My five- and seven-year-old constantly fight over who gets the iPad first. We have one, and they get to use it in tiny doses, usually when I'm at my wit's end. They love to code, like the good little 21st-century humanoids they are. They love coding so much and I am so unwilling to give them their own devices that I decided to try something new. It's also something that sounds so counterintuitive it actually might work: screen-free coding.

Makeblock, a maker of Lego-compatible electronic blocks to teach kids how to code, has ventured into robotics. At CES 2018, it's showing off the Codey Rocky, a cute little robot that serves to be your coding companion. It boasts easy to-use robotics hardware plus a graphical programming interface so even your precocious little six-year-old can get started on her engineering career. The face of the Codey Rocky is comprised of blue LEDs that light up to look a bit like pixel-based art. Underneath are three buttons labeled A, B and C respectively, plus a speaker.

HONG KONG – SoftBank Group Corp. is in talks to invest in Makeblock Co., a Chinese maker of DIY robotics, people familiar with the matter said. Makeblock is seeking to raise about $60 million in a series C round by the end of this year as it targets a doubling of its valuation to $400 million, the people said, asking not to be identified talking about private plans. The figures are preliminary and could vary depending on negotiations, the people said. SoftBank and Makeblock declined to comment. Makeblock is competing with a coterie of Chinese startups, as well as Pearson PLC, Lego Group and Sony Corp., who all want a slice of a learning industry that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math.

Robots are where it's at lately with funding, especially so in China. Vertex Ventures China has led a $14 million financing of a Chinese warehouse and logistics robot, Geek . Prior investors Banyan Capital and Shanghai Volcanic Stone Capital participated in the funding. Meanwhile, a Shenzhen-based education and robotics startup, Makeblock, raised $30 million in a Series B round from Shenzhen Capital Group and Evolution Media China. Makeblock, essentially a robot-building kit for kids, has drawn $36 million in funding and is gearing up for expansion into new markets and education hardware.

Makeblocks, a company known for kid-friendly robotics and DIY hovercraft-drones, is launching a new gadget-building platform called Neuron. It's like Lego meets Littlebits -- you get over 30 blocks with different functions that kids can snap together and then program to create science experiments or gadgets like an internet-connected cat feeder. The system is platform agnostic, the company says, so it can work with products like Lego and even Microsoft's Cognitive Services AI platform. There are six kits available: Explorer, Explorer Pro, Light Wizard, Science Lab, Smart Life and All-in-One. Each is equipped with basic blocks like a light sensor and adjustment knob, with the different kits featuring specialized blocks geared toward a child's interests, like cold cathode, WiFi and camera blocks.