Since Toys R Us was going out of business, we stopped by and picked up some great STEM toys at some really great prices.  One of the toys that stood out to me was the LEGO Boost, which is an easier version of LEGO’s popular Mindstorms product line.

Although Alex is only 5 and Emily is 3, I really wanted to get them more into robotics and programming.  It’s an essential skill for problem solving and imaginative play.  Plus, it had an iPad component to it, so I knew they’d be excited about it anyways!

The kit comes with a lot of pieces since you can built 5 different robots.  We put them all into a plastic tub so they could keep everything in one place.  Keep in mind there aren’t any instructions in the box; you have to download the iPad app in order to get the instructions.  I really like that idea since I don’t have to worry about where the little booklet of instructions and the kids don’t get distracted by step 33 when they are only on step 2!

The app was really easy to use and we created a simple robot together.  Alex was able to put most of it together by himself and we get Emily the easier parts to put together also.  Surprisingly, both kept focused on making the robot all the way to the end.

One the basic robot was put together, we used the iPad to control it.  The app was really easy to use with buttons for forward, backwards, and turning.  You just need to use your finger to put them in order and push play.  Both kids took turns making the robot do whatever they wanted!  We ended up moving to the kitchen since the robot didn’t work that well on the carpet.

Overall, if your kids like LEGOs but you aren’t quite ready for Mindstorms, this is a great product for beginning programmers.  The iPad app was easy to use and the kids understood the basics of controlling the robot.  We’ll definitely be putting this into the toy rotation!

Check out the current pricing for the LEGO Boost on Amazon.