Ozobot Evo Party and Review #Tryazon #OzoSquad

As a participant in the Tryazon Ozobot Party, I received an Ozobot party pack which included a complimentary Ozobot Evo for my family and a guest. All opinions expressed are my own.

Growing up, I never thought anything about being interested in science and math. In fact, I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an engineer, although honestly, I'm not sure I really knew what an engineer was. Coding was something that was still 'new' when I was growing up, at least non-punchcard coding, but I had several opportunities to experience it in fun ways through camps and classes. I can remember first learning on an Apple Desktop computer and on a TRS-80 in math class in junior high. I even had a chance to go to a three week long summer camp in high school where I learned to program to create drawings. That knowledge base has served me well in my career too.

As a mom, I look for ways to bring STEM concepts to my kids in a fun way, such that they don't always realize that they are actually learning. When I first learned about Ozobot, I was intrigued it looked like a fun interactive toy that would help my kids learn about the basics of coding. Then, in late summer, I was invited to participate in a Tryazon party to check out the new Ozobot Evo and share it with friends and family. I was very excited to get the chance to let my kids and their friends play with the Ozobot Evo.

I didn't mention it to the kids until the party pack arrived. My daughter was so excited, wanting to know when we could open them and play with the Ozobot.

I love the packaging that the Ozobot Evo came in. Once opened, there are cute little 'drawers' that hold the charger, the markers, and the skin. There is also a pocket that holds the play mat and the top allows you to store the Ozobot Evo easily.

We started with the Experience Pack (available free on their website for Ozobot Evo owners). It introduces the kids to Line Navigation, first with basic pre-drawn black lines and then engages the kids by having them draw black lines that the Ozobot can follow.

As they work through the Experience Pack, they are awarded with stars on the Ozobot app and learn about the color codes that can provide direction to the Ozobot Evo. These color sequences can tell the Ozobot to spin, to walk backwards, turn right and more. The experience pack includes a code reference sheet.

The set comes with markers, but we found that if you have good markers you can also use standard markers to make lines to navigate and color sequences to tell the Ozobot what action to take. This is very helpful when everyone wants to make their own set of lines for Ozobot and you only have one set of official markers.

The Ozobot Evo in action:

Everyone had fun playing and exploring with Ozobot. After tackling the Experience Pack, the kids explored using the app to control the action of the Ozobot Evo. Then, they moved onto OzoBlocky on the app which allows them to drag and drop coding and create loops of the activity. With five levels from novice to master, OzoBlocky allows your child to do progressively more challenging code concepts. Once the code is assembled, load it to the Ozobot Evo and they can see their code in action.

At this point, my kids have only touched the surface of the games and learning opportunities within the app. My daughter really wants to explore racing with two Ozobots and has found continuous lines (both loops and intersected loops) on YouTube that she is experimenting with and discovering new ways to play with the Ozobot Evo.

I think this is a great toy for kids to explore coding concepts through interactive play. One mom at the party talked about how this would be a great alternative for a child that is in to video games, as Ozobot Evo can provide learning and exposure to coding through interaction. Which is a great alternative to some of the video games that are out there.

You can learn more about Ozobot, the Evo and the Bit and explore the App and other available resources on their website. Ready to buy? Right now, for a limited time, you can save on the purchase of you own Ozobot Evo by heading to their website and using the coupon code OzobotParty1517 to save 15%.

As a participant in the Tryazon Ozobot Party, I received an Ozobot party pack which included a complimentary Ozobot Evo for my family and a guest. All opinions expressed are my own.

Holiday Gift Guide - An Easel

A few years ago, while shopping at Ikea, my husband and I picked up an easel for my son. It has a chalkboard on one side, a whiteboard on the other side and a roll of paper on the bottom that can be threaded through to write on it on the easel (or rolled out on the floor, which is generally how we use it). The frame is constructed out of wood. If memory serves, it cost us around $15-20 and we have gotten more than our money's worth from that easel. (I wanted to share a link but when I went to Ikea's site I can still see pictures of my easel, but I can't find it listed for sale in the products?)

I have found that our easel, with the chalkboard and whiteboard provide endless entertainment for my children. They use both the chalkboard and the whiteboard, depending on their mood, to draw pictures. They will draw and redraw pictures, until they are just right. With our easel being two sided, it actually allows both of them to draw at the same time (if they can agree to each using a different side!). I've seen them use the board to "map out" their plans for playing - showing their path from the family room to the bed room to the basement.

We have used the easel to help my son learn and practice math. The easel is also a great way to write out the words for the kids to write in a card or thank you or other note. I write it on the board and then they can copy it into the note. Not only does this allow them write their own notes, making them more personal, but it also gets them in the practice of writing thank you notes and such, as well as a chance to practice their handwriting and learn spelling. (I am certain that this helped my son to get the nice handwriting he has). Now that my son is older, he uses the board to write notes to us and we write to him sometimes too.

We also will roll out the roll of paper on the bottom of our easel and use it to make long story board type stories in pictures. We have used it to paint and to draw.

From my experience, an easel with a chalkboard and a whiteboard is a great way to allow your child to be creative and to stretch their minds.