Make your own Bee Bot Map

One of our favourite ICT resources for younger children is a Bee Bot. A couple of years ago I used them for a coding club with Year 1 and 2 children which was brilliant fun and a great introduction to coding for them. We timed the Bee Bots moving up ramps, created a town for them to navigate and even engineered a LEGO arm. The creative opportunities for learning are almost endless. TTS also sell some brilliant accessories to make learning with Bee Bots even more fun.

When TTS kindly sent us a Blue-Bot® Bluetooth Programmable Floor Robot to try, we couldn't wait to test it out. Firstly it looks fantastic as the clear shell allows you to see the inside, which always intrigues my children. It's rechargeable so there's no searching around for batteries all the time and is bluetooth enabled allowing it to move wirelessly controlled by a tablet or PC. Simply download the free iOS/Android app to connect to tablets, or download the Windows and Mac software to connect to your desktop.

We've been using our Blue Bot with an iPad and downloaded the Bee Bot and Bee Bot Remote app. Both are easy to use and add a lovely extra dimension to using Bee Bots. Both my girls especially loved recording sounds for the Blue Bot with the Remote app.

The Blue Bot app allows you to complete challenges and navigate obstacles and can be used with Bee Bot Maps or we've used it just in an empty space on the floor.

The Human Body Map was great fun to use. We created challenges for each other such as code from the brain to liver to fingers or lungs to toes, which made everyone giggle and added a new dimension to our Bee Bot learning.

How to make your own Bee Bot Map

Decide on a theme. We chose a magical rainbow unicorn theme, you might also spot a Father Christmas and a snowman!
Measure how far your Bee Bot moves in one step and use this to decide how big to make the squares on your map. Ours are 15cm x 15 cm which is the same as the Bee Bot Maps from TTS.
Create challenges for your friends or ask someone to create a challenge for you.

What do you think? I loved every second of making this with my children and it's already had a lot of use. We keep adding extra drawings to the squares too, so it's been a great summer holiday boredom buster.