Education

5 Ways to Increase the Chances That Your Child Will Choose to Go to College

In this day and age, it’s more important than ever that kids go to college, yet too often they make the choice not to. Whether it’s because they’re afraid of the cost, they don’t think they need it for the career they want to go into, or they’re just sick of schools, it can be difficult for parents to see their child decide to pass on what could be such a useful opportunity.

At CodeREV Kids, we think it’s important to remember that the college prep doesn’t start when your child is a senior in high school – it starts much earlier. Here are a few things you can do to help steer your child toward the rewarding track of college.

1. Let your children know you value college

If you went to college, talk about it fondly. If you didn’t, talk about how it could have opened doors for you.

2. Ask your child what they want to be when they’re older

Of course, you’re not looking for your seven-year-old child to pick a career they’re going to stick with, but you can show them that you’ll support their goals. Encourage whatever their dreams are and put your child in touch with anyone you know in the field. Then connect that job to the need for a college degree.

3. Start your child off with challenging coursework

Studies show that if a high school student takes a single college-level course, their chances of going to and completing college go up.

4. Show them learning can be fun

The biggest obstacle you have is not letting your child think that learning is boring, too hard, or something that’s not necessary. At CodeREV Kids, we offer technology classes that are fun, useful, and will foster a love of learning in your kid.

5. Visit colleges when you’re traveling

The next time you go on a family trip, take a few hours to tour the local university or college. Talk to your child about the programs available at that school and whether or not it would offer the type of programs they need.

These are just a few ideas to help improve the chances that your child goes to college. All parents want their children to succeed and college can make that more likely in a wide range of fields. Reach out to the instructors at CodeREV Kids if you need more ideas on incorporating tech into your child’s learning program.

Coding Education

Could Your School Benefit From STEAM School Services?

At CodeREV Kids, we’ve seen kids from all backgrounds, of all ages, and all levels of experience benefit from our unique STEAM curriculum. We are proud of the after-school classes we offer, the summer coding camps, and the other ways we interact with our students, but that’s not all – we’re also bringing our program to schools around the country.

Which STEAM school service will work best for your school?

There are a few different ways you can take advantage of our program: You can let us come to your and teach onsite at your school or you can use our program yourselves at our school – with our support. If either of these options are interesting to you, then we recommend you reach out to us right away to find out how our customized curriculum could work for your school. Otherwise, keep reading to get more details.

We can teach our curriculum at your school

The first option is to have our tech teachers come onsite at your school and teach our programs directly to your kids. Generally, this is done on a weekly basis though we can customize a program based on your unique needs. One of our experienced instructors can teach the program to your students or they can work alongside the instructor of your computer lab.

We can offer the support you need to teach our curriculum

It’s often the case that schools simply want to license our curriculum and get the training they need to teach our program to their kids during the school day. Remember that our program is truly ground breaking, and when your own teachers are trained on how to follow it, you can teach it for years to come.

Depending on your preferences and needs, there are a few ways we can accomplish this goal. We can work with your school on a subscription basis wherein we license our program and curriculum, or we can offer professional development training so that your instructors get the details on how to handle a wide range of our programs.

No matter which option you choose, you can count on many different options that can be seamlessly integrated into your current classes. One of our many goals it to ensure that the CodeREV Kids program is as customizable and scalable as possible. Reach out to us
today for your own consultation and find out how our programs could work with your school.

Coding Education

Have You Thought About Your Kids Summer Schedule Yet?

It may seem as though the year has just begun, but the truth is that summer is just a few months away. Have you thought about how you’ll ensure your kid keeps up with their school work over the summer and continues to grow? If you’re like many parents, you want a way for your child to continue to learn but you also want them to enjoy their summer. Enter CodeREV Kids summer coding camps.  

There’s a camp to meet virtually need

There are a number of different summer camps available, some of which are all day and others are just half a day. Some are a week long and others are longer. The purpose of the curriculum at CodeREV Kids is certainly to teach your kids while ensuring they’re having a blast, but we also work hard to make sure that our spring and summer tech camps meet a wide variety of needs.

Check out an example daily schedule and you’ll see that there’s lots of fun to be had

The daily schedule for the particular camp your child signs up for will vary but today we wanted to share an example of a daily schedule. This will give you an idea of what you might expect.

  • 9:00: Game activities and group check-in
  • 9:15: First create period
  • 10:30: Morning snack and an activity break
  • 10:45: Second create period
  • 12:00: Lunch
  • 12:20: Outdoor recreation
  • 1:00: Third create period
  • 2:00: Meet and offer direction
  • 2:30: Snack
  • 2:45: Fourth create period
  • 3:30: Afternoon snack and break
  • 4:00: Pair up and share the work done

The specific activities that your child will take part in during the create periods will vary based on the type of camp they sign up for. Younger kids or those who don’t have a lot of tech experience may start with a camp that offers lots of direction. Older kids who are more experienced may work at their own pace on projects selected by them and supervised by our staff.

The bottom line is that it’s all up to you

Whether you choose to send your kid to us all day or just half a day, it’s up to you. What classes they sign up for and what they work on, it’s all up to you. We provide the expert guidance and award-winning curriculum but at end of the day – and the start of it – it’s really all about what will work best for your kid.

 

Coding Education

Now is the Perfect Time to Learn About Coding Summer Camps for Kids

Do you want your kids to have a truly unique experience this summer? If so, CodeREV Kids has a great idea for you: Summer coding camps for kids. You may be surprised to learn just how fun and educational these classes are – after all, as a parent, you know how hard it can be to create a curriculum that’s both! Read on to learn more and then reach out to us with any questions.

Your kids can learn STEM skills over the summer break

One of the biggest complains teachers often have is that kids forget a lot of what they learned during the school year when they’re off for summer break. That’s why it’s important to make sure that you’re intellectually challenging your kids over break too. Our weeklong tech camps are perfect for kids who want to design video games, learn about robots, create 3D models, animate – or just learn more about technology.

Our staff knows what they’re doing

When we hire staff, we go through an incredible rigorous process – and the same is true of our training process. Every Mentor we hire has at least two years of experience teaching tech to kids – and some have over a decade of experience doing so. We also require at least one year of professional experience within the tech sector.

We have Mentors who have worked at big companies like Google, EA, Sony, and many other companies. This isn’t just a summer job for them – it’s a chance for them to share what they’ve learned in a way that’s really important to them. They take this job seriously – and they take it to heart.

Your kids will bring home what they make with us

Regardless of which of the CodeREV Kids classes you sign your kids up for, you can count on them being able to bring home everything they make, so they can keep working on it, show it to you, show it off to their friends – or do whatever they’d like with it! It all comes through on a Google Drive that you’ll have access to as well. Don’t worry, we’ll provide all the instructions necessary to download what’s needed to keep working on them. In the event you have trouble, just give us a call and we’ll help you with the process.

CodeREV Kids believes in every child and believes in the role of technology in building bright futures. We’d be honored to work with your child this summer. Call us today for more information.

Coding Curriculum

Your Kids Deserve Cutting Edge Curriculum and We Provide It

When you choose CodeREV Kids for your children, we take that trust seriously. We want every student to get an exceptional education, for them to have a great experience, and for you to feel 100% confident that you’re choosing the right option for them. That’s why we put so much time and care into creating a curriculum we can be proud of.

We focus on fun and education

Who says something has to either be fun or be education? We sure don’t! We believe that STEM is important for kids and we believe we can make it fun for them to learn. Of course, we also make sure that our curriculum isn’t just good enough for us. We have actually had it supported by experts in education at both the MIT Media Lab and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

A low student to teacher ratio is important to us

There are many things that go into creating incredible tech camps for kids, including the ability for students to get as much help as they want. We work to keep the number of students to teachers as low as possible. This gives us the chance to make every learning experience as individualized as possible and to ensure that every student gets what they need. Our ratios are between 5-8 to 1 for every class.

Your students are safe with us

There are a lot of reasons that coding is important for kids, but if you don’t feel confident in who you’re sending your kids to, then you’re not going to send them here. That’s why we are sure to hold our camps at schools. This gives you the peace of mind that they’re in a safe environment. What’s more, we do fingerprint background checks for every single member of our staff. We also ensure that we have several instructors at each of our locations that has CPR certification. Your child is important to us!

Your student will do more than just sit behind a computer

In this day and age, many parents understand that tech is more and more important every year, but they also wish their kids spent more time outside playing. At CodeREV Kids, we’ve found unique ways to accomplish both objectives. We have some great outdoor activities that will help boost their team-building skills and give them a chance to run and play and have fun. For example, during a full camp day, there are four break times each day.

Skills

6 Ways to Help Your Kids Stay Safe Online

Whether we like it or not, we live in an online world. Our kids will be introduced to technology at a very young age and though they may seem as though they’re much tech-savvier than their parents, it’s still up to you to make sure they’re staying safe online. CodeREV Kids believes that technology is an important subject for kids to understand but we also want to keep kid save. Here are six ways to do that.

  1. Make sure private info stays that way. Let your kids know what they can and can’t share online. Start out by asking them what they think it’s okay to share and you are likely to be surprised.
  2. Keep passwords protected. Remind kids not to share their passwords with anyone except their parents and give them some tips on how to choose a password people won’t guess.
  3. Have a download rule. Is it okay for your child to download things without your express permission? If it isn’t, make that clear to them. If it is, then let them know what the parameters are and what’s okay to download versus what isn’t.
  4. Find safe places for them to learn the internet. At CodeREV Kids, we offer a modded Minecraft server that lets kids work on their world while being generally supervised. This gives them a great opportunity to learn about safe online habits.
  5. Make sure the boundaries are clear. It’s important to make sure that your children are aware of what they can and can’t do. Don’t ever assume that they know the rules or that they know what’s dangerous. What seems obvious to an adult will be a mystery to a child who doesn’t have experience with the internet.
  6. Monitor online relationships. Make sure that your children understand that it’s never okay for them to meet, talk to, or accept gifts from someone they met online without your permission.

The above tips are great ideas if you want to let your kids get online but also want to feel confident that they’re being safe. However, remember that there’s no substitute for good old fashioned being involved. Ask your kids what they’re doing online, make sure they’re accessing the internet in a public space, and feel free to share stories with them about good and bad experiences online.

Skills

Technology is Important for Kids but Make Sure You’re Aware of the Risks

At CodeREV Kids, we certainly that technology is not only a necessary part of any child’s future but that it’s a good thing that can help them develop into critical thinking, problem solving citizens of the world. That said, there are some limits. We have developed this list of the three main things to ensure your kids are aware of as they branch out into the world of collaborative technology.

Make sure they know what to do if they see or experience cyberbullying

The most recent Pew Report shows that more than 85% of teenagers say they’ve seen people being cruel on social media. Remember that though cyberbullying may be most often done online, it can also happen via text and utilizing other types of technology. Teach your child to come talk to you or another adult if it’s happening to them, and teach them to stand up for other students if they see them being cyberbullied.

Your child’s identity needs to be safe

Most people likely think of identity theft as an issue that only affects adults. The truth is that children can also get their identities stolen – most specifically their social security numbers. In fact, it can be to a thief’s benefit to steal a child’s social security number over that of an adult because a child likely won’t find out for many years – and by that time the proof will be long gone.

Your child should know who they’re talking to

The fact that the internet, and other forms of technology, can be so anonymous means that people who have less-than-good intentions. You don’t need to go into all the different ways a person could be up to no good, but you can prepare your kids for how they must verify who someone is. Make sure your child knows why they shouldn’t have secret phone calls or secret meetings.

CodeREV Kids offers a safe place for your kids to learn technology

One of the reasons that CodeREV Kids is involved in this field is because we do want kids to learn the latest technology, including coding, and we want kids to have a safe space to do that. If you have questions about the many classes we offer, or how those classes can benefit your child, then we welcome you to reach out via telephone, email, or even stop by one of our locations.

Coding Curriculum

Simple Ways to Help Your Kids Prepare for a Standardized Test

No matter how you may feel about standardized tests, they are currently a part of school curriculums throughout California. While it may seem as though there’s no real way to prepare your children for taking them, CodeREV Kids actually has some tips. It all starts of course with bringing their Number 2 pencil, but there are other things they can do to increase their chances of doing well.

Teach them about the process of elimination

Any time your child doesn’t know the answer, they should simply flip it around and ask themselves what the wrong answers are. For example, if a question has four possible answers and they can see that two of them are definitely wrong, then they can choose from the remaining two and have a 50% chance of getting it right, compared to just a 25% chance if they guessed randomly.

Skip questions and go back to them

Depending on the test, there may be some questions mixed throughout the test that take longer to complete. Teach your child that if they come to one that is taking too much time, simply skip it and move on. If there’s time at the end, they can go back to them. The point is that it’s better to skip a few questions and keep moving than to get stuck on question 15 for 20 minutes and end up leaving the last 30 questions blank.

Make notes if possible

Some tests allow kids a piece of scratch paper. If the test your child is taking does allow this, then teach your kids to work out problems by writing them down and breaking them down to a smaller scale. Not only can this make it easier for children to better visualize the question, but studies have shown that it helps them concentrate and focus as well.

Teach them problem-solving and critical-thinking skills

In addition to specific test prep, you can also encourage your kids to boost their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. In fact, at CodeREV Kids, when we ask parents to show us how coding has helped their children, they generally have numerous answers for us, but improved problem-solving skills are typically among them.

No matter what the test is, no matter how important it is, your child can learn to perform better on it. The above tips are a great way to get started as you think of ways to improve their test taking.

Skills

4 Ways to Nurture a Growth Mindset in Your Children

There’s been a lot of press recently about supporting a child’s growth mindset. But what does this mean? In short, the growth mindset is one in which failure doesn’t define you, but is rather an opportunity to learn something new. For kids with a growth mindset, effort is the reward, whether they fail or succeed. Here are four ways you can help encourage this attitude in your child.

1. Be the change you want to see

First and foremost, model the growth mindset yourself. For example, talk to your kids every day about what you learned, what mistakes you made, and what you learned from those mistakes. Then talk to them about everything you put effort into, whether you completed it or not. Before long, your kids will be joining in with their own answers and will unknowingly be using a growth mindset themselves.

2. Praise your child’s effort – not their ability

You should praise your child but if you praise them for being talented or intelligent, then you’re putting them into a fixed mindset in which those factors can be changed, whether they make good or bad choices. Instead, focus on how much effort they’ve put into things, and complement the strategies they use.

3. Work with your children to reframe their thinking

A person who’s truly adopted a growth mindset never asks, “Is it possible to do this?” they ask “How can I do this?” Encourage your kids to work on processes that test their abilities. Some of the coding classes at CodeREV Kids are especially good for helping kids learn how to think critically and solve problems.

4. Don’t sugar coat failure

If your child fails, praise their effort and move on to helping them find ways they can improve the next time they’re in that situation. If you don’t acknowledge the failure at all, then you’re going to take a mistake and turn it into a way of life.

Most people have mixed feelings about following a growth mindset and in encouraging their children to do so. The bottom line is that of course it’s up to you how you encourage your child. At CodeREV Kids, we just think it’s smart to learn from mistakes and find other ways to move forward. To learn more about the many classes we offer for kids, reach out to us or stop by one of our classrooms today!

Skills

5 Simple Tips to Help Your Kids Ace Their Next Test

Every parent wants their child to do well in school but not all of us know the best way to help them accomplish that goal. At CodeREV Kids, we’ve compiled five simple tips you can follow to help your kids be prepared for their next test.

1. Make a plan for studying well in advance

Deadlines have a way of sneaking up on all of us, regardless of age. Teach your children to make a study plan as soon as they know the date of their test. Then check with them daily or weekly to see that they’re on track. There’s simply no substitute for studying over time versus cramming in the day or two before the test.

2. Be ready for the format of the test

Many students concentrate so hard on learning the material on a test that they forget to work on the format of the test. For example, if your child isn’t used to essay tests, then you may need to help them learn how to organize them. If they don’t know the best strategies for multiple choice tests, then you may need to help them.

3. Remember that it’s not all about school

You do want to help them focus but you don’t want them so stressed about their tests that they end up worrying themselves out of a good grade. We recommend fun activities that help improve their critical thinking skills overall, like coding classes.

4. Attitude matters

A single test isn’t going to make or break your child’s entire educational career. You do want them to do well, but if they don’t, let them know that you can learn from that experience. You don’t want to pressure your child so much that they aren’t able to do their best on a test.

5. Overall health is important

Make sure your child gets a good breakfast the day of their test, and plenty of sleep the night before. Regular experience can help boost brain activity too. There are of course many reasons to try and ensure your child is healthy but improving their test scores should be one of them.

At CodeREV Kids we are in the business of helping kids succeed. As their parent, there are many things you can do to help them learn to excel, including the tips above. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to know more about how coding can be a part of this strategy.