It has been a long time since I have seen my kids so interested in a language arts program. Some past experiences have made them, and me, weary of language arts programs that are supposed to work for all three of them. But I think we might be cured now with Night Zookeeper. Here is a web program that covers language arts and creativity.
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What Is Night Zookeeper?
The Night Zookeeper is your child, as they will be introduced to a virtual world where they are a zookeeper in a zoo that operates at night. Creatures that come out at night and they are weird and wonderful and totally made up by your child and other children that are playing online too.
In return for looking after the animals and writing all about them, children collect orbs. Orbs help you to power up through the levels. There is no option to buy orbs; they must be earned. There are also online lessons that guide children through producing short pieces of creative writing that focus on key areas of the English National Curriculum in a fun and informative way.
Those orbs can be cashed in by your child to buy animals that have been created by other children to have in their own zoo. Language arts and math all in one!
What Do Your Children Do On Night Zookeeper?
When logged in they can create a piece of writing, visit the blog, complete lessons, or play games. If they choose to visit their Zoo, your kids will be shown a word of the day and then will be presented with a drawing and writing challenge.
In each new area, they can then choose to create an animal or collect an animal that someone else has drawn. If your kids opt to create a new creature they will be prompted to name it and write a short report about its special powers and how it helps the zoo. All of which they’ll be prompted on correct spelling, using proper punctuation, and on how to end a letter or report.
Night Zookeeper is an engaging, game-ified online writing program that absolutely blew my mind. The artwork, the story, the teaching methodology, it’s all so engaging for them. This is key in wanting your children to learn, engaging them.
Your child is in total control of the story. They decide what to do, what word games to play to advance your progress, and how to play the ultimate strategy game that allows you to go one-on-one with the Voids.
Grammar. Vocabulary. Creative Writing. Non-fiction reading comprehension. It’s all there.
Who Can Use Night Zookeeper?
This program is for kids ages 5 -12+ years old. Each of my kids started with the same start, a rainbow bird that they would create. But then they had a different story to go along with it as they are each at very different levels.
Now, you might be a parent who wants to know exactly what your child is doing, what they are typing, the stories they are writing. Me, I’m talking about me, I love reading their creativity. Guess what? You can read their work on the parent dashboard. You can leave them messages about what they have been writing, it’s really great.
One of the Night Zookeeper moderators will check all the messages left by yourself and others so you can be assured that what they see and read is completely appropriate. Children’s profiles remain anonymous so there is no way of identifying children taking part.
I love the blog aspect of the site where children’s writing is showcased, similar to what their momma is doing.
