
Boppy can also pull along a little trailer and Hip and Hop can have a ride in it! She also dances in play mode.
Our Thoughts
I thought the product was really lovely and a perfect Easter gift. I do think it is suited at 4 plus as suggested. I think my eldest who is 6 found it quite easy and once we had worked our way through the book, completing the challenges, she wanted to play her imaginary games with Bopper and the bunnies.
However for my middle daughter who is 3, was a nicer challenge for her and you can work together with them to read the book and program Bopper’s movements.
The bunny aspect is really cute and both my girls fell in love with the characters and it made it easier to engage them in a STEM activity.
It has been really useful whilst we have been in lockdown, giving us something fun and educational to do, with an Easter theme!
Price-wise it is not the cheapest product but it works really well and I think you would be able to make up your own programs and stories, once you have completed the story, as there is only one included. Plus most children will make up their own imaginary games, especially with Easter on the horizon.
If you are thinking no chocolate eggs and wants to buy and educational, fun gift for your child, Coding Critters with Bopper Hip and Hop would be a lovely idea!
Disclosure – we were provided with this product in exchange for an honest review.
These look so cute!
We have some puzzle from Learning Resources. High quality.