What Are the Benefits of Going to a STEM Summer Camp?

Raising kids can be more expensive than many parents anticipated. It costs thousands of dollars to cover the costs from birth to adulthood. Summer camp is one of those expenses that some parents may feel they can do without. But instead of looking at summer programs for kids as an optional childcare expense, consider them an investment into your child’s future. Here’s why.

Benefits of Summer Programs for Kids

Keeping kids busy and active during the summer can be a challenge, but many organizations run kids’ summer camps that offer fun learning experiences. STEM summer camps in particular, like those at Engineering for Kids, can spark kids’ imagination and interest in new fields. Summer camps offer many invaluable benefits to kids, including:

1. Connection

One of the essential elements of summer camps is the friendships they develop. These interpersonal skills will help your child through every aspect of their lives. Also, meaningful connections are key to a healthy life. These connections could open up future opportunities for your children, including job opportunities.

2. Independence

At kids summer camps, your child will gain more independence as they learn new things and overcome challenges during the program. Helping your child develop their independence is one of the most important parts of raising kids. But, it can also be one of the most challenging characteristics to teach. Being in a program setting will allow your child to flex those independent muscles as they learn to manage situations on their own.

3. Social skills

Camps teach kids how to interact with others, read body language, and cooperate. Projects and activities like this can prepare your child for whatever career they choose. One in five employees said that emotional intelligence or EQ is more important in candidates than IQ. Understanding how to interact with other children and adults will set your child up for a successful future.

4. Develop a new interest

Children may have interests that they can’t fully explore inside of a classroom. In a summer program for kids, your child can learn more about technology, engineering, and much more. Schools don’t have the time or resources to allow your child to explore their interests in the same way that kids’ summer camps do. Summer activities can also let your child try something new and cultivate a hobby or interest.

5. Staying sharp

One study has found that students can lose nearly 30 percent of the knowledge they acquired over the summer break. Educators and parents refer to this as the summer slide. Summer camps for teens can help engage their minds and continue learning so they can stay sharp. These activities can help your child develop a love of learning and get them ready for the new school year when September comes around.

6. Confidence

Summer activities for kids are also a great way to grow their confidence. Each activity presents a challenge for your child to overcome. Reaching these mini achievements boosts your child’s confidence in what they can do. When this happens, they will feel ready to try new things and expand their abilities.

7. Understanding

There are different stages of growth for children’s minds. As your child moves through these, they have an opportunity to gain more understanding of the world around them. For example, STEM programs will increase your child’s knowledge of the tasks engineers face. Even if they choose a career outside of STEM, this deeper understanding will serve them well.

8. Resiliency

Children can learn resilience, which enables them to push forward through obstacles so they can achieve their dreams. Summer camps for teens are particularly good at helping your children gain this skill. Activities present challenges that give them great practice in overcoming odds. Even if they fail, your children will develop the ability to pick themselves up and keep on moving. It’s all about valuing the effort.

9. Respect

During summer programs for kids, your child may come into contact with someone from a different background. This experience allows your child to gain respect and understanding of other cultures and individuals. They will also have an opportunity to work with kids they may not know. This experience can cultivate valuable teamwork skills. Successful projects need many hands, and through a summer camp experience, you’ll be helping your child prepare for the real world.

Kids Summer Camp Ideas

Deciding on the right summer camps for kids can be a challenge as there are so many different options. It’s best to consider your child’s interests and see if there are any summer activities for kids in that area. For those with an interest in technology and engineering, including Minecraft enthusiasts, Engineering for Kids offers the following summer camps:

Robotics

Enhance your child’s understanding of science, math, technology, and engineering! Grow their team-building skills! Engineering for Kids ’robotics summer program will help your child learn problem-solving and creative thinking. They will also improve their computer programing skills. If your child loves all things technology, our robotics program is the ideal fit.

Minecraft

Take your child’s love of Minecraft and help them sharpen it to develop new STEM skills with unique challenges. Students will practice problem-solving and teamwork in our Minecraft summer camps. They are able to complete challenges and learn new concepts from different Minecraft worlds. The experience will engage your child’s favourite activity and help them learn more about different applications to STEM.

Engineering

Does your child love to build and create? Our engineering summer programs for kids give the man opportunity to get hands-on experience. We’ll use the engineering design process to test our skills in developing and creating some fun projects. Then we will revise and reconstruct our projects to improve them, just as real-world engineers would do!

Coding

Engage your child’s mind with fun technology and coding summer activities. At Engineering for Kids, we design our summer programs for teens and kids around interesting coding challenges. This includes creating your own video game and 3D CAD modelling. If you’re looking for a program where your child can explore their creativity and use their imagination, Engineering for Kids’ technology and coding summer camp is the right fit.

Engineering for Kids is also launching Mission to Mars this Summer! Children can choose from Robotics, Minecraft, Engineering, and Coding programs, all based on the Red Planet.

Are Summer Camps for Kids Worth It?

Summer camps and activities for teens and kids can seem like an added expense that you can do without. But children gain so much value in these camps. This includes knowledge retention, expanding social skills, independence and confidence, and career development. These benefits are priceless.

Find an Engineering for Kids near you and help your child and teen have a life-changing experience this summer.