Summer Camps

Our Mini Nerds classes are designed and taught by the amazing preschool and kindergarten teachers at Desert Sun. They are a montessori style class and include tons of engaging stations and hands on activities. Typically, each day starts with a short lesson during circle time, followed by time to explore outdoor stations if weather permits. The Desert Sun campus is well shaded and many of the outdoor stations incorporate water, so our minis stay cool, but we also watch the temperature, especially in afternoon classes. The nerds eat a snack from home and head back inside for another short lesson followed by indoor building activities and more stations. Exploration is paused again for the last short lesson and songs as we wrap up the class. Mini nerds classes tend to be messy!

Our Little Nerd classes are engaging and exciting and vary greatly in content and structure, but in some form there is always direct instruction from the teacher, guided practice, and independent or small group work with help and support from peers and staff. We usually begin the day with a team building activity and move into our first lesson. Next is a hands-on activity or project. Halfway through the class, kids will take a brief recess and snack break. A second lesson follows break and the kids will do another project/activity or continue one they were working on. 

Our Big Nerds classes have 2 types: regular classroom classes and computer lab* classes. The regular classroom classes run very similarly in format to the Little Nerds classes, essentially lesson, building/work, break, lesson, building/work. 

Our computer lab* classes are Graphic Design, Virtual Reality, Coding Games, and 3D Printing. All of them require design or coding software that we provide account access for. The class will be based around learning that software to design or code the assigned projects. In addition to instruction on the software, all of these classes include lessons about how to connect what we are learning to the real world. There may be some building of physical projects mixed in, and we will certainly take breaks, but the majority of the class is spent working in the lab.

*We strongly recommend against taking 2 computer lab classes in the same week. It’s too much sitting and screen time! Mix and match with a non computer lab class if your nerd stays all day!