If you’ve handed a phone to a toddler lately and watched them effortlessly open apps, slide their finger along the screen to scroll through pictures or take a selfie–0r 200–you know that our kids are living in a completely different world than we were growing up. When I was a kid, “tech wiz” meant you could switch your View Master slide disks super fast or get the Frogger game started without your parents’ help.
Today it’s a little different, and though we still celebrate and hang on to the simple joys of old-fashioned things like rotary phones and film cameras, the world of technology is rapidly progressing around us, and incorporated in everything from our classrooms to our grocery stores. There’s no doubt, our kids’ world ten years from now will be even more advanced, and many of the jobs and creative opportunities available to them will require programming skills and computer experience.
Will they be ready? Our hungry little learners continually prove they will be–or as my mom says, watching Nella with my phone, “she knows how to work that thing better than I do!”
Thankfully, kids catch on fast, but it definitely helps when learning is fun. And Fisher-Price is making it a whole lot easier with their new Think & Learn Code-a-pillar, a toy that introduces the critical thinking skills and problem solving behind computer coding in a fun age-appropriate way.
The Think & Learn Code-a-pillar is divided into individual segments–each containing an action–that can be arranged and rearranged to change the direction of the caterpillar’s course. By switching segments around, kids as little as toddlers can see cause-and-effect patterns.
Kids can play around with patterns on their own for open play or try and master challenges like “Can you make the caterpillar go left, then straight, then right?”
All three of my kids have loved playing with him at different learning levels, and it’s so much fun to see how quickly they catch on. Sometimes it takes several tries, but real world problem solving does too.
Fisher-Price is giving away one Think & Learn Code-a-pillar to a lucky reader. Enter through Rafflecopter below (ends 7/27).
We love ours so much, we brought him with us to Michigan. Thinking and learning by caterpillar today, designing websites and changing the world with technology tomorrow!
My kids would LOVE this!!
My 6 and 2 year old would both love this!! They love learning about cause and effect and this would be a fun way to do that.
This is awesome. My DH is a systems engineer and both sides of our family have computer/engineer geniuses. I imagine it’s in my kids’ blood then and it would be great to get them started. ????????
My husband graduated in information systems and feel strongly that our children should learn to code at a young age!! What an amazing way to make this a fun activity! Our little guy would love this!!
I would love this for my 2 and 4 year old! My brother and I were just talking about how cool it would be to teach kids basic coding. Didn’t even know this amazing toy existed 🙂
Would love this for my preschool 3 and 4 year old classroom!! Thank you!
This is great! I have two little girls at home and I appreciate the STEM-minded toys. My interests are mostly in the humanities, and I want to be sure that my girls get excited about (and feel confident in) math and science as well.
how great is this! This would be great for my almost 4 year old. She loves educational toys that are fun. She could really benefit from a critical thinking toy right now!!
This looks like a great idea for my boys’ birthdays coming up in September. Thanks for sharing!
My daughter loves creating patterns – coloring, with her toys, even when she asks to have her nails painted. I bet she’d love playing with this!
I love that this toy is more than just that… It’s educational and has a purpose! I just added this to my holiday shopping list!
I’m able to teach my child so many things, but coding is NOT one of them! I’d love my son to be able to learn these type thinking skills.
My three kiddos would love playing with this caterpillar, especially my 2 year old little guy… He loves taking things apart and then putting them back together
I LOVE the idea of teaching these skills early on – they are the skills I wish I had! My son will definitely enjoy playing with toys like this as he grows.
That is so cool!! I had no idea such a toy even existed.
This would be awesome for my little!!! So going to check Target today!
Very cool! I think my daughter (and husband too) would love this!
My foster children have special needs, and it’s always hard to find new cause and effect toys for them!
As a mom of 3 and pre-school spec. ed. teacher I love this. There are so many ways to play, learn and have fun.
I don’t have children but I LOVE the idea of using coding in my classroom of first graders. Great way to introduce the basics of it!
This is what every kid needs in their home. I know that almost every home has a smartphone and most kids have access to them but kids needs to play with toys and I want my kids to learn with smart toys and then the with the toys almost however they want to with the toy, safely. They need their imagination!! And I believe this Think Learn Code-a-pillar could help them.
This toy looks like ” learning made fun”…. and so cute of your daughter too. I think my granddaughter would love this.
Thanks for sharing about this! I haven’t heard of it before! We’re working a lot on cause/effect with my three year old, and this might be just what he needs!
I would love to have this for my four year old. He is really into all things Science! What a cool way to learn how to code.
I am a grandmother to an almost 2 year old granddaughter and 1 year old grandson and they would absolutely love this!
I am currently going back to school in order to start a tech career. I wish someone had taken the time to explain coding to me when I was in high school or even younger! I have found that I am pretty good at it. I have an almost 4 year old daughter, and this would be a great introduction!
Love that all three of your kids are using this! I struggle with finding toys that both a one year old and four year old can use and this will be something I look into.
My 4 yo is so into technology these days! He would love figuring this out!
This looks like such a fun toy! My godson would love one
Great idea to get young ones thinking that way.
What a cool toy! As an elementary teacher, I love that I’m preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist. Crazy to think about!
This looks awesome! I love toys that keep my boys busy learning 🙂
I have a niece and two nephews that would love playing with this toy and using it to teach their baby cousin – my son due in October!
I love this idea! I work as a live-in nanny and this would be great to have!
We have a few Fisher-Price toys and have been impressed. This one seems like a great addition!
This toy looks like a lot of fun for my son, who is turning 4 in a few weeks, as well as my older daughter that will more than likely “help him with it.” Her elementary school assigns quite a bit of coding homework, so look out future, our kids are coming.
I am a mechanical engineer and I want to get my little 8-month-old daughter started early with math and science. She doesn’t need to be an engineer, obviously, but I do want to make sure she’s not afraid of STEM subjects and I think a toy like this would be awesome for introducing it early in a fun way.
What a great toy! My husband and I are in the process of adopting a siblings group (international adoption) and this would be such toy they can enjoy and learn from, before they know English!
my kids would love this!
I love the way that it’s multi-sensory – it looks cool, you have to touch it and pull it apart as well as figure out how to change direction.
This is super cool! My kids are 6,4,2, and 5 months…they’ll probably all love it. I might need more than 1 🙂
So awesome! I love educational toys!
Looks like a great toy. Our Joseph has a birthday coming up; this is definitely going on the list.
I feel like my little one would love this!
I’d love this for my niece! I am having a hard time finding toys that are both gender neutral and/or promote science and math.
Very cool. It is amazing the toys that are available now to kids.
My 3 little boys would love this! What a great idea!
I think both of my children would love a toy that does something “different” than their other toys! What a great giveaway -thank you! 🙂
Thank you for the chance!
Dang that looks cool! My dad is a programmer, but I’ve never tried, but it would be so cool to nudge my girls into following their grandpa’s footsteps!
I love that my kids can play and problem solve at the same time!
This is very cool and a concept that’s otherwise a little tricky to teach. I bet this would be used over and over again for years. Cool toy!
My kiddos would LOVE this!!
This looks like a great product to encourage kids these days using technology to learn while having fun!
My niece would love to play with this! She has such an inquisitive mind and it would be perfect for her!
Love this! Would make a great gift for my niece and nephews!
So fun! This would be a great toy for my 4K class
How cute is this little guy! I’m currently struggling between giving my kids time to learn essential computing skills and minimizing their screen time. This cute caterpillar sure solves that.
I love toys that teach are fun and challenging!
So cool! Thanks for sharing- my son LOVES buttons and lights.. but I would like for something besides my iphone to be in his hands!
My boys would LOVE this toy. I like the way it incorporates technology with patterning, cause and effect, etc.
Looks like fun!
This is awesome! I would love one of these caterpillar’s for my little guys! Their Papa just finished coding school himself, so they would be excited to get to be like him.
Our kids play with Fisher Price toys that were from our childhood and even some that belonged to their grandparents. Okay, we play with them too!
Oh this is way to cool, Max would love it and we would share with our friends at GiGi’s Playhouse
I would love to win this for my daughter. She needs some new toys for rainy summer days.
Super cool…I want it for myself…haha! I’m sure my twins would love it too.
My comment has nothing to do with this post but rather the fact that I recently drove over the Mighty Mac coming home from our UP trip and the photo of the bridge and dinosaur from the last post made me think–holy cow–if I was driving over the bridge and looked at the car next to me and saw Kelle and her family in it I would FREAK OUT!!!!! I am sure my screaming would startle all of my passengers and I know you’re just a regular old gal like the rest of us but if I saw you on the Mackinaw Bridge I would be just giddy 🙂
so glad you can come home to the gloriousness of Michigan and that you share it with everyone!
Julie
I can’t wait to problem solve with my nephew with this toy!
i’d love this for my son! i’m a high school math teacher (well, formerly, since i’ve “retired” to stay home with my kids for a few years) so i love any toy that encourages critical thinking via technology AND the physical world.
Love this!
We just started home schooling. This would be so great for my little kindergartener! What a great concept.
Looks so awesome! My 3.5 year old is probably the right age to start experimenting with this (though he doesn’t know “left” or “right” yet!).
Looks fun!
As a preschool educator for children of all abilities, I would love to give my children a chance to experience this wonderful toy. I love how it can be used in open-ended exploration as well as structured learning concepts.
My son would love to play with this. He loves puzzles and figure out how things work. ????
Both my kids would love this!
Both of my older children love manipulating robots.
Wow I love this. My two year old, and youngest of 6, is always trying to keep up with the big kids and steal all of their devices. This would be great for him to be able to share with his big brothers.
My husband loves coding and we’d love our daughter to be able to learn some from a young age.
Katie would love a Code-a-piller because she loves to learn and experiment. This sounds like a great way to do both. Plus, both mom and dad love math, science, and engineering and this is right up that alley!
I am a teacher and would give this to my nephews. They love learning! As a teacher, I have seen the value if my students working with code.
This looks super cool! How fun!
I think my 3 1/2 year old son would absolutely love this toy, because he’s already shown to have a STEM-oriented mind, and I’d love to help grow and encourage that!
I love the idea of combining fun with learning. This toy encourages STEM learning in a unique and fun manner.
This toy looks like so much fun. My kids would love it for the caterpillar. Then they would
enjoy the games.
Looks so fun! Honestly, I could probably learn a thing or 2 from it! 🙂
I have a 6 year old daughter and twin 2 year old sons (one with Down Syndrome), and I think they would all enjoy the toy! My daughter would be super interested in making it move in different ways, one son loves anything that moves, and his brother loves all toys with lights and sounds!
That would be awesome way to teach colors and numbers as well.
This looks amazing- my daughter would love it!!
They would love this because it will be a challenge!
My husband and I program every day for work and it would be nice to make our kids understand a bit what we do… even though they might end up thinking we are making caterpillar compete all day! 🙂
Your pictures are always very beautiful, Kelle! And Nella seems to like the toy a lot!
My sons would love this they love anything that move make noise and that would challenge them
Looks like a great toy
Nicole
What a cool toy! As a teacher, I love toys that encourage my children to think…and rethink! Thanks for sharing this.
I’m totally intrigued by this. I love that it gives kids the freedom to move the pieces around so they can experiment and learn from their decisions. Very cool.
This looks awesome. Something all three of my kids would enjoy, but especially our oldest who is quite the problem solver.
My two little kiddies, ages 3 and 5, would love this! My 5 yo son is especially interested in computers and technology, and this would be a great addition to his learning toys as he enters kindergarten in the fall!
That is amazing. I usually steer away from electronic toys but this seems so great.
Wonderful toy…. I can see myself and my grandkids down on the floor playing with this for hours! Love education through play!!
What a great learning toy!
My toddler would love taking it apart! And I love that she’d learn from putting it together again…
I think our little 22 month old, Addison, would LOVE this toy! She is obsessed with “cater-pillars” and really enjoys to learn!
This is awesome!!!! Both my girls would LOVE this. What a clever idea.
My son’s birthday is coming up and this would be great! He loves all things electronic.
Looks like so much fun!
I don’t know who would love this more, my husband or my son! So cute!
What a cool and imaginative toy! I know my 2 and 4-year-old nephews would love it!
I think this toy would cover my grands who range from 1 year nine
I think all three of my kids would love this — each in their own way. My 10 month old would chase after it, chew on it and dismantle it. But I’d love to watch him grow with it and try to put it back together.
My 4 year old will jump in and start playing with it but will slowly discover all that it’s capable of. I can just see her, excitebly coming in to my study to report what she made it do each time.
And my 7 year old will meticulously study it and try all permutations in the order of the segments and she will probably even take notes and draw accompanying diagrams to show everyone.. She will call it an “instruction manual”, complete with index and glossary, and will try to teach her sister (who will blatantly ignore her,) and her brother (who will probably just chew on her diagrams like a puppy) how to work the toy with forethought.
So then she’ll just have to teach her mom.
I would love to win this for my tiny nieces. Kaylee is three (and shares a birthday with Miss Nella!) and Hannah is 18 months.
My oldest boy is working with lego league and his little brothers want to learn coding too, this would be just their level.
This is such a neat idea! I bet my son would love this.
We all know how toys can lose their luster for our kids in this fast paced world of theirs. This toy changes ,offering more than just your standard amount of attention holding ability. I love that for them and who am I kidding…. I love it for me too!
We don’t let our kids play with many electronics, but this would be an exception! Excellent tool for learning.
I am pretty sure I would love this toy for myself! But I have three girls (6, 4 and 1) who love it more.
Oh my gosh my 8 year old would even love this! She loves to do science experiments and would get such a kick out of figuring it out. My 3 year old would adore it too. What a cool toy!!
My kindergarteners would love this and learn so much! Looks like fun!
We have 4 kiddos who would love this toy. 3 of them are girls and it is very important to me that STEM features heavily in their learning specifically. Our son already gets it all! Thanks for this opportunity! Absolutely love following your gorgeous family through life!
My kids would love this!
My kids have tried coding apps but this would get them moving and playing! ????
My boy would love this toy!
Fun!
This toy looks like a great way to play with my daughter while learning as well! Wonder what adventure this caterpillar will take us on!
My grand kids would have a blast with this
my 5 and almost 3 year old girls would have a blast with this! it moves, makes noise, and lights up-all the trappings of Favorite toys!
I think my 5 year old would love it. he has a circuit snap set that he uses to make simple engineering circuits. he loves figuring out how things work
I could see how both my 6 year old son and 2.5 year old daughter would both enjoy this! So that’s a win in my books. My daughter is a whiz on our iPad (and my phone when she manages to get a hold of it), so she would take right to the challenge. What a neat idea! 🙂
Wow! It is never too early to introduce technology to children. I had not even heard of this educational wonder until I read your blog tonight. Thank you for letting us know about the latest offering from Fisher-Price. I think this would be an ideal toy for a grandparent and grandchild to share!
Wow, this is so cool! Would like to play with it myself! I’m sure my granddaughter will share it with me! Thanks so much for a chance to win one!
My three little kids would love this!
Trying to encourage my little girl to become interested in STEM!
My two youngest kids would love this toy. My toddler could learn cause and effect and my middle child could get a little more advanced with it! Perfect.
Looks like a great toy to encourage critical thinking
What a cute idea! My daughter loves problem solving toys.
This looks like so much fun!
My 3-year old iPad stealing granddaughter would love this
I would love this for my kiddos! What a clever toy to learn basics behind coding!
This is great! My 3 year-old niece love puzzles. This one way also to encourage and develop their critical thinking. Thank you for this.
Does this work on carpet? We don’t have a lot of hard surface on the floor of our apartment.
As the offspring of two engineers, my girls would love this! (And my husband and I would probably play with it after they go to bed!)
Love this! What a great idea! I have been a long time blog follower! Love your content! Thank you for the opportunity!
My husband is a computer guy and so we have been in the lookout for any toys and games that teach coding. It’s definitely becoming a necessary part of life and this seems like a great introduction!
I’ve seen this little caterpillar and thought it was just the coolest thing. My little guy would love it!
My brother works in computer coding and would go NUTS over this! Can’t wait to share for when they have kids
I would love to see what my daughter would come up with! I’m always looking for cool STEM toys!
As an early childhood teacher educator, I am always looking for amazing new ways to teach teachers how to incorporate STEM concepts into the classroom. This is a wonderful example!
I am a retired grandma whose career included end-user computer programming, I would love for my grandson to have this toy to begin to understand coding logic!
This looks like so much fun! My boys would really enjoy experimenting with it!
This looks SO cool!!! I have never seen them before.
It would help them to learn coding.
They start teaching basic coding in Kindergarten, so I would love to get this for my pre-K daughter to get her excited about next year!
This is such a great toy! My husband has always said that he wants to teach our kids to code. Our little boy loves putting things together. This would be perfect!
My daughter would just love this – she does great with STEM minded toys!!
My lil’ guy would love this!
My granddaughters would love this! I can see my oldest granddaughter helping her little sister with this.
My kids would have so much fun with this!
What a clever way to get kids thinking about coding!
This toy is so awesome! I’ve had my eye on this for awhile and would love to gift this to my daughter.
My son would learn to do what he already wants to do, learn even more about computer and tech devices.
Because it could provide hours of creative play fun for my kids.
I would love this for my 2yo tinker! She is so curious about everything! Giving her a tactile teaching toy would be awesome.
I would love this for my son, he has speech issues. This would make learning fun
I would love this for my nephew, he’s is so into technology!
I have been siting for this toy to come out. This would be perfect for my kindergarten students! So many skills and so much fun….can’t ask for anything better! -Katie
I would love this, because I love to see my child learn and grow. My child would love this because she can “make it happen”! What a wonderful learning experience.
My son would love to have fun with this fun toy.
I would love to have this in my coding center in kindergarten. It would be so exciting and engaging!
My girls would love building little obstacle courses to send it through!
My kids would get a kick out of this and I need some entertainment!!!
I would love to win this for my son. His dad works with computers and they would enjoy this together.
I love how this introduces kids to coding in a fun way!
I loved computer programming as a kid; what a fun way to get the younger kids interested in the life long skill.
Mini would LOVE this! It’s on her wish list, but not in our budget. lol
i’d love to win mainly because my daughter had a 24-weeker this spring. He’s made great strides!!! Still in NICU, but he’s improved so much. I’d love for him to make all his milestones and use this special toy to help him grow!
This would be a fantastic toy for quiet time play for my boys!
Would love to learn & play with my nanny baby!
My daughter would love this toy!
Odd question but where did you get the dandelion shirt in the first pic? We love dandelions!
It’s from Duns Sweden