I initially signed my son up for two weeks of GSQ - he is now completing his fifth week, as he enjoyed it so much we cancelled all his other plans so he could continue! He's never been much interested in the typical city-run summer camps - he'd much rather do a deep dive into a subject that interests him, so GSQ is the perfect fit. They have a wonderful range of "majors" from cooking to catapult building to web design, and he has learned SO much this summer - how to create 3D digital designs with TinkerCAD, how to plan and edit a YouTube video, and how to produce a cool video game with multiple levels.
The new skills he picked up are great, but the best part of GSQ is how they create an environment where the kids can feel free to brainstorm, experiment, bounce ideas off one another, test things out and fail and try, try again. It was amazing to see my 9-year-old, who is generally impatient and easily frustrated, notice that an element of his MineCraft mod wasn't working as planned - then go into the source code to methodically isolate and troubleshoot the piece of code that was causing the problem.
He is loving everything about camp - the playlists that they all help create for the week, the games in the courtyard, and the enthusiastic and knowledgeable counselors. I have already seen a difference in his confidence and communication, and we are both looking forward to next summer at GSQ!
- Aimee E, Lafayette Parent