Mom Report: Coding with Classroom Antics

Watching my 9-year-old, Will’s, creative side pop over the years has been mind blowing. He has gone from mastering Lego building, to drawing amazing, detailed photos that never cease to amaze me.

Recently, I noticed his drawings climb to a whole new level. His traditional, yet precise detailed drawings, shifted to meticulous game designs. Next thing I knew, he was asking how he could make his video games come to life. I wanted to help him pursue his dreams, but I had no clue where to begin. When I heard Classroom Antics had a Game Builder’s Camp, I could barely hold in my excitement. And as you can imagine, I didn’t have to ask Will twice!

Classroom Antics Virtual Game Builders Camp is for ages 7 – 9, and teaches kids to build their very own 3D video games in live, interactive Zoom sessions! I loved being able to “take my kid to camp” at home – our current comfort zone. Will has been successfully doing third grade virtual learning, so I knew this would be right up his alley. 

This two-hour, weeklong camp began with the coding basics, and Will learned all about how to use Kodu, a software used to design games, instead of just playing!

Immediately, his STEAM skills were exercised, and the teacher didn’t hesitate to let the kids jump right in and put their creativity to the test. By the end of the week, Will gained understanding of programming and game design, plus he learned to design his own video games with exciting challenges, innovative gameplay and fun characters. 

I asked Will what he learned and loved most about camp (not to mention, this was his first experience with camp!)

“I learned how to code! Coding was the coolest thing I learned and telling the characters what to do was my favorite part,” he said, “I felt nervous the first day because I was new to it. Day two and day three, I felt like it was pretty cool.” 

I was impressed on how the teacher sent out daily e-mails to the parents telling them all that the kids learned that day. It was detailed and helped me to understand more about what Will was learning (I am not a gamer so a little guidance on the logistics was very helpful!)

Will couldn’t wait to sit down and show me his new Kodu software and the skills he mastered (he gets to keep this software, so now he uses it all the time!). His dad knows all about gaming, and when he saw how quickly Will designed a game and navigated his way around, I saw his eyes grow big. He was impressed! 

Classroom Antics offers virtual and on-site STEAM & STEM camps classes for ages 6 – 18 years old. Plus, they have small class sizes and the professional educators really know how to engage one-on-one with the students. Camps range from architects camp, to coding, robotics and more!