Northern Beaches Mums Group
Northern Beaches Mums Group

Manage screen time wisely by encouraging a love of coding these school holidays

If there’s one thing that any parent knows, it’s that screens are here to stay.

With device time now a big part of kids’ lives, you might be wondering how to manage your children’s time wisely over the upcoming school holidays.

Rather than letting kids get too wrapped up in endless games and videos, why not encourage their interest in a healthy way by encouraging them to actually learn how to code.

Code Camp, Australia’s leading school holiday camp for kids aged 5-13, has an incredible assortment of interesting programs for kids in their 2-3 day in person and online programs. And who knows – your child’s interest may be sparked so much that they become the next Steve Jobs or STEM whiz later on!

DRONE CAMP: A SMASH HIT

Last summer’s brand-new Drone Camp (ages 9-13) proved to be incredibly popular. All initial camps sold out in just a few days, which resulted in extra camps being put on – which also sold out.

More than 400 kids attended one of the 31 Drone Camps held at 29 different venues across Australia, completing an incredible 2,500 drone missions.

Hayley Markham, Code Camp co-founder / COO and mother of three, said, “One of the most important drone missions we embark on at Code Camp involves project-based learning to use drones when searching for koalas to track their population numbers. Kids can also channel their inner David Attenborough and make a documentary film along the way. 

“This is particularly critical learning for kids at a time when government officials have declared koalas endangered across much of eastern Australia, citing the impacts of drought, bush fires and habitat loss on the country’s dwindling marsupial population. 

 “We aren’t just teaching kids how to fly drones for fun, we are teaching them the importance of drone technology in society, educating them to be socially aware and in this instance, to grasp the importance of conservation efforts to ensure a healthy future for koalas.”

DJ CAMP: HIGH DEMAND FOR KIDS TO BE THE NEXT SUPERSTAR DJ

Created in collaboration with professional DJs, DJ Camp (ages 8-13) has been incredibly popular since launching. Here Australia’s next hottest young DJs of tomorrow take their first steps into the exciting world of mixing music to create unforgettable experiences. 

Over two days, budding music makers learn from real DJs and producers how to create and code their very own mix, develop a DJ persona and brand, design their logo plus a poster and some cool merchandise. They then end on a high performing their own CODEchella track for their classmates.

“We start kids off at the beginning explaining what DJing is really all about, with song structure, counting beats and different genres,” said Ms Markham.

“Then it’s time to plug in and play around on the decks to get a grip on what each control does. Our talented instructors teach students everything they need to know to create awesome sounds.”  

NEW MINIONS PROGRAMS: ILLUMINATION’S MINIONS HAVE ARRIVED

New to Code Camp are Illumination’s beloved Minions, from the world’s most successful animated franchise of all-time! For the first time Code Camp, in partnership with Universal Brand Development, will help kids aged 5-12 bring to life Gru, the world’s greatest supervillain, and everyone’s favourite Minions: Kevin, Stuart, Bob, new Minion Otto. Illumination’s new film, Minions: The Rise of Gru, arrives in theatres June 23. 

Programs include ‘Minions Animation Camp’ for ages 5–7 and a ‘Code your own Minions game’ in their Spark and Ignite Coding Camps for ages 7-12.

To book in to a Code Camp for this school holidays, visit www.codecamp.com.au