Elementary Kindergarten Middle School
Language ArtsResources for Educators
This is a sponsored post. The sponsoring company compensated me for my time, however all opinions and text are my own. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.
Writing, much like reading, is a skill that comes easily to some kids.
For others, it can be a struggle.
And finding a writing program that not only helps those that struggle, but also makes it fun for them, can also be a bit of a chore.
I speak from experience when I say that you could spend months trying out different programs until you find the one that fits.
Or, you could read on for our experience with Night Zookeeper, the one writing program that we’ve found that checks all of the boxes and then some.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved reading and writing.
Essays, articles, stories, it didn’t matter. I loved them all.
So much so that I started this website almost ten years ago now as a creative outlet that would give me the opportunity to write as much as I wanted.
Now, imagine my surprise when my oldest child, my first born, turned out to be my total opposite in that way.
Reading did not come easily for him at all.
He’s a very black and white kid. Gray areas and abstract concepts can throw him for a complete loop.
Vowel sounds, for example, were a huge struggle for him because in his mind, every letter of the alphabet makes a sound. A single sound.
Trying to add an entirely new, second set of sounds to this group of letters just didn’t compute and we spent months working on them over and over again before they finally stuck.
Knowing this, I didn’t push too hard when it came to writing in the beginning.
Instead, we focused almost entirely on the reading side of language arts and it paid off in that he’s now a fluent reader that loves stories!
Learning to write his own and actually enjoy it, however, was a whole other hurdle. One that we’ve been working on tackling for quite some time now.
And now, with the addition of Night Zookeeper to our homeschool day, it’s also one that’s gotten a whole lot easier!
What is Night Zookeeper?
Night Zookeeper is an award winning creative writing platform that helps improve the writing skills of 5-12+ year olds.
Built to truly make writing fun, Night Zookeeper is a game-based program where your kids become part of the zookeeper team and help protect the zoo from the voids that are trying to take control.
Your child will start out by creating their very own animal to add to the zoo.
They’ll flex their creative muscles a bit as they start writing about their animal with the help of Night Zookeeper’s text messaging-like prompts and then, begin the work of leveling up their animals.
The Benefits of Night Zookeeper
- Improved core writing skills
- Personalized feedback from a dedicated team of tutors
- Weekly lessons that incorporate interactive video elements and games to teach your children key skills
- Publishing opportunities and weekly competitions with real life prizes
- FREE monthly educational printables
What We Love About Night Zookeeper
First and foremost, I love that Night Zookeeper is turning something that normally feels like a chore to my child into something fun that he enjoys.
Like many of his peers, he’s very into video games and the gaming aspect of this program not only captured his attention, but continues to engage him every time he uses it.
Secondly, I love that this program works on every aspect of a child’s writing.
My child is one that often works faster than his brain can keep up and while working through some of the incredible writing prompts, occasionally forgot basic things like capitalization on names and punctuation when finishing sentences.
Night Zookeeper kept up their always positive feedback while still reminding him that his writing needed those items.
Afterwards, we moved on to playing games that worked on adjectives so that he could enhance his writing further.
This, of course, was in addition to the writing challenges.
These give your child the opportunity to win awards and badges for their creative writing and encourage things like proper punctuation, reaching certain word counts, and even incorporating various types of words like verbs and adjectives into their work.
And once they submit that work, they’ll receive encouragement and feedback from the Night Zookeeper team, motivating them even further.
But, by far, my favorite feature of the platform is that it is safe for kids.
Night Zookeeper has truly done an outstanding job in this area.
Every piece of content that is sent through their platform is moderated ensuring that your child has a safe environment in which to learn and play.
There is no “live chat” feature so you don’t have to worry about anything there and while your child can upload their own drawings, again, everything on the platform is moderated, so nothing personal can be shared.
They do have the ability to “friend” other users if this is something that you or your child would like, but you, as the parent, have the ability to turn off this feature, as well as many others, from your parent dashboard if you’d prefer.
How Much Does Night Zookeeper Cost?
A normal annual subscription to Night Zookeeper would consist of a 7 day free trial and then a subscription feed of $118.99.
While that’s an amazing price for a homeschool writing program, you can grab an annual subscription for 50% off using our link and you’ll still get the 7 day free trial!
That’s just $59.99 for the entire year for a single child subscription or $77.99 for 2-3 children!
Final Thoughts on Night Zookeeper
Night Zookeeper is a fantastic game-based creative writing platform.
One in which your child gets to be a part of the story that they are writing.
The program not only engages and teaches your child, but encourages them to use their imagination as well and when you’re working with a child that doesn’t necessarily find writing fun, that is a huge help!
If you’re looking for a writing program that will help you improve your child’s writing skills, their vocabulary, and their confidence in writing, Night Zookeeper is an amazing program and one that you’re going to want to add to your homeschool schedule.
