This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own. Night Zookeeper sponsored this post and provided my family with a trial account to use.  There was no obligation for a positive review. I only recommend products and do reviews on things that I believe are a good fit for homeschool families, parents, and teachers.

This post contains affiliate links. 

Keep reading for the discount at the bottom of the post.

 

What is Night Zookeeper?

 

Night Zookeeper is an award winning, online creative writing platform that allows children ages 6 to 12 to practice and improve their writing skills in a fun and engaging way.

 

What are the benefits of Night Zookeeper?

·      Improve Core Writing Skills

Children will improve their writing skills due to the games and tasks in the program. Since children are in charge of their story, their writing will benefit from

 

·      Personalized Feedback

The Night Zookeeper tutors provide suggestions for children to improve their writing.

 

·      Weekly Lessons

Each week lessons are provided that incorporate games and interactive video elements to teach your child key language skills.

 

·      Free Monthly Printables

Educational printables are provided each month to continue the learning.

 

·      Publishing Opportunities and Weekly Competitions

Children can earn prizes and have the chance to publish their work.

 

What age is Night Zookeeper for?

Night Zookeeper is designed for children ages 6-12 years old.

 

Getting Started:

Night Zookeeper provides you with a username and you set up a password for each child. There is a separate parent login that allows parents to monitor their child’s progress.

 

Is Night Zookeeper any good?

My children thought of Night Zookeeper as a game that they wanted to play.

Night Zookeeper has children answer prompts and create artwork throughout the program. As they are writing, they submit the report, and the feedback is provided by a Night Zookeeper Tutor. In the parent dashboard, you can see the feedback provided to your child.

 

What to Expect?

When your child logs in, there are prompts to read at the bottom. The prompts also have an audio button for children to assist them in reading. 

 

In Night Zookeeper, the child is in control of the story. As they play, they practice vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing skills. I would recommend using Night Zookeeper on a tablet, since some of the drawing is more difficult to do with a mouse.

 

What do children learn in Night Zookeeper?

Night Zookeeper teaches three main concepts: words, sentences, and stories. Children learn through the interactive games and videos.

 

Night Zookeeper Components:

Lessons:

The lessons tab has videos that explain how to use Night Zookeeper, as well as instructions on how to play specific games.

 

Challenges:

The Challenges area covers different topics and learning goals which are specified by age. Parents have the option to adjust the challenges to meet their child’s learning needs.

 

Games:

The games are a fun way to practice grammar skills such as adjectives, spelling, and verbs. 

 

Is Night Zookeeper a full curriculum?

Night Zookeeper is used as a full writing curriculum in schools across the United Kingdom and United States. Since it is aligned to Common Core, it can be used to meet the standards. 

In the TV Lesson Section, you can choose the specific topic that you are working for example informational writing, and view the video lesson that matches. The lessons cover many writing topics such as explanatory, information, and persuasive.

Night Zookeeper can also be used as a supplement to any writing curriculum you are currently using. Night Zookeeper allows children to practice writing in a fun way and can be used as a motivational tool to assist your children with writing.

However, if you purchase the books or download the free printables, you can use the reading and writing activities that come along as a part of your homeschool writing curriculum.

 

Night Zookeeper recommends using the program for at least 30 minutes each week.  Of course, the more your child uses the program the more feedback they will receive.

 

Is Night Zookeeper for Home or Classroom Use?

I think that Night Zookeeper can be used both at home and in the classroom. As a credentialed teacher, I can see Night Zookeeper being used in a writing center to encourage students to write, or for early finishers to practice their writing skills.  

Night Zookeeper Books:

 

Night Zookeeper also has a book series that helps to keep the fun going. They also offer Activity Packs to go along with the physical books which include comprehension questions, writing, and drawing challenges based on the books. This is an excellent way for children to practice their reading and writing skills off of the platform.

 

My Children’s Reactions:

 

My children range in age from 7 years old to 12 years old. Every day they would ask to “play” Night Zookeeper. They really look at it as a game, and really enjoyed exploring the platform.

 

How to improve writing in you homeschool:

To improve writing, I would recommend teaching your writing or language arts, then using Night Zookeeper as a way for your child to practice those skills.

You could also take the feedback provided by the Night Zookeeper tutors as a basis for your next homeschool writing or language arts lesson.

Privacy Settings:

I appreciated the privacy settings available in the parent dashboard. Parents have the option to turn off Friends, as well as sharing content with the entire platform or just with parents.

Also, parents can enable/disable features based on their own preferences. 

Pros:

I liked that writing is presented in a game format. Many children struggle to write, so this format makes it easy for children to write uninhibited.

 

Children are encouraged to write more through the positive feedback from the Night Zookeeper tutors. 

 

I also appreciated the safe, ad-free platform for my children to use. All comments are moderated and there are 

 

Cons:

My children were a little frustrated when drawing on the computer. I think there should also be an option to choose an avatar for those who don’t have a tablet. There is a Drawing with Buzz lesson that we found later that helped explain the drawing tools a bit better. This lesson should be available in the beginning of the program. 

 

Another suggestion is to list the skills that would be taught on the games. For example, I wanted my daughter to practice spelling, so I had to click through each game until I found the appropriate one. I understand that it is shown in a game format, but I think parents should have a list of what each games teach so we can target key skills.  

Is Night Zookeeper for Middle School?

My oldest is 12 years old, and in the 6th grade. I don’t use programs based on grade level but on personal needs. If your middle schooler needs help with writing, I think that Night Zookeeper is a good program for middle school students.

Although my middle schooler is on grade level in writing, I found that Night Zookeeper is a good way to encourage children to write more and write daily.

 

As far as writing programs, this is one of the most affordable I have seen for all my children to be able to use for the year.

Overall, my children really enjoyed using Night Zookeeper. Since they like the game aspect, they were not aware that they were supposed to be learning which made it easier to us.

Night Zookeeper Promo Code

Use this link to get 50% off an annual subscription of Night Zookeeper.

When you sign up, you will qualify for the Night Zookeeper 7-day free trial and will also get 50% off an annual subscription.

Is Night Zookeeper worth the cost?

As a mom of four, I found Night Zookeeper to be very affordable for the average family. With this link, it only costs $59.99 for the year for a single child subscription and $77.99 for 2-3 children. Contact the company to add more children to your account and for pricing.