Thanks to Night Zookeeper for providing me with a free trial of their program. As always, all opinions are my own.
If you’re an avid follower of Emily Reviews, you probably know that I homeschool our two children. They’re eight and ten years old now (time flies!) and our daughter has never been a big fan of writing or anything related to the language arts. She absolutely loves math and science, and I want her to come to love reading and writing just as much because I feel like they’re such important ways to explore the world and creativity. When I heard about Night Zookeeper I thought it would be a great way to get her writing without putting too much pressure on her – and it worked! For the past month she’s been using and loving this program, and I’m so excited to share it with you because I think all children can benefit from using it. Plus, they have a big sale going right now that you’re not going to want to miss!
Night Zookeeper
Over the years we’ve tried a variety of ELA programs for Harper and none have stuck. There hasn’t been any one program that’s made her excited to read or write, and it’s truly been like pulling teeth to get her to complete grammar work in particular. I heard about Night Zookeeper from another homeschooling mom and I thought it would be worth giving it a try. I am SO excited to say that she actually looks forward to working in this program and she’s learning so much without even realizing it.
Night Zookeeper is geared towards kids in the 6-12 age range so it’s perfect for my kiddos right now! There’s a parent dashboard and a child dashboard so I can follow along with what Harper has been working on. The general idea is that kids collect animal characters and grow their personal zoo. Along the way they’ll create those creatures, write about them using prompts, and listen to/read stories about them. They’ll unlock new areas of the zoo as they progress through Night Zookeeper and will also get feedback from tutors to improve their writing skills.
How to Play and Learn in Night Zookeeper
- Creating an Animal – Draw an animal freehand or using stickers and give it a name. Follow the prompts to write a quick description of their animal and receive feedback from tutors.
- Curriculum Challenges – Learn reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation! I was very excited about this section for Harper since it’s been such an area of contention for us. All of the challenges are set up in a fun way that make them feel more like games than traditional learning, and parents can see the scores from their dashboard to see if there are areas that need extra work.
- Interactive Lessons – This is for ages 7+ though 5-6 year olds can use it if you switch off ‘easy mode’. These lessons are built to help kids develop good writing skills. There are different themes throughout and a writing prompt at the end – your child’s work will be sent off to a tutor for review and feedback!
- Skill Games – These arcade style games help children work on the vocabulary, grammar concepts, and spelling they’ve been practicing in the lessons and challenges. They’re so fun; Harper absolutely loves them!
- Writing Prompts – I’ve discussed these a bit before, but essentially the program will start off a sentence for kids and they’ll need to finish it. If Harper forgets a capital letter or ending punctuation, the program will remind her and she’ll need to fix it before she moves on. I think this is such a great way of reinforcing grammar rules with gentle reminders!
- Battles – Using educational games, kids will beat “Voids” (bad guys) and rescue animals!
Harper has been working in the program for a couple of weeks now and she’s created four different animals so far. She really looks forward to her Night Zookeeper time and I’ve already seen significant improvement in her grammar and spelling skills. I’ve also been so impressed at how quickly she’s able to read and comprehend during the skill games. I can’t wait to see what she learns throughout the rest of the year! Here are some of her own words about the program:
“I really like Night Zookeeper. I had fun drawing my own character and I really like playing the games. I have four animals now and they are really fun to make. The typing challenges are really fun and I like competing against other people. I definitely want to keep using it!”
Overall, I’m so happy that we found Night Zookeeper. The program is fun and engaging while also offering standards-based lessons that help kids thrive. I definitely plan to continue using it with Harper and will have my eight year old son Lincoln give it a try too! You can get a free 7-day trial when you sign up, and then choose from a monthly, 3-month, or 12-month subscription. If you have young learners who are struggling with reading or writing, Night Zookeeper is a great option!
Check it out: Night Zookeeper
Discount: By following my link above, you can save 50% on an annual subscription which makes it even more affordable!
Hi there! I’m Amber, a 34 year old wife and mom of two from central Minnesota. I love to be outside with my family anywhere the weather is warm (which means I spend half the year freezing). We’re a homeschooling family that loves to travel as often as possible! When I have a spare free moment, I love to read, take photos, and scrapbook. I’m interested in anything that makes life more fun; I also love socializing and sharing about my favorite products!
This post currently has one response.
I am going to check this out for my 9-year-old grandson. I think he could benefit from it.