Kids and Youth Coding Camp

“Teaching kids is humbling, hilarious, and so rewarding”

My dad always said the best way to know if you really understand something is to try teaching it. I’d take it a step further and say if you truly want to test your knowledge, try teaching kids. They are not afraid to ask the tough “wait, but why?” questions that make you rethink everything.

That is exactly what my sister and I did this past July when we partnered with the Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (BPES) to run a youth coding camp. Over one weekend, we guided kids ages 8 to 16 through building their very own websites from scratch with no prior experience required. By the end, they walked away with something completely their own, and we walked away with a few new lessons ourselves.

This was not our first time teaching kids how to code, but every time I do it, I learn something new. Like how many different brackets sneak their way into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or how tricky JavaScript syntax really is. Honestly, it is kind of like realizing how confusing it is to count to 100 in French. And of course, coding loves to throw curveballs. My sister and I hit a few unexpected errors during the camp, which had us internally panicking, but we powered through, and the payoff was absolutely worth it.

Watching the kids show off their websites at the end of the day, each one bursting with personality, was the highlight. Their excitement when explaining their creations to the class was such a proud moment for them and for us.

Teaching kids is humbling, hilarious, and so rewarding. It pushes your communication skills to the next level and reminds you that learning is never a one-way street. Honestly, I would recommend it to anyone.