This is the time when kids are super-charged and ready for school after a good dose of sun and sea. Some of them look forward to meeting their new teacher, some the new books or meeting friends etc. Nicholas Camilleri, founder of Geeky Kids coding club tells us why coding is such a great extracurricular activity for children.
Why choose coding as an extracurricular activity?
Nicholas Camilleri: When it comes to classes and clubs your sky is the limit. Gymnastics, art, drama, music, taekwondo, football, swimming… the possibilities are endless, especially around South West London. So what do you choose and how? We believe coding is still overlooked, so here are a few reasons why we think you should consider coding for your child at an early age.
Coding may not sound like your typical after-school activity, but think again! First off, variety is always a positive thing and having an exciting set of varied activities after school is important. Also, it’s important to remember that some children are stimulated more by mental activities rather than physical ones. Catering to each individual child’s needs is important.
What are the benefits of learning how to code?
Nicholas Camilleri: Coding stimulates different parts of the brain. We would class the subject as a combination of maths, logic and art. The latter being the less obvious of course, not many people picture art when talking about computers. The reality is that I can give the same problem to twenty children and they would all have a different program once they are done.
The creative and engineering aspects make it a fun, engaging and satisfying activity for children. The fact that kids are able to build something new every time they write a computer program, is quite cool.
Children love computers, tablets and phones so getting them to enjoy programming won’t be hard! Why not build a game rather than play it? Easy right? Programming also improves problem solving skills as it teaches our students to approach problems with confidence. It empowers children from an early age and in fact, some of the best and most successful entrepreneurs in the world these days started off as coders. We like to refer to coding skills as super powers!
Geeky Kids Coding Course | Credit: Geeky Kids
How would coding benefit a child’s future?
Nicholas Camilleri: Coders are in high demand. There are far too many software engineering jobs and not enough programmers. Computing is pushing the limits in every industry, be it robotics, biotechnology, aerospace, cars, banking and oil exploration to name a few. Companies are willing to do and pay anything to attract the right talent. If coding or programming is something your child is considering for the future, help them stand out by starting them off early with us.
Why choose Geeky Kids over any other coding club?
Nicholas Camilleri: We value the children we work with and dedicate time and attention to them individually. Monitoring the children and ensuring they are taking the right course is key. Especially given the vast selection of courses available, it is easy for a child to end up in the wrong course if not attentive. Teachers observe the progress of each student as an individual and record attendance. As the end of the term approaches, we use this information to recommend the right course for the next term as well as keep parents informed of their child’s progress.
Children learn about team work through our programme. We make sure that groups of children work together and we foster a collaborative environment where children share ideas and one other. We have numerous introduction courses in different programming languages specifically designed for children. We have game development, web design, Python and now we are starting to introduce the more experienced groups to advanced topics such as machine learning and data science. We don’t stop creating new content, ever.
Some schools are starting to incorporate coding into their curriculum, but this is still very limited, especially in primary schools. This means your child will have the opportunity to get ahead by joining our coding club, if their school doesn’t provide the resources for them. This programme isn’t just helpful to children! Different locations and times provide numerous options for parents and children in the area. We want to make sure it’s as convenient as possible for all.
Geeky Kids Coding Course | Credit: Geeky Kids
Geeky Kids have been around since early 2015. Founder Nicholas Camilleri has been working in technology for 20 years and has two kids, so he knows quite a bit about kids and coding. Here is what he had to say about the rest of the team…
Nicholas Camilleri: In our team Tom is a PhD graduate, and Ameena is an experienced computer science teacher in an independent school based in central London. We also have a number of assistant teachers, particularly second and third year computer science students coming from universities around the area. This ensures we have the right mix of teachers. Kids typically identify with young people more, so it’s a great opportunity for kids to meet students, allowing them to have a picture of what their future could be like. We are constantly looking for teachers so if you love coding and children, please reach out!
Geeky Kids run fun and interactive coding courses in Wimbledon, Epsom and Twickenham. For more information, please visit www.geekykids.co.uk and send a request or email with the relevant location.
Contributor: Nicholas Camilleri | Founder | Geeky Kids
Website: GeekyKids.co.uk
Facebook: @GeekyKidsUK
Instagram: @GeekyKids
Twitter: @GeekyKidsUK
(Disclaimer: This blog is a promotion. All views and opinions are our own.)
