iD Tech Camps

I so wanted to love this camp. My son (age 9 at the time) had gone online to try to figure out coding and had done some beginner coding (so geeky, I know!), so when the promotional materials said this camp taught coding, we thought this would be great. Really, all he did was play videogames for the week. He had a blast, but this wasn’t what we signed up for … for hundreds of dollars. Before you sign up for this camp, BE SURE TO ASK if the kids are learning coding or not. (When I asked one of the teachers on the Friday, at the end of the week, if my son had done any coding, he said, «Well, um … yeah, not really. He’s kind of young.») It is completely AGE DEPENDENT. Never mind if your child knows how to do beginning coding … if he’s not old enough, he’ll be playing (and doing minor modifications to) video games. Bummer!

My 12 yr old son took the C++ programming camp and loved it. You would have to really know my child to understand why this is important… he absolutely hates to try anything. When we got there the first day he stood back, but by the time I picked him up he was so happy and did not want to leave. It was worth driving 30 miles one way, every day, for him to attend. The instructors were young and enthusiastic. Security was tops. The camp director even gives you his personal cell phone number to call with any concerns you may have. As for my son, he learned so much and didn’t want the camp to end. On the last day of the camp, parents come and view what their child has learned/​done; my son’s team created a game… I fell off the cliff and died, but enjoyed playing it. But what I enjoyed the most was how excited and comfortable he was with the class room, instructors and other children. The week after the camp my son was on his computer creating programs for himself and friends. He now has a new vocabulary and can talk to his dad about computer programming (it is a foreign language to me but I listen). He can’t wait for next summer to see what the camp has to offer, hopefully more programming, and this time he is even thinking of staying for the overnight camp.