Every computer program is a list of instructions carried out in order. Before children ever touch code, they can learn this big idea by putting everyday steps — brushing teeth, planting a seed, making a sandwich — into the right sequence.
What your child will learn
- Put the steps of familiar tasks in the correct order
- Understand that an algorithm is a list of steps to do a job
- Explain why the order of instructions matters
- Notice that robots follow instructions exactly, without guessing
What is an algorithm?
An algorithm is just a set of step-by-step instructions for doing something. A recipe is an algorithm. So are the directions to a friend’s house. Computers run algorithms written as code.
In Robot Workshop, children help a robot who can only follow instructions exactly. If socks go on after shoes, the robot does it anyway — which is a funny and memorable way to learn why sequence matters.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. What do you do just before brushing your teeth?
🪥- Put toothpaste on the brush
- Go to bed
- Put the brush away
- Rinse your mouth
Show answer
Answer: Put toothpaste on the brush. Toothpaste goes on the brush first — then you brush, then rinse.
2. What comes next? 🥚 → 🐣 → 🐥 → ?
- 🍳
- 🥚
- 🐣
- 🐔
Show answer
Answer: 🐔. An egg hatches into a chick, and the chick grows into a hen.
3. True or false? To wash your hands, you dry them before you use the soap.
Show answer
Answer: False. Soap and water come first. Drying is the last step.
Tips for grown-ups
- Ask your child to give you step-by-step instructions to make a sandwich — then follow them exactly, even the silly bits.
- Talk through the steps of daily routines: “What do we do first? What comes next?”
- Cut a comic strip into panels and put it back in order together.