Introducing Computer Science to Younger Learners with BeeBots

                            From Procedural Writing To Coding

Recently I was visiting my grandson's  first-grade classroom to watch his class present their procedural writing — Julian's book was titled How to Make Scrambled Eggs. After I listened to him read each step I told him that the procedural writing they were doing in class was similar to the coding activities we do during our visits together.  His eyes lit up!

On the way out, I mentioned this to his teacher and she invited me to come back as a special  guest to introduce this idea to both the first grade and second grade classrooms (My grandson, Oliver, is in second grade in the same school).  I was excited to bring one of my STEAM residency

When I was planning the visit,  I followed the same design thinking process I use to customize all my STEAM integrated maker/CS residencies.  I asked the teachers what their students were currently studying. The first graders were exploring change and cycles. The second graders were working on measurement.  I LOVE the challenge of  connecting STEAM and CS to curricular content.  Soon an idea started  buzzing around in my head: bees making honey.

As I was thinking about the change from nectar to honey, it seemed the perfect way to introduce  computer science concepts  to younger learners.  PLUS-- I had access to a fleet of little coding robots that looked like BEES!  The journey from flower to honeycomb gave us a chance to understand how an algorithm is a a series of steps where a bee flies to flowers (inputs), collects nectar (data), returns to the hive (processing), passes it bee-to-bee (transformation), fans it dry in the honeycomb (output). Every step matters. Every step is in order. Change the sequence and there's no honey.  I couldn't wait to get started designing this lesson.    

Why Bee Bots? 

I  have access to a variety of robots that my grandchildren (and other younger learners) love to code, but I decided on the BeeBots for several reasons:

• Of course, they looked like BEES and provided a strong visual connection to the 'change' process we would explore.
• There was no need to install apps/software/logins.  As a guest teacher, I didn't have a relationship with the IT staff in the building, nor was a I familiar with the process that would be required. 
• It reduced the 'screen time' element from the lesson.  We were working with our hands, our  minds, and our manipulatives.  We were NOT introducing TWO new elements (software AND a robot we can code).  
• The limited time that comes with being a guest teacher, meant that the lesson objectives had to be achievable in a shorter amount of time.  (Of course, I hoped to inspire the teachers to explore additional resources I would leave with them about introducing computer science to younger learners. 

If you're new to BeeBots , I highly recommend watching this model  introductory lesson from Mr. Vacca  introduce Coding with BeeBots to first and second graders (7 minutes) 

Creating the  Read-Aloud and Coding Challenges

I knew I wanted to ground the lesson using a read-aloud. I have been working on designing STEAM and CS residencies. inspired by literature for the past few years, and love to watch students' response to literature.  I prompted my AI assistant with  just the right information from my evolving lesson plan  to come up with a draft story.  

After tweaking the draft story to better fit my lesson design, I added some coding challenges that would engage the students while learning computer science concepts.  When seeking to engage students with hands on projects, I strike for the those projects to be minds-on experiences where the learning takes place -- not just dessert projects.  

Here is read-aloud  and coding challenges written for this lesson.Buzz and the Honey Journey,

Every page has a coding challenge embedded right in it.  The goal is for the story to be read aloud, one page at a time, then to have the students experience the coding challenge --not as a worksheet, but as as a puzzle to solve with their robots, right then and there, on a story map spread out on the floor in front of them.

How to integrate coding challenges with the story 

Example from Page 1: Buzz wakes up and wiggles her wings. Challenge: Can you make your BeeBot wiggle — without moving forward? (Students use creative problem solving to discover that left-turn + right-turn = a wiggle.  

Creating the Story Map

Story Map PDF 

I often create a grid  using blue painters tape on the classroom floor to use with Bee-Bots.  But because this was not my classroom and I had limited time 'in the classroom' I created a half dozen story maps using poster board.  First I drew a 3×4 grid where each square is exactly 6 inches, which is exactly one BeeBot step. I pasted story images in each cell: the hive, the old oak tree, the babbling brook, the sunflower patch,  the lavender and clover, the pollen field, the marigold garden, additional bees, and the honeycomb.

The story Map

A 4×3 grid of 6 inch squares fits perfectly on one piece of standard poster board.  You can use this PDF to help you construct the story map-- you don't have to lay out the images in the same order. Also,  feel free to resize as desired. Make sure to paste the image corners down flat. Even a slightly lifted corner will catch the BeeBot's wheels and throw off the whole path. 

Introducing computer science to younger learners

I started the lesson by introducing the concept of computer scientist as a career. I asked  students: "Does anyone know what a computer scientist does?. We spent some time talking about ways that computer scientist influence our lives  - from video games to practical inventions  we use every day. 

Research tells us that foundational ideas about who belongs in certain careers begin forming around ages 7 and 8. If students — especially girls and students from underrepresented communities — have never been invited to see themselves as coders, that window begins to close before we even know it was open. A single hour with a BeeBot won't change everything. But it can plant a seed. It can let a child hold a robot and think: I did that. I made it go there. I'm a programmer. This is a career that people like me can choose. 

Then I had  students try to "program their teacher" — She stood in the middle of the classroom and I asked them to give her directions to reach the tissue box. Just like a robot, she followed their instructions literally. When they said "go forward," she went forward. When they forgot to tell her to turn, she  walked in the wrong direction. They learned immediately: computers do exactly what you say, not what you mean. This started to really understand the computer science concept of  programming or coding. 

Introducing the robots

It was now time to introduce the BeeBot itself — letting each pair hold one, count its buttons, explore its underside. We talked about safety rules the same way we talk about rules for any tool in a makerspace: " these rules keep the robot safe, not just you. The most important: never pull the robot backward. Lift it instead." (If you have limited Bee-Bots, you can simply have students take turns being the 'student demonstrator' as you lead the class through the lesson, and then use your Bee Bots as stations.

Before we started the read-aloud of our story, I let the students freely explore how they might get their robot to reach the tissue box (which was still on the floor of their classroom).  This quickly turned into a chaotic huddle of students and their robots as they approached the tissue box, but it also filled the room with exciting energy. 

To transition to our next activity, I selected a student to demonstrate how to "code" the robot more intentionally and think ahead of the task you wanted the robot to complete. 

The Read-Aloud and Coding Challenge

As we prepared for the Read-Aloud,  I distributed a poster board/story map to each group of 4 students.   Two pairs of students (previously assigned by their teacher) worked on each map simultaneously — one student physically coded the robot, while the other planned and  verbally directed the next move.  I reminded the students to switch roles frequently. This kept everyone engaged and gave each student meaningful time with the robot.

Before we started our read-aloud, we practiced a classroom signal for each student to STOP, TURN OFF the ROBOT, and LISTEN for the next instruction.   We practiced this a few times, since I knew that transitioning from "freely coding your robot" to LISTENING to the next page in the read-aloud might the tricky part of my lesson design. 

Introducing CS Concepts and Vocabulary 

I was intentional about introducing computer science vocabulary throughout — but always anchored to what students were already doing. Here's how some CS concept appeared naturally in the lesson:

Algorithm sounds like a big word, but the students loved saying it and quickly understood it to mean a series of steps that you can repeat to achieve a tasks. 

Sequencing was everywhere. Every time a student planned a path from one story stop to another, they were sequencing. I kept returning to the procedural writing connection: "You know how Julian's scrambled eggs recipe wouldn't work if you cracked the eggs after you cooked them? Same thing here. Order matters."

Debugging became the most powerful mindset shift of the day. When a BeeBot veered off  the poster board instead of toward the sunflower, I didn't let students feel like they'd failed. I said: "You just found a bug. That means you're a real programmer." By the end of the session, students were using the word "debug" naturally  instead of 'its not working."  

With the help of my AI assistance, I created some additional resources to help both teachers and students gain confidence with Computer Science Concepts and Vocabulary.  You might, also,  want to experiment with a Bee-Bot Emulator on our interactive white board as an additional station.

CS Concepts and Vocabulary Cards can be used by both teachers and students to gain confidence with computer science.

Adding measurement skills

For second graders, the BeeBot provided an opportunity to practice using the measurement skills they had been learning.  Make sure to have rulers or measuring tapes handy as you ask questions like:   "How far does the robot move when you code it to GO forward.   How wide is each square on the storymap? "  After completing a path, students counted how many squares their robot had traveled, then measured and calculated the total distance in inches. Some pairs compared two different routes between the same stops and asked: which is shorter?

What I'd Do Again (And What I'd Tweak)

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Start with the body, not the robot.

Programming the teacher first grounded the abstract idea of "giving a machine instructions" in something students already understood from their own bodies and daily language.

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Free exploration before structure.

Letting students play freely with the BeeBot before the story began — "can you get it to the tissue box?" — built confidence that made the structured coding activity feel safe to attempt.

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Use a student to model, not just the teacher.

Following the Mr. Vacca model lesson, I asked a student (my grandson Julian, who'd been practicing) to demonstrate coding the BeeBot for his classmates. Peer modeling worked better than I expected. 

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Using Coding  planning worksheets  

I photocopied coding planning worksheets for each students, but ended up not using them during our limited time together.  I decided to not interrupt the exploratory flow of the creative problem solving that accompanied each coding challenge.  Instead I recommend that the classroom teacher use these planning sheets  during a followup activity to review, reinforce, and reflect the computational thinking process that the students experienced.  Not using the planning sheets on the first day is more inline with constructivist learning. However, I do feel that using them during a follow up session provides our younger learners  an opportunity for deeper learning and metacognition. 

Everything You Need to Try This

I've packaged everything from this lesson so another teacher can pick it up and run with it. You don't need to be a CS expert. You don't need to have done this before. You need a BeeBot (or two), a piece of poster board, and a desire to let your students explore the joy of computational thinking. 

 Lesson Resources

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  Buzz and the Honey Journey — Read-Aloud StoryAn illustrated read-aloud with a coding challenge embedded on every page. Print as a booklet or display on a screen.
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  BeeBot Story Map — 3×4 Grid (Poster Board)A landscape-format map with 5 numbered story stops, decorative landmarks, coordinate labels, a legend, and a BeeBot button reference. Print landscape, mount on poster board. Each cell = 6 inches.
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  BeeBot Coding Cards — Full SetSequencing, loop, debug, algorithm, event, and decision cards — each tied to the honey journey story. Includes a teacher guide explaining how and when to use each card type, plus key discussion questions.
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  90-Minute Lesson Plan Lesson Sequence, timeline, objectives, NGSS + ISTE standards alignment, vocabulary table with kid-friendly definitions, differentiation strategies, and formative assessment prompts.

🐝 Thank you to Ms. Manolis and Ms. Gargiulo and their first and second graders in NYC public schools for iniviting me into their classroom to introduce computer science to them.

You don't need to be a computer science teacher to teach computer science. You just need a story worth following, a robot worth coding, and the belief that every child in your classroom is already a computational thinker — they just haven't been told yet.

An additional thanks to Mr. Flint from Charlotte Elementary School for loaning us some additional Beebots.

A Game Design Competition for Vermont MS/HS Students

VRmont Cup 2026: A Game Design Competition for Vermont MS/HS Students

As educators, we are constantly trying to use our students' interests and aptitudes to motivate them to learn important skills that will prepare them for their future. One interest that so many of my students had in common was that they loved to play video games. Not only did they love video games, they were good at them. Many of my students also had interests in art, music, writing, or coding. So when I saw the poster from BRIC about a statewide game design competition, I immediately thought of very specific students I had who were fantastic artists, coders, musicians, and writers who would have loved an experience like this.

So I immediately checked out the VRmont Studios website to learn more. From the info on the website, I could tell that this was going to be an exciting opportunity for middle school and high school students to learn so many skills using game design as a vehicle. But I had a few questions, so I reached out to Ben McVetty, the Director of STEAM Programming at BRIC, and he really helped me understand the vision they had for VRmont Cup and the role teachers might play in getting their students involved.

My Takeaways from My Conversation with Ben

Game design can provide a meaningful learning experience for students with many diverse talents by helping them apply those talents to projects they care about. Game design isn't just about coding—it's storytelling, art, music, project management, and marketing all working together.

This  VRmont Cup (a statewide video game competition) gives  students  (ages 11- 18) will run from February 16th through April 10th, 2026.   

It provides students a  chance to see how their individual skills contribute to something bigger, to collaborate with peers who have different strengths, and to learn from professionals in an industry many of them are genuinely interested in. There will be an information session (January 20th and 21st) .  

For more info
Check out the FAQ at https://www.vrmontstudios.com/vrmontcup

Attend the information session on January 20 and 21

Watch the 15 minute conversation I had with Ben McVety

 

Ben emphasized that they're not just looking for coders. They need artists, musicians, writers, project managers, and marketers too. This immediately made me think about how many of our students could find their place in this competition, even if they've never thought of themselves as "tech kids." Ben emphasized that "NO EXPERIENCE" is necessary to participate, depending on the track they choose.

The whole experience is centered around an educational game called Threadbare, where players restore culture to a world that has lost it. There are two tracks for students to choose from:

Explore ThreadbareTrack: Students work within an existing minigame called "Evan and the Search for Champ" (yes, as in Lake Champlain's Champ!). They can modify music, change visual assets, add coding elements, create new animations, or rewrite the narrative.

Core Threadbare Track: For students who want more creative freedom, they can design an entirely new minigame from the ground up.

There is a lot of flexibility built in. A student interested only in music composition could join, create and submit just the audio elements, and be judged on that work alone. Or a team of friends with different skills could collaborate and tackle multiple categories together.

The competition has six judging categories, and students can participate in as many or as few as they want:

• Art and Animation: Perfect for our visual arts students

• Music and Sound Effects: Ideal for band, choir, or students who compose on their own

• Narrative and Storytelling: Our creative writers have a place here

• Project Management: Great for organized students who love coordinating and keeping things on track

• Marketing: Students interested in social media, graphic design, or communications can create promotional content

• Coding: Traditional programming and game development

How many students do you have who excel in one of these areas? This competition could provide them an authentic pathway to apply their interests while learning new skills.

When I asked Ben how students without game design experience could participate, he explained that there's substantial support built into the program. Starting February 25th, there are six live workshops—one for each category. The schedule is:

• February 25: Coding

• March 4: Project Management

• March 11: Art and Animation

• March 18: Music and Sound Effects

• March 25: Narrative and Storytelling

• April 1: Marketing

Beyond these workshops, students will have access to office hours with college-age mentors who can help them troubleshoot, brainstorm, and work through challenges. The organizers are also providing learning materials and free resources so students don't need expensive software to participate.

For this first year, they're looking for teachers to help with recruitment—especially reaching those artists, musicians, and writers who might not hear about this opportunity otherwise.

If they want, teachers are welcome to attend the information sessions (January 20th and 21st) and can facilitate local game development groups at school. I could easily see this fitting into an art class, a music class, a creative writing elective, or even an advisory period where students are working on passion projects.

In April, VRmont Studios is planning an exciting culminating event that will include an awards ceremony within a micro-convention held at Hula Lakeside in Burlington. Professional game developers from the region will be there, including judges from Epic Games and former Facebook Gaming staff.

Registration is free and open now at vrmontstudios.com/vrmontcup. The deadline is March 10th, but I'd encourage interested students to sign up sooner so they can attend the info sessions on January 20th or 21st and start planning.

The competition itself runs February 16th through April 10th—about two months. The submission deadline is April 10th, with the micro-convention on April 18th.

Create Confidence with Cuttle (Free Workshop Series)

If you follow my blog, you know that I'm a big fan of Cuttle.xyz.  I truly believe that having a tool like Cuttle.xyz in your digital toolbox opens up lots of possibilities to grow the next generation of creative and practical problem solvers.   If you're interested in adding Cuttle to your toolbox, please join me for a FREE series of workshops that will have you feeling confident using the free version of  Cuttle in your school.

Create with Cuttle.xyz

Session 1 – Intro Jan 21 3:30 – 5:30 (Zoom)

Session 2 – Intermediate Jan 28 3:30 – 5:30 (Zoom)

Session 3 – Layered Maps Time & Location TBA

Cuttle.xyz is my new favorite tech tool. It allows teachers and students to design their own SVG files that can be used to create projects on a laser cutter or electronic cutter (i.e. Cricut)
—Works on Chromebooks
—The company has signed data privacy agreements
— Company is making their basic editor available to K12 public schools for free

Join us for a series of FREE workshops to help you create confidence with Cuttle.xyz The first two workshops will be held over Zoom after school. If the time doesn’t work for you, register to watch the recording.

The 3rd workshop will be face to face with location and time to be determined by participants who attend the the first two workshop. We’ll create our own layered laser cut maps! Cost will be the cost of the materials. 

Check out the laser cut map project created by students at Cambridge Elementary as part of their annual Cambridge History project.

Download Flyer

Register

May You Have a Happy and Creative New Year

 Cleaning up after a fun New Year's Eve sleepover had me counting all the ways we included creative STEAM play during our holiday this season.    Can you spot 10  ways in this picture of our living room on New Year's morning.   Scroll down if you need help finding them all.  (You might need to zoom in) 

Can you spot  

1)  the copper tape and paper circuits lighting up the star on our Christmas tree window decal

2)  3D printed Candy Cane base

3)  Pokemon Pikachu Handmade Ornament - a gift from our grandson

4)  ChompSaw with so much Cardboard

5)  Coding Book to learn more ways to create

6)  Legos to build a Ball Retrieval System for Dash

7)  Dash Robot with Launcher

8)  Dash  Robot with Xylo

9)  Cardboard Creations Targets for the Launcher

10) Alphabet in Motion Book   (I got that for Christmas from my thoughtful husband)

 

The ChompSaw did not disappoint as a Christmas Gift for my two youngest grandchildren this year.  It was a big part of our creative New Year's Eve sleepover which started with the boys showing up in tuxedos!  Of course that meant that Grandma and Grandpa had to up our game and go change into fancy clothes, too!   Funny how fancy clothes makes Mac & Cheese and Chicken Fingers taste so much better! 

Fun treats throughout the night! 

Coding the Dash robots to play the xylophone and launch balls! 

The ChompSaw sparked all types of creative ideas! 

So did colorful tape! 

Creative Creations
Targets for Dash to launch balls at! 

Legos came in handy when creating a ball retrieval system! 

Creative way to experience the New Years Countdown-
Watch it in Dubai (3 hrs before NYC) 
It was amazing and the boys loved it as they toasted
with root beer floats and sparkling cider

The next morning, they asked if they could get back in their Tuxedo!
Of course! 

And now time to clean up from a very fun and creative New Year's Eve sleepover!

Resolved to making 2026 full of creativity.  Hope you will join me! 

 

Project Based Learning Ideas for Learning Computer Organization and Architecture Concepts

As I've been learning more and more about computer organization and architecture in my UVM graduate class (EDCI 5004) this semester, I keep thinking about hands on projects that could help students who think with their hands learn more about what happens under the hood of a computer or inside the technology devices they use each day.  This class has ignited my interest in seeking out more advanced projects that integrate computer science with project based learning. 

In my 40 years as an educator, I have observed project based learning as one of the best strategies to engage under-represented populations in high-tech opportunities. These high tech learning opportunities range from summer camps, advanced tech classes, tech careers, or even a high tech passion project.  Those who know me know that I have spent most of my career trying to change the Dave-to-girl ratio in high tech learning opportunities.

Many maker-space and STEAM projects do a great job introducing students to science, technology, engineering, and computer science in creative ways that resonates with underrepresented groups of students that rarely find their way in advanced technology and computer science courses.  Getting students into the water is a noble endeavor, but how do we get students to swim in the deep end of the pool?  EDCI 5004 was definitely the deep end of the pool for me and it sparked many ideas for hands-on project ideas that might engage these students learning the concepts found in a computer organization course. 

Ultimately I decided that the micro:bit had the most potential to make the concepts less abstract to the population I work with (under-represented populations in CS starting in middle school). 

• Micro:bits are affordable and accessible to middle school classrooms.  Many schools already own them. 
• They unveil just the right amount of pins to create a logic gate with two inputs that can control one external output. 
• It would be possible to daisy chain them together to simulate processes that use multiple logic gates to achieve the desired outcomes!

I wanted to create a low threshold, wide walls, high ceiling learning opportunity that would leave students with a deeper understanding of logic gates and the role they play in the technology they use daily. 

Below is my final project that leads students through the process of  using microBits to design a prototype for their  own Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) that can be used in game play.  They will  start with reviewing simple circuits, then add simple logic gates and combine them as part of a game, puzzle, or other fun experience such as an Escape Room.  Feel free to use these resources through  a Creative Commons ShareAlike Non-Commercial license. If you try parts of this learning experience with your students, I'd love to hear about it!

Logic Gates: A Hands-On Learning Experience Using micro:bit 

📚 Project Resources

📊

Teacher Slide Deck

Presentation materials and teaching notes for delivering the lesson

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Lesson Plan

Complete lesson plan with CSTA standards, objectives, and assessments

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Challenge Cards

Interactive game design challenges for students (Easy, Standard, Advanced)

Additional Project Based Learning Ideas for those who Think With Their Hands! 

Here are some additional ideas that I explored before settling on  microBits for my final project. 

Paper Circuits 

I love paper circuits as a way to engage students with technology in creative ways. Once your students have mastered simple circuits, you might consider challenging them to include circuits in ways that simulate logic gates.  Chibitronics has links to some fun logic gates templates in their collection of downloadable circuit templates. 

I also found this  Advanced Paper Circuit Template  with instructions on Brown Dog Gadget's sit that uses an ATtiny programmable microprocessor that I'd love to try. 

Sewabke Circuits 

The ATtiny chip is also available in a sewable format that can be used with conductive thread that can be used in soft circuit e-textile projects like these.  Both. Adafruit and Sparkfun have sewable ATtiny microprocessors.

If you're looking for an NGSS aligned lesson using e-Textiles with an ATTINY microprocessor check out this lesson plan designed by my friend and colleague, Dayle Paine. 

Little Bits Logic Gate blocks

Many schools have purchased Little Bits kits.  They are mostly using them with elementary students. But some of these kits are quite advanced and have Logic Blocks. 

This week I started a new residency at Johnson Elementary and noticed 5 advanced Little Bits kits in the room.  You might check out your elementary school libraries to see if they have LITTLE BITS. Here is an example Lesson Plan that includes the Logic Blocks of Little Bits.  

Tinkercad & Circuit Design 

There are so many circuit design projects (both practical and creative) that can engage students with the concepts we learned in computer organization class. Having a collection of breadboards and electronic components available to students gives students and opportunity to explore many computer organization concepts.  After we were introduced to  half adders and full adders during our computer organization class,  I logged into my TinkerCad account and used the Circuit Design feature to create a working simulation of a Half Adder   Here is my design so far.  You can use this link and hit START simulation and change the DIP switch No 1  to see it in action. 

Later in the class, Jon Adams designed the following lesson as a final project that features the use of Tinkercad Circuit Design to design a half adder. 

Making PCB Boards

During the class, I  started to do some close looking at the MANY circuit board I have collected through various projects.  I contacted and  interviewed Alan Miller - a middle school colleague from Williston Elementary School who I knew had done some circuit design with his students and he sent me one of the Circuit Boards his students used during his work with students. 

I also posted a question in the the K12 Fab lab forum I subscribe to and got several responses with resources from teachers on building their own that ranged from using a Cricut maker to design circuits to replacement software for CNC milling circuit boards because Autodesk is about to sunset the EAGLE software I used with my CNC machine. 

Since I now work mostly with younger students, I offered my CNC milling machine to a classmate, who I'm sure will make good use of it as he develops his high school computer science program.  Here is a detailed blog post describing how one high school teacher is using the same Bantan (aka The Other Mill) CNC machine with their high school students.