Last week, I got an email from a dad who was looking for ways to introduce his 1st grade daughter to coding. I had a few suggestions (not all of which were specific to coding), which I thought others might be interested in as well.
The Works: https://www.theworks.org/events-and-camps/
More about engineering in general than coding specifically, but some cool options.
[Disclosure: The Works was the non-profit that my colleagues in Team Pegacorn were assigned to for the Overnight Web Challenge. Though I was a fan of the organization before that!)
Coder Dojo TC: http://www.coderdojotc.org/
Some co-workers of mine are just getting this up and running. Keep an eye on it (or become a mentor!).
Science Museum: http://www.smm.org/classes
Code Academy: http://www.codecademy.com/
Some of the lessons might be advanced for a first grader, but could be a good activity for parents and kids to do side-by-side.
DIY: https://diy.org/
A site for kids to complete Maker challenges, and earn badges. Just signed my daughter up for it.
She’s Geeky: http://shesgeeky.org/
An annual unconference for women and girls. Not coding-specific, but all about STEM. Encourages both professional women and school-age girls to attend.
LittleBits: http://littlebits.cc/
This is a toy, not a camp (and it’s a little spendy) but my kids love these. We have the starter kit — they’ve added more kits and projects since we bought ours.
GoldieBlox: http://www.goldieblox.com/
Another toy. I don’t have it, but a friend got it for her daughter (I think she might have backed it on Kickstarter). At first I HATED the idea of “toys for girls” but when I learned more about the engineer behind it, and her research, I started digging the concept.
What did I miss? Do you have any suggestions? Most of my class or camp ideas are based in or around Minneapolis-St. Paul, but feel free to share other suggestions from other cities and states in the comments!