LEGO Education Elementary: WeDo, Spike Essential, Coding Express
LEGO Education rebuilt their elementary line from scratch. WeDo 2.0 is retired. Spike Essential is the current K-5 kit. Here is the honest buying guide.
If you are buying a new LEGO Education robotics kit for elementary in 2026, buy Spike Essential. WeDo 2.0 is retired and Spike Essential replaces it. For preK-2, the Coding Express DUPLO set is a separate, complementary product.
LEGO Education's elementary line has been through a generational shift. The old WeDo 2.0 set that many schools still have in a cabinet is functional but no longer sold new by LEGO Education, and software support is winding down. The replacement, Spike Essential, is a better kit for a broader grade range. If you are shopping fresh, the decision is made for you.
Short version
Buy new: LEGO Spike Essential single set (~$290) or class pack of 15 sets for 30 students (~$5,295).
Already own WeDo 2.0: Keep using it until hubs die or the app stops working. Do not buy more.
PreK-2: Coding Express DUPLO set (~$190) for earliest coding, screen-free.
Pair with: LEGO Education curriculum subscription, iPads or Chromebooks, lidded storage bins.
Skip: Generic "LEGO STEM kits" from resellers, single Technic sets as a robotics substitute.
WeDo 2.0 is retired, not dead
If you already have WeDo 2.0 sets that work, use them. If you are shopping new, buy Spike Essential. Do not replace working WeDo 2.0 with more WeDo 2.0.
LEGO Education has officially transitioned customers from WeDo 2.0 to Spike Essential. WeDo 2.0 Core Sets are out of production, replacement reserves are drying up, and the WeDo 2.0 software is in sunset mode. The set itself still works for the classrooms that own it - the hubs are durable, the parts are standard LEGO Technic, and the curriculum still maps to elementary science standards.
The migration is real, though. Spike Essential covers grades K-5 (vs WeDo 2.0's narrower 2-4), adds literacy and social-emotional learning ties that WeDo did not have, charges via rechargeable battery instead of needing fresh AAs constantly, and runs on the same Spike App family as Spike Prime (so a teacher who learns the software at grade 4 does not re-learn it at grade 6).
LEGO Spike Essential Set (45345)
The Spike Essential set (part number 45345) is the current LEGO Education elementary kit. 449 pieces including a rechargeable hub, two small motors, color sensor, and a lightboard. Pairs with the free Spike App on iPad, iPhone, Android, Chromebook, Windows, and Mac. Programming is icon-based blocks at the youngest levels, scaling up to word blocks, then Scratch, then an optional path into Python.
The kit is designed around four fictional minifigure characters (Leo, Daniel, Sofie, Maria) and a story-driven curriculum. For elementary teachers that framing is genuinely useful - it gives reluctant readers a reason to engage, and gives teachers a natural tie-in to language arts.
Spike Essential Class Pack (5007438)
The Class Pack bundles 15 core sets (enough for 30 students in pairs) plus 30 smaller "Personal Learning" kits intended to go home or to independent stations. Works out to roughly $175 per student seat if you spread it across the full pack.
Important timing note: LEGO Education has published a retirement date of June 30, 2026 for both the Spike Essential Class Pack and, surprisingly, the individual Spike Essential Set. Whether this means a product refresh is imminent or whether the SKUs will be renumbered is not yet announced. Verify current availability with LEGO Education or your reseller before placing a large order.
LEGO Coding Express (45025)
The Coding Express is a DUPLO-scale push-and-go train with colored "action bricks" that the train reads as it rolls over them - green means go faster, red means stop, yellow means honk, and so on. 234 DUPLO pieces. Ages 2 and up.
This is coding without a screen. For preK and kindergarten classrooms that do not have 1:1 tablets, it is the cleanest way to introduce if-then logic. There is an optional iPad app that extends the experience with sound and video, but the physical product works standalone.
It complements Spike Essential rather than replacing it. A K-5 school with budget for both ends up using Coding Express in preK-K and stepping kids up to Spike Essential around grade 3.
LEGO WeDo 2.0 (45300) - retired
WeDo 2.0 was the predecessor to Spike Essential. One rechargeable Bluetooth hub, one medium motor, one tilt sensor, one motion sensor, about 280 LEGO Technic pieces. Designed for grades 2-4. LEGO Education has formally retired the product and transitioned educator resources to Spike Essential.
If your school already owns WeDo 2.0 kits, there is no urgent reason to throw them out. They still work, the Technic parts are interoperable with your other LEGO, and the app runs on recent iPads and Chromebooks as of writing. But do not spend fresh money on WeDo 2.0 secondhand - the software support window is shrinking, and the dollar-per-year math no longer favors it.
What to pair with Spike Essential
The hardware is half the purchase. Do not skip the other half.
LEGO Education curriculum
The free Spike App includes built-in Essential lessons. For a deeper curriculum library (pacing guides, assessments, NGSS alignment docs), LEGO Education publishes teacher resources on their Lessons portal - currently free with product registration. Do not pay third-party "LEGO curriculum" vendors for content the manufacturer gives away.
Tablets or Chromebooks
Spike App runs on iPad, iPhone, Android tablet, Chromebook, Windows, and Mac. Whatever your school already has is fine. Rule of thumb: one device per two students, matched to your Spike kit count.
Lidded storage + sorting trays
LEGO Education sets ship in nice trays, but kid use destroys sorting discipline fast. Plan for at least one lidded shoe-box-sized bin per set, plus one adult per week whose job is to re-sort the worst offender. Akro-Mils or generic classroom bins work.
Replacement parts plan
Parts disappear. They end up in pockets, under desks, in other sets. Budget $25-50 per set per year for replacement parts via BrickLink or LEGO Education's official replacement packs. The official packs are more expensive per piece but ship faster.
Charging cart or caddy
The Spike Essential hub has an internal rechargeable battery. USB-C cables, multi-port charger, and a labeled caddy keep things from being a Friday-afternoon scramble. Not glamorous but worth building into the initial order.
Spike Prime upgrade path
Kids who start on Essential in grade 3 step up to Spike Prime around grade 6. Same app ecosystem, same programming paradigm. The investment transfers. If your school is K-8, plan the two purchases together.
What to skip
Common mistakes when buying LEGO Education for elementary.
Generic "LEGO STEM kits" from non-LEGO-Education resellers
Amazon is full of "STEM building kits" that use LEGO-compatible bricks and bundle a dim little motor or a microcontroller. They are not LEGO products, they do not use LEGO Education curriculum, they do not connect to the Spike App, and the parts do not reliably interoperate with real LEGO Technic. Buy the real thing from LEGO Education or an authorized reseller.
Agree to Disagree ›Individual LEGO Technic sets as a robotics substitute
LEGO's consumer Technic line (the branded supercars, construction vehicles, etc.) uses many of the same beams and connectors as Spike Essential, but they are not programmable, they do not include hubs or sensors, and the curriculum does not map. Buying a $60 Technic sports car hoping it fills the same slot as a $290 Spike Essential set is a false economy.
Agree to Disagree ›Buying WeDo 2.0 new in 2026
Even if you find a reseller still clearing stock, do not start a new program on WeDo 2.0. The software support window is closing and the parts-availability cliff will come. The only WeDo 2.0 purchase we would make today is replacement hubs for a school that already has the rest of the set.
Agree to Disagree ›One Spike Essential set for the whole class
Each set is designed for two students. A classroom of 24 needs roughly 12 sets, or one of the Class Packs. One set for the whole class means 22 kids watching two kids work. Budget the seat count, not the unit count.
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