Heres a kids’ activity thats sure to become a household favorite.� It offers your child a fun filled opportunity to use a set of mobility commands in order to achieve a specific goal.� It requires plenty of strategy, so you’re sure to have your child’s full attention from beginning to end.� It also offers enough variety that you can tailor it to keep up with your childs advancing skills.��
The objective of the game is for your child to navigate a robot through the house without causing it to malfunction.� Youll need these simple things to get started:
- A start and finish point
- A Robot
- A set of Commands
Start and finish point:� use tape or string.� Place one piece on the floor where the activity will startin a bedroom, for example.� Place the second piece at the finish linein the kitchen, for example.
Robot:� mom or dad will work just fine.� Take a sheet of red (or any color) construction paper and wrap it around your left forearm.� Secure it with a rubber band or piece of tape.� Take a piece of yellow (or any color) construction paper and secure it to your right forearm.
Commands: these are the commandsForward, Stop, Red Turn, Yellow Turn.� Forward means walk slowly forward.� Stop means stop.� Red Turn means turn 90 degrees to the left (because red paper is on your left arm).� Yellow Turn means turn 90 degrees to the right (because yellow paper is on your right arm).
A malfunction occurs when commands are given incorrectly:
-The robot cannot turn while� going forward.� The Stop command must be given before the Red Turn or Yellow Turn command. For example, if your child gives the Forward command, and then a few seconds later gives the Red Turn command, the robot malfunctions and the game starts over.� (Indicate a malfunction by saying something like, Malfunction, incorrect command, and then tilt your head forward and shut your eyes.)
-The robot cannot be given the same command twice in a row.� For example, if your child calls Red Turn twice in a row, then the robot malfunctions and the game starts over.
-If an unrecognized command is given (such as Backwards), a malfunction occurs and the game starts over.
When your child is able to navigate the robot to the finish line without causing a malfunction, the objective has been met.� When you cross the finish line, use your monotone, robot voice to say something like, ‘Congratulations! You have successfully completed the objective.� It took you three tries to navigate the course without error.� Will we resume robot command instructions in the near future?’��
Some suggested variations to keep up with your childs skills:
-Create infrared zones.� To do this, place squares of newspaper in various places along the course.� If the robot steps on one of these, a malfunction occurs and the game starts over.
-Play with a timer.� The robots battery is low and it must get to the recharging center within three minutes or it will shut down.�
-Charge the robots battery with knowledge.� Before the navigation part of the game, charge the robots battery with correct answers to questions.� In your robot voice, ask your child questions that correspond with her skill level.� For example, ‘What is 2+1?� What noise does a dog make?� Etc.’�
-Reinforce left and right recognition by playing without the colored paper on your forearms.� The turn commands will now be Left Turn and� Right Turn.
Of course, following directions can be just as challenging as giving directions, so be sure to provide your child an opportunity to play the part of the robot.�� Many other variations will pop up as youre playing the game.� No matter the exact procedure
, this activity reinforces a variety of skills and demonstrates once again that the best resource for fun and learning is good old-fashioned ingenuity.