I have a 7 year old who loves his MacBook Air and wants to learn more on using it to create.
Have any MR readers had their children take part in the camp in previous years and care to share their insights? My son is too young but he should be able to attend next year.
Cheers!
If you're son is close to 8 yrs old and ready for 2nd grade, I think he'll be fine (my opinion). Otherwise go online or go to the Apple store and ask about separate kid friendly classes. It's free, nothing to loose.
My son has been to Apple Camp 2x and have taken other classes outside of Apple Camp for kids since 4-5yrs old. My sone is now 9yrs old.
Classes are on iPads which are provided during the class sessions if you don't have an iPad of your own.
Camp is 3 day session, a couple of hours each. Each day is a different class. On the registration you can pick the sessions you want for your child. I think there's a session in the morning and in the afternoon. For example you'll pick a Mon, Wed, Fri AM or PM session or a Tue, Thur, Fri AM or PM session. On Friday, all the kids come in during their AM or PM session.
The sessions are in the store, while the store is open, with normal store traffic, so it can get chaotic and loud. With a bunch of kids gathered and on an iPad, it brings in regular foot traffic in the stores curious to see what's going on.
I don't remember how many kids per session, i want to say 8-10 kids at a time.
Every child works at the same level, trainers try to pair up kids so they can help each other. Older kids naturally help out the younger ones who may not be keeping up. I think because they are just having fun learning and want to share.
Your child will get an Apple Camp T-Shirt they wear during the camp sessions. You get the t-shirt on the first day (when you sign up, you have to give them your child's t-shirt size). And a certificate of completion at the end of the session.
Parents can hang out too. Last year, a separate Apple trainer sat with the Parents and let them know what their child will be learning, show them the web sites for the kids to continue to learn, and ask answer your questions on how to use any of their Apple products or applications. So if you've been "lost" trying to help your kids do homework or troubleshoot their electronic problems, this is a great way for Parents to get involve.
I can tell you that it's a great experience and introduced my child to computer programming at an early age. A lot of schools today are using mobile devices in the class rooms. My son turned in his projects and homework in electronic form and have done a few presentation from an iPad that is used in his classroom. Heck, he created an iMove presentation with transitions and music edits in less than 15mins! All due to the Apple free classes I registered him in.
Good Luck!