I really love these trains and your kids will too! 
These sets provide a hands-on and playful way to introduce fundamental coding concepts like sequencing, looping, and conditional coding.
​Children learn to understand cause and effect by placing action bricks on the track, which then influence the train's behavior

What I like about them...

• Hands-On Learning: LEGO DUPLO bricks provide a tactile and engaging learning experience, which is particularly effective for young children. Most kids already know hoe to use Duplo!
• Curriculum Alignment: LEGO Education provides curriculum-aligned lessons that support educators in using the sets effectively.  
• App Integration: The optional companion app enhances the learning experience by providing additional activities and challenges.  
• Social and emotional development: Working together to solve problems, and creating stories with the train, helps children develop social and emotional skills. 

What I don't like about them...

• They don't have a lithium battery. So changing the batteries can be quite laborious. You need a small Phillips-head screw driver, lots of triple-A batteries and a tad of patience. I have used rechargeable AAA's and they seem good. It's just a lot of work!

Getting organised!

​Because I already had a lot of Duplo, I started by buying just two Coding Express kits. I discovered my other Duplo Train was compatible with the app, so I bought two more of those, because they were only $AU99 as opposed to Duplo Express which were around $AU500. 

So I sat down with all my track, and all my trains and all my duplo and I tried to split it 5 ways. 
I decided to get 5 tubs for some common items. And I stuck a coloured sticker on each important piece. SO there was a red kit, a green kit, a white kit, etc. 

I had enough track to give each of my 5 kits, 18 curved bits and 12 straight. You might think I am crazy, but I put a coloured sticker inside each track piece! But I really want each group of kids to have their own track, and I want to try to keep the kits equal in size. One goal is to make sure the kids keep an eye on the stickers, and give me any bits that don't belong in their kit. 

Then I decided that each board needed some important pieces that I also wanted to keep track of. 
​
So I gave each set:
2 crossing gates
1 track switcher
1 crossing ramp 
3 end of line buffer stops

I then created a laminated image with all those bits and stuck it to the back of a green base board. The idea is that, when we pack up, the kids put all those pieces on the laminated image to indicate they have all their main pieces.

They also need to account for all the "people" and trains and coloured reaction bricks. So there is an image on top of the tub for them to put those things on when we pack up. Initially, the only thing they stick in their tub is the track. I show the kids how to pack up at the end of my demo at the start of the session. 

packing up goal

When I have checked nothing is missing, (even after the kids have left the room) we can put all the bits in their tub. 

I made my own boards

I spent AGES to create 5 boards with outlines on track on them! Most of my workshops have kids working on a large piece of coreflute. I really like how is conquers and divides the kids! They like having their own "space" with boundaries, but also the room to be creative. It also helps to keep all the kits seperate and the kids don't get in each other's way. Also it maintains peace and productivity!!

I made a track that could fit on the board. Then I stuck the important pieces down with velcro, so the track didn't slip on the board. Then I traced around all the track with a marker! 

Coreflute available in most hardware stores

I use heaps of Core Flute in many of my robot workshops.

I have made a slide show in PowerPoint that I show at the start of every session as I demonstrate 

Using the sticker book from the activity box, I created a grid on some core flute with electrical tape. 
​Each square is 10cm x 10cm
I bought some simple game-spinners on eBay.
How to play.
1) Place your robot on any white square. 
2) Use the spinner to decide which square you need to go to
3) If you land on the right square, collect a gold coin.
​4) See how many coins you can get. 

Kids love trying to get to the next checkpoint and sometimes even record their voice so it says the number when it arrives and/or even does a dance. 

I wanted to make mazes, so again I used coreflute and electrical tape. I decided to make the walls of the maze with the tape they use for door seals. It works great, because it is thinner than the tape, and it is easy to cut to size and easy to stick on. I placed some numbers in chronological order onto the maze so that kids could reach checkpoints and even re-position their robot before attempting the next checkpoint. 

I actually worked out where the walls would go first and then where the numbers would go, on a computer. Then copied the design to the boards. 

Tale-bots are Duplo compatible

I bought some Duplo Lego on eBay and the figurines have been really popular. You can place them on a board, and the robot needs to collect them. Lots of fun!

Robot Man Video

If you go to my YouTube Shorts you will see some of my Tale-bots in action

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