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Online summer camps keep little nerds busy. From outdoor exploration to summer enrichment in computer coding or robotics, online camps are a great way to keep your nerd busy this summer.
According to a study by Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, most students lose 2.6 months of Math and readings skills over the summer. Finding creative ways to keep your nerd learning over the summer has never been more important. Because of the cost and interest of many nerds, Virtual Summer Camps are becoming very popular.
Virtual Summer Camps are not just your nerd alone, staring at a computer screen. These virtual camps offer interactive projects, activities, and learning. Many of these camps also have a camp counselor assigned who will work with your child throughout the program.
Here we will be looking at a few of the best online courses that are fee-based. Next week we will be looking at free online camps. There are camps for every possible interest that your nerd may have, including math, science, programming, art, and foreign language.
DIY
Free and fee-based; age 7 and up.
DIY offers both a free and fee-based free online community for kids that includes dozens of skill-based activities, which it calls challenges. Subjects include Art, Business, Science, and Engineering and kids can do challenges year-round. Every summer, DIY runs camps and shorter courses in a variety of subjects. Some of the camps have online counselors who will interact with your nerd. There is a dashboard for parents to follow along with their kid’s social activity.
Jam
Fee-based: age 8 and up.
Jam is part of DIY and offers courses that are not available at a traditional school. These courses are designed and hosted by experts in their fields. Some courses include invent their own machines, building with legos, and how circuits and sensors work and encourage kids to invent amazing things with them. The family monthly plan is only $20 a month
Brain Chase
Fee-based; age 7–14.
Brain Chase takes a creative approach to education. Each course runs for six weeks and little nerds can work on math, foreign language, reading, and typing all while competing in a treasure hunt for the chance to win a scholarship. There is a real-life treasure buried somewhere in the world. The first adventurer to pinpoint the location of the buried treasure will be flown to its location to dig it up. If you are the first to find it, you could win a $5,000 scholarship.
Camp Wonderopolis
Free for campers; optional $25 instruction guide for parents; age 7 and up.
This online camp focuses on interactive STEM and literacy-building topics. Your nerd can explore topics like music, construction, weather, food, and technology. Each topic includes lessons, videos, outdoor activities, and suggested readings.
TechRocket
Fee-based; age 10 and up.
TechRocket was launched by iDTechCamp, a popular computer day and overnight camps. TechRocket offers online instruction in coding, graphic design, and game design. Each online course is staffed by a dedicated instructor and offers a variety of levels and challenges. TechRocket also offers one-on-one remote instruction so your nerd will build new tech skills from the comfort of home.
Just in case you do not hear about Minecraft
Connected Camps
Fee-based; age 8-13.
This online camp offers live, hands-on, interactive programs run by online mentors. This Minecraft-based camp includes courses in coding, game design, and engineering. There are also courses in Scratch programming and Minecraft that are just for girls. Each camp runs for 5 days, 90 minutes a day
In addition to Minecraft, Connected Camps also offers Fortnite
Next week we will look at free options for online camps. After that we have a great list of sleep-away camps any nerd would love.
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