Either at home or on the road, are you are looking to encourage your child to learn new skills, while looking to wrap learning in play? Well, we’ve got the game for you.

BBC Dance Mat Typing
BBC Dance Mat Typing is a kid’s typing game designed for children to learn how to type. The game is great for children who are just beginning to learn to type, as it is fun, interactive, and so easy to use. Interestingly, the game comes jam-packed with animated characters, fun sounds, and graphics to keep the kid cheered up when typing. This typing game may be best suited for your child if the child is ready to learn typing in a fun way. Children who don’t find typing fun may not do well with this particular game. Warm up your kids with conversations about typing, writing, and reading before introducing this game to him or her for the best chance of interaction and learning success. If your kid is already playing online or digital games and keeps asking you to read the words to them, and respond to their online friends, then learning typing is already on their mind (and yours).

What is the Dance Mat Typing all about?
This is a kids online typing game by the BBC that can be accessed free of charge. The major focus of the game is to teach kids how they can touch-type using the home-row technique. There are 12 stages to progress through, which fall within four levels of the game. There are three stages found in each level of the game. Lessons commence with the basic mastering of individual keys, and then kids are taken through the process of typing short words and sentences. The short words and sentences that the kids are taken through are only those which they have been introduced to at the basic level of mastering keys.

For every accomplished exercise, the kid gets applauded and is rewarded with musical numbers that are sung by an animal character of the stage. Please note that every stage comes with a different geographical location. Even though the kid doesn’t get penalized for making errors, there is a warning for every error made.

After a kid has gone through all the levels in the game, you can then print out a certificate of accomplishment that outlines a list of keys that have been mastered. The other benefits that the game features include allowing children to be able to keep practicing by way of typing messages. They can then be given feedback on how accurate they are and the words they can type per minute.

Is it the best game for a child to learn typing?
This game can be great if your kid finds the pace, graphics, and sounds interesting. It may not be the best game for a kid who is struggling to print and is a slow learner. 

Bottom line
The game features an intuitive design, great songs, and good feedback that all work to encourage learners to get better. It may not be a good choice for those kids who easily get disrupted and discouraged. Overall, it remains a great typing game for kids who want to learn and acquire new typing skills, especially during long roadtrips.