The Startup Wonder

The Startup Wonder!

Give your child the gift of imagination and the tools to realize their dreams. Startup Wonder strives towards inspiring your child to start a journey of continuous wonder!

Growth and Inclusiveness have always been a part of Startup Wonder's histor

WHAT IS STARTUP WONDER?
Startup Wonder started in 2012 with the goal of teaching kids confidence, resilience, and problem solving through entrepreneurship. Weeklong summer day camps teach kids in grades 2-8 coding in the morning and startup in the afternoon in multiple San Francisco Bay Area locations. Campers learn to code in the mornings and business concepts in the afternoon where they come up with ideas about a project for a product, service, nonprofit or anything else they want. Teams of students are guided along the way to also create a pitch and give a presentation at the camp convention, usually Fridays at 2 pm. The best pitch of the season wins seed funding, the team is notified and each student will receive their prizes including cash and a spot on the leader board on contest winner page of the Startup Wonder.com website.

Its curriculum is based on the philosophy that children are more motivated and learn by doing and building projects. They ignite their passion for learning by letting them come up with projects they want to build. The coding and STEM projects are treated as just another problem-solving tool that students can use in order to reach their goal. Students can also use Craft or Internet ideas to plan or build their projects. Startup Wonder's "Wonder Coaches" are trained to help students overcome failures and gain the attitude that "if this didn't work, Let's change or pivot".

STARTUP WONDER IS DIFFERENT!
Startup Wonder is a unique camp program in its equal approach to teaching entrepreneurship and STEM. Its students can use the code, games or apps they develop to plan or build their ideas or they can use the design thinking process and build a craft product. They also encourage students to come up with a project that solves a social issue that benefits the community or the environment.

Startup Wonder's goal is to teach students the important life skills that traditional schools do not teach. They often give mediation breaks, leadership circles that teach negotiation skills, dealing with conflict and similar soft skills. Another example of a classroom project is building a vision board or creating a financial budget for students. Summer camp should be fun and Wonder Coaches make sure students get outdoor fun and game time. Most of the PM class is free of any technology use with the exception of market research for their products or ideas.

UNIQUE TEACHER STUDENT RATIO
Startup Wonder's student to teacher ratio is very low and they typically have at least 1 teacher for every 8-10 students. Startup Wonder also allows a select few responsible, young adults, typically past campers, to become counselorin-training and help the lead teacher in the class with breaks or classroom projects. Computer science majors or business majors teach classes. Teachers are often college undergrad or graduate students and are supervised by an experienced teacher.

THE DAILY SCHEDULE KEEPS THE CAMP FUN AND INTERESTING
Morning camps are 9-12 while afternoon camps are 12-3; all day students get a lunch break and game time from 11:40-12:20. Everyone also gets morning breaks and afternoon breaks. They offer extended day from 8:30-9 and from 3-5:30. Extended days are time for book club and outdoor play

EXPERIENCED TEACHERS DEAL KIDS WITH PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE
At Startup Wonder safety is first. Instructors receive training on safety and conflict resolution. While some interpersonal differences among students or within their teams are expected and are a growth opportunity, they ultimately want students to learn and have a good time. Therefore, they have established procedures to address a disruptive participant that puts the safety, learning and comfort of others in jeopardy

Computer science majors or business majors teach classes. Teachers are often college undergrad or graduate students and are supervised by an experienced teacher. They often have a professional or an entrepreneur join the class, typically via videoconference and answer the student's questions.

OPEN TO ALL
Startup Wonder's camps are open to all students of all abilities and backgrounds. Students need to understand and speak basic English. Computer classes require basic typing lesson. They provide a brief typing lesson in class and send a link prior to class to the families too.

At Startup Wonder, they believe that every student is more motivated about what interests them. They ignite a student's motivation and ambition by teaching them the process of innovation and allow them to apply that to anything they want.

STARTUP WONDER GIVES BACK IN SCHOLARSHIPS!
Startup Wonder provides need-based scholarships. They also provide leadership opportunities for teens in the form of a Counselor in Training. They hire college students as assistant teachers and college graduates as supervising teachers.

Startup Wonder teen and young adult bloggers have the opportunity to interview professionals and entrepreneurs and submit a Blog. This program encourages "informational interview" research and investigations. See how its bloggers explored their future college majors, established mentorship or learned from experienced entrepreneurs by writing for Startup Wonder Blog's "Interview An Entrepreneur" or "Career/Major Exploration" series.

Startup Wonder also invites mentors to address a camp session and give an informative and Q/A style talk via video conferencing to any one of their camps at any time convenient for the mentor. Sign up to keep in touch, or be a mentor and speaker and to Give Forward, on their Contact page. See StartupWonder.com/contact or StartupWonder.com/jobs