It's June, that means it's the time of the year when parents are frantically looking for summer camps for their kids. Do you feel like you left it too late? Believe it or not, most parents tend to book camps in June for the summer months. There are usually a few programs that you absolutely wanted  and were in high demand so you registered early for; but with 8+ weeks of summer vacation, there are always a few weeks that are still up in the air until June. That's what it's like in my house every year. I was talking to a friend about summer camps the other day, that I am so far behind and that I wanted to get my daughter in a STEM camp this year. She responded that kids are already using tech more than we ever did, why would I want to sign her up for a week of being on the computer?

Here are my top 5 reasons for wanting her to be engaged in STEM early on and why I'm putting my daughter in Level Up Kids camp this year.

1. While I know we usually think tech when we hear the term STEM; technology is only one component. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  Those are skills that I want my kids, and especially my daughter to be engaged with early on. I love that the programs at Level Up Kids will enable her to experience all aspect of this. And the best part? They are not on the computer all day. They have outdoor time, team building exercises, and hands on group activities. 

2. On the whole, girls need to feel like they belong and the earlier they are exposed to STEM the better. Our daughter has been participating in some type of engineering or science camp since she was four and she was often the only girl in the program. At first, she didn't really notice the difference, but now that she is almost 10, she has mentioned that it would be great to see and be around more girls in these classes. I love that Level Up Kids offers a girls only class where the girls can learn together. While I think that overall, it's always good for learning to be co-educational, having a week where she sees lots of others girls who are into STEM will be great in reinforcing that she does belong in these classes and she is not the only girl with these interests.

3. They have programs all across Canada. I will be visiting Ottawa this summer to spend time with my mommy, and I love that I will be able to continue the program in Ottawa for the week that we are there.

4. Minecraft, Programming, Robotics, and Raspberry Pi, oh my! Those are just some of the things she'll be able to learn and explore during a week of camp. The range of activities is quite impressive and seeing that her dad is a geek (and proud of it), he couldn't be happier with the selection of learning materials. I think it's the first time he looked at an STEM-based program and was actually impressed with the offering.

5. I took her to an intro session, and she LOVED it and couldn't stop talking about it. Loved that she learned new Minecraft hacking tips, loved that she was able to connect with others who loved coding too, loved that she was able to make a little robot and talk to dad about it. This is the same kids that made us put her in Mathnasium three times a week because she wanted to improve her math skills, so learning excites her, and I'm glad that we found something that is fun and educational at the same time. I don't even think she considered it learning at all - it was pure fun.

And guess what? You can win a week at any Level Up Kids location across the country!  Comment below to enter.  Please make sure you put the location you are interested in.   Contest closes June 16th. The winner will be chosen randomly.