The difference between a coding camp and a product camp

Coding camps have been around for years. Your kid spends a week or two learning Python, JavaScript, or Scratch. They complete exercises. They build a project that only works on the camp's platform. They come home with a certificate and maybe a USB stick.

Product camps are different. The goal isn't to learn a language. The goal is to ship something real.

In a product camp, the process looks like this: identify a problem, research who has it, design a solution, build it, test it with real users, iterate, and launch. That's not a curriculum exercise. That's how real companies work.

The tools are different too. Instead of teaching kids to manually write every line of code, we give them AI tools that let them describe what they want and build it together with the AI. This means they spend more time thinking about what to build and less time debugging semicolons.

The output is different. Instead of a project file, your child has a live URL. Instead of "I learned Python," they can say "I built an app that 47 classmates use." Instead of a certificate, they have a portfolio piece.

The skills are different. Product thinking — empathy, prioritization, design sense, communication — these are the skills that will matter regardless of how technology evolves. Syntax changes. Product thinking doesn't.