With the kids home from school 2 to 3 days a week we have to come up with fun things to occupy their time that do not involve screens. When I was offered the chance to review Yo Ring I thought it was a great idea. So we were sent some free packages of Yo Ring to check out. The Yo Ring is a silicone disc that fits in the palm of your hand. It is meant for flight and for playing a dynamic game of catch. There is a hole in the middle of the Yo Ring and so you are supposed to catch it on your finger. It takes a bit of coordination to be able to do it but it is the trying that is the most fun. You can also easily toss it around and catch it in your hands any way you want.
The Yo Ring comes from a teen inventor. He started our with a metal ring that he had in his pocket and tossed to a friend. They made a game out of it and then after discovering that the metal ring was a bit painful he experimented with 20 different materials and ended up with Silicone to get the right bounce, smooth rolling and aerodynamic flight. I find it so cool that this teen turned his made up game into a real product and a family business. You can learn more about the history of the Yo Ring and how to get your own below.
Let’s Start Coding sent us a free Code Rocket to play with and review. Opinions are our own.A hile back Let’s Start coding contacted me about doing a review of their Code Car and Eva and I worked on that together. Eva enjoyed it so much that she brought the Code Car to school and showed her class how it worked. They next sent us the Ultimate Kit II which she also enjoyed. Recently they got in touch with me again and offered us the Code Rocket. This time Andy helped me out with the review.
Andy and I have been doing a lot of things on his iPad with regards to coding. We’ve made video games and more. With the Code Rocket he has 20 projects to do through the free software that teaches him the basics of coding with C++.
Andy took to this right away and was figuring out how to do the challenges of each project with very little prompting from me. The Code Rocket looks really cool and it has lots of lights and even sound effects. This retails for $50 and is great starting point for a future coder. Here is what is inside the box.
CONTENTS
Code Rocket Board with 8 programmable onboard LED lights, a speaker, and 2 buttons.
Retractable USB cable that plugs into standard USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports.
Reference cards for code concepts including: loops, functions, ‘if’ statements.
Tough carrying case to contain all the components listed above.
The software to do the coding tests runs on Windows, Mac, or Chromebook desktops or laptops (no tablets or phones) and is free. The nice thing about doing the different projects is that if you mess up you can reset the original code and start again. You never lose that original code.
If you are interested in the Code Rocket you can pick it up through our Amazon.com affiliate link below.
